Create and save a file from an automation

This feature is available to AppSheet Core accounts and above. See AppSheet pricing .

Create and save a file by adding the Create a new filetask to an automation bot.

Add and configure the Create a new filetask by performing the following steps:

Add the Create a new file task to a bot, as described in Add a task to a bot .
Configure the Create a new file task by setting the properties described in the following tables.
Save the app.

After you save the app, you can reuse the task in other bots.

Configure the Create a new file t ask by using the settings described in the following tables.

Setting

Description

Linking

Enable or disable reuse of this component by expanding the Linkingpanel and toggling the Linkingsetting. See Reuse automation components .

Expand the Linking panel and toggle the Linking setting to enable or disable component reuse

Task name

Name of the task. It must be unique within your app.

Table name

Table defined in the event and used by the task.

To view or edit the structure of the selected table, position your cursor in the field and click Edit icon . See Tables: The Essentials for more information.

Note: To use a table that is different from the table defined in the event, add a Call a process step.

HTTP Content Type

Content type of the file. Valid content type values include:

CSV
HTML
ICS_Calendar
JSON
PDF
XLSX (Microsoft Excel)
XML

Note: A maximum of 2500 PDF files are allowed to be created per day per app owner account, at a rate of 20 per second. See Automation limits .

Template

Template to use for more precise control of the file contents. See Use templates in a bot .

File Store

File system where files are saved.

When set to Default (the default setting), the file is stored on the authentication provider file system. For example, if your authentication provider is Google, the file is saved to Google Drive. If your authentication provider is Dropbox, the attachment file is saved to Dropbox.

Note : If Smartsheet is your authentication provider, AppSheet saves the file to Google Drive as Smartsheet does not have a file system. If you use Smartsheet and wish to save files, you must include Google as a data source, as described in Use multiple data sources .

File Folder Path

Folder path where files are saved relative to the default app folder.

Use the Expression Assistant to specify text, variables , and expressions . For example:

Files/MyPurchaseOrders
<<CONCATENATE("MyFiles/PurchaseOrdersByMonth_", YEAR(NOW()), "_", MONTH(NOW()))>>:

In the second example, email attachment files would be stored in a separate folder, based on the month. For example: MyFiles/PurchaseOrdersByMonth_2019_02

By default, the folder path is Files .

File Name Prefix

Prefix to prepend to the filename.

Use the Expression Assistant to specify text, variables , and expressions .

By default, the prefix is AppSheetDoc .

Note: Forward slashes (/) are not supported in filenames. For example, if you are using a date format that uses forward slashes, you will need to convert them to a different character such as a period (.).

Attachment Page Orientation

Page orientation used for PDF files. Valid values include: Portrait (the default) and Landscape

Note : This setting is available only if you set HTTP Content Type to PDF .

Attachment Page Size

Page size for PDF files. Select a standard size or select Custom and enter the Attachment Page Width and Attachment Page Height in millimeters. Defaults to A4 .

Note : This setting is available only if you set HTTP Content Type to PDF .

Disable Timestamp?

Toggle to indicate whether to append a timestamp to filenames. Appending the timestamp will ensure the filenames are unique.

The timestamp contains the date and time at which the attachment file was created, formatted as follows: yyyyMMdd_HHmmss_fff indicating year, month, day, hours, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds. For example:

MyFileName20190207_133355_804.pd f

If you disable the timestamp, you must ensure that every filename is unique. Otherwise, the files may be overwritten. For example, if you are saving files to Google Drive and you disable the timestamp, only the most recent attachment file will be available. Older files with the same name will have been overwritten.

Expand and customize the Advancedsettings, as described below.

Setting

Description

Inputs

Add inputs to dynamically configure a task. For details, see Set input values dynamically in tasks .

Expand the Advancedsection.
Click Add under Inputs.
Enter the name of the input value in the Namefield.
Select the data type from the Typedrop-down.
Only a subset of data types are supported for inputs.
To add an initial value or edit any fields:
1. Click to open the Input dialog.
2. Add a value or expression in the Initial valuefield.
  If you don't specify an initial value, then the input value will be required. If an initial value is specified, then the input value is optional.
  
  Use of [_THIS] or [_INPUT] are not supported in the Initial value field.
3. Edit other fields, as required.
4. Click Done.
Repeat to add additional input values.

Then, use the following expressions to access the input values from the current step: [_INPUT].[ inputname ]

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Create and save a file from an automation

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