API: Alternative Methods to Retrieve Filled PDF Submissions

I currently get an email whenever there is a submission and that email has an attachment which contains the PDF with all the fields populated by the user. I have been looking at your API's to see if I can find an endpoint that would give me the PDF but I have had no luck. Is there any other way I can get the PDF? I am trying to integrate the forms with azure logic apps.

Hi,

Thanks for reaching out to Jotform Support. I'm an AI assistant here to assist you.

You can retrieve the PDF of form submissions in ways other than email attachments, especially for integration with Azure Logic Apps. Here’s how to do it:

1. Use Microsoft Power Automate (formerly Flow) Integration: Jotform offers a connector for Microsoft Power Automate, which works well with Azure Logic Apps since they share similar workflows. You can set Jotform as a trigger when a response is submitted, and then add actions such as saving submission data or files. This method allows you to automate tasks and retrieve submission data in various formats.

2. Smart PDF Forms and Cloud Storage Integration: If you use Jotform Smart PDF Forms, you can save the original filled PDF submissions directly to cloud services like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and others. This can be set up in the Smart PDF Forms Builder under the Settings > Integrations > Document Sharing section.

3. API Access: While you mentioned difficulty finding an endpoint for PDFs, Jotform’s API allows access to submission data, and with the Power Automate integration, you can automate PDF retrieval indirectly.

For detailed steps on setting up Microsoft Power Automate with Jotform, including how to trigger flows on form submissions and handle PDF files, you can follow Jotform’s guide on integrating with Microsoft Power Automate. This will help you connect your forms to Azure Logic Apps effectively.

Let me know if you want detailed instructions on any of these methods.

Give it a try and let us know how it goes.

The Jotform trigger that you are talking about only gives me a HTML body that contains all the necessary fields, I still don't get the original PDF and if I use the fields returned by the trigger to make a copy of the original pdf inside the logic apps it is too much work

Hi,

I understand that the Jotform trigger in Microsoft Power Automate only provides an HTML body with the submission fields, which is not the original filled PDF you want.

Here’s an alternative approach to get the original filled PDF:

Use Jotform Smart PDF Forms: If you convert your PDF into a Smart PDF Form, you can have the filled PDF submissions saved directly to cloud storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive. This way, you get the exact filled PDF without needing to recreate it manually in Logic Apps.

You can set this up in the Smart PDF Forms Builder under Settings > Integrations > Document Sharing. This integration automatically saves the filled PDFs to your chosen cloud storage, which you can then access or trigger further workflows in Azure Logic Apps.

If you want to keep using the API, note that Jotform’s API primarily provides submission data, not the filled PDF itself. Combining the API with Power Automate or Smart PDF Forms is the best way to automate PDF retrieval.

Let me know if you want detailed steps on setting up Smart PDF Forms or integrating with cloud storage for your PDFs.

Give it a try and let us know how it goes.

I found a generatePDF GET method that generates the pdf after a submission, but it only has the user data and not the whole PDF that Jotform sends to us through email. Is there an API that I can use to send the original PDF?

Hi g3webmaster,

You can use the API request below to get the Submission PDF with the submission data:

https://api.jotform.com/generatePDF?formid={YourFormID}&submissionid={SubmissionID}&apiKey={YourAPIKey}&download=1

Simply replace the placeholders in the URL with your actual values:

• {YourFormID} : your form’s ID.
• {SubmissionID} : the specific submission ID you want to generate the PDF for. You can check out this guide to learn more on How to get the Submission ID.
• {YourAPIKey} : your Jotform API key.

Take a look at the screenshot below to see my results:Reach out again if there’s anything else we can help you with.

I am using exactly that HTTP request as mentioned in my message above, but that message does not give me the original document that I submitted to build the Jotform. Instead, I get the original PDF with the fields that the user has filled in an email.

Hi g3webmaster,

By original PDF, do you mean you are trying to get the submission PDF from a Smart PDF form? If that's the case, you can use the API request below instead:

https://api.jotform.com/pdf-converter/{formId}/fill-pdf?download=1&submissionID={sumissionID}&apikey={apiKey}

Let us know if there’s anything else we can help you with.

Thank you Ronald! That worked. I was not able to find that endpoint in the docs, is that intentional?(https://api.jotform.com/docs/)

Hi g3webmaster,

Your request has been answered and the thread is closed.

If you have another question or need more help, feel free to reply here and we'll assist you right away.