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DynamicPDF API Zapier integrationAutomate DynamicPDF API with Zapier.

The DynamicPDF API Zapier integration gives you 10 actions, with no trigger and no search: it generates PDFs from templates or instructions, turns pages into images and reads text, metadata or security details out of existing files. It works on the free plan.

See the 10 operations

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Overview

What the DynamicPDF API Zapier integration does for you

DynamicPDF API is a developer service for creating, transforming and inspecting PDF files. Inside Zapier it only acts: another app has to start the Zap, then DynamicPDF API builds a PDF from your template or opens one to tell you what is inside, and hands the result to the next step.

Three outcomes cover what people build with it. Readable documents: a PDF arrives by email and Extract PDF Text turns it into text a spreadsheet or a CRM can store. Documents produced on demand: Generate PDF From Remote DLEX Template fills a stored template with your data and returns the file. Files checked before they travel: Extract PDF Security Info tells you whether a document is protected before you forward it.

The limits are worth knowing up front. There is no trigger, so DynamicPDF API never starts a Zap: something like an inbox, a form or a file store has to. There is no search either. The generation actions expect files, not loose fields: a JSON file of layout data or of instructions, plus resource files when a template needs them. Preparing those files is part of the job.

For a broader look at the platform, the Zapier review covers it, and Zapier alternatives lists the other options if you are still choosing.

Vocabulary

Zapier words, in one minute

Seven terms come back below. Here they are once, in plain English, so the rest reads straight through.

Zap
The automation you build on Zapier: one starting event, then one or more steps that run every time that event happens.
Trigger
The event that starts the Zap. DynamicPDF API has none, so the trigger always comes from another app, like your inbox.
Action
What the Zap does once it has started: here, the step that generates a PDF or reads one for you.
Task
The unit Zapier bills. One action that completes successfully is one task, and your plan counts those.
Polling vs instant
Polling means Zapier checks an app on a timer. Instant means the app calls Zapier itself. It depends on the app that starts your Zap.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap go on only when what arrived meets a condition you set, and stops it otherwise.
Connection
Your DynamicPDF API account linked to Zapier once, then reused by every DynamicPDF API step in all your Zaps.
Cost

What a DynamicPDF API Zap really costs

Every DynamicPDF API step is an action, so every successful one is a task. The trigger, from whichever app starts the Zap, costs nothing.

  • Free plan100 tasks a month
  • Steps on the free plan1 trigger + 1 action
  • DynamicPDF API triggersNone, another app starts the Zap
  • Premium appNo

A Zap that reads the text of each incoming PDF uses one task per file; a failed action is not counted. The free plan gives 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps, but only two steps: one trigger and one action. Extracting text and then writing it somewhere is a second action, so a multi-step Zap on a paid plan, as is adding a filter. If the starting app polls, how often it is checked depends on your plan. DynamicPDF API is not a premium app.

Connect

Connect DynamicPDF API to Zapier in three steps

  1. 01

    Start from the Apps page

    In Zapier, open Apps and click + Add connection. In the dialog that opens, type DynamicPDF API in the search box and pick it from the list of results.

  2. 02

    Sign in to DynamicPDF API

    Click Add connection. A tab opens on DynamicPDF API's side, where you sign in to the account that holds your templates. You need an account on the app, plus access to anything you do not own yourself.

  3. 03

    Grant access

    Allow Zapier to use the account. The connection is saved once, and every DynamicPDF API step in every Zap reuses it, so the next document workflow starts already linked.

First Zap

Your first DynamicPDF API Zap: turn emailed PDFs into searchable text

GoalEvery PDF that lands in your accounts inbox ends up as plain text in a spreadsheet row, ready to search.

  1. 01

    Build: pick the trigger

    Create a Zap and start with your email app's event for a new attachment. DynamicPDF API has no trigger, so another app always opens the Zap.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger

    Run the test so Zapier brings back recent items from that inbox. Pick one with a real PDF attached, so the next step works on an actual file.

  3. 03

    Add Extract PDF Text

    Add a DynamicPDF API step with Extract PDF Text, select your connection and map the attachment into the PDF File field. That is the only required input.

  4. 04

    Add the spreadsheet step

    Add your spreadsheet app's action for a new row and map the extracted text into a column. Two actions make this a multi-step Zap, so it needs a paid plan.

  5. 05

    Test, then Publish

    Test each step once and read what came back. When the text lands in the right column, click Publish. Only attachments that arrive from then on are processed.

Actions

DynamicPDF API actions: what your Zap can do

DynamicPDF API gives you 10 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Generate PDF From Remote DLEX Template

Action

In Zapier“Generates a PDF by applying JSON LayoutData to a DLEX template stored in DynamicPDF API Storage.”

Fills a DLEX template that already lives in your DynamicPDF API storage with the data from a JSON layout file, and returns the finished PDF. You give it the template's path and that JSON file.

When to use it
invoices built from one stored template every time an order comes in.
Watch out
the layout data must be a file, not individual fields typed into the step.
2

Generate PDF From Local DLEX Template

Action

In Zapier“Generates a PDF by applying LayoutData JSON to a local DLEX template and associated resource files.”

Builds a PDF from a template you send along with the step instead of storing it: the JSON layout file, the .dlex file and its assets as resource files, plus their file names.

When to use it
templates kept in your own file storage rather than in DynamicPDF API.
Watch out
files and names are paired by position, so both lists need the same length and order, extensions included.
3

Extract Image Metadata

Action

In Zapier“Extracts metadata from an image.”

Reads the metadata stored in an image file. It takes PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, TIFF and WEBP.

When to use it
sorting photos sent by field teams before they join a report.
Watch out
it is the one action here that expects an image rather than a PDF, so map an image file into it, never a document.
4

Generate PDF From Instructions and Resources

Action

In Zapier“Generates a PDF from an uploaded Instructions JSON file and accompanying resource files.”

Produces a PDF from an instructions JSON file plus the resource files it refers to, such as an input PDF. It suits documents assembled from several pieces.

When to use it
a contract pack assembled from a cover page and existing annexes.
Watch out
each resource file needs a matching name at the same position, with its extension.
5

Rasterize PDF Pages to Images

Action

In Zapier“Converts PDF pages to rasterized images and returns them.”

Converts the pages of a PDF into images. Options let you keep a TIFF as one multipage file, store each image as a Zapier file for the next steps, and include or drop the encoded image data.

When to use it
page previews for a document library or a catalogue.
Watch out
leave the encoded data off unless a later step really needs it.
6

Extract PDF Metadata

Action

In Zapier“Extracts metadata from a PDF.”

Reads the descriptive details of a PDF and returns them as fields for later steps. You only map the file.

When to use it
logging what each incoming document is before it gets filed.
Watch out
run it on a real file first and look at which details come back before you map any of them.
7

Generate PDF From JSON Instructions

Action

In Zapier“Generates a PDF by sending the Instructions JSON as raw JSON (not multipart).”

Sends the instructions JSON on its own and gets a PDF back. It is the lightest of the generation actions, with a single required file.

When to use it
simple documents whose content is fully described in the instructions.
Watch out
any resource the document needs must be embedded inside that JSON, because this step takes no separate files.
8

Extract PDF Security Info

Action

In Zapier“Extracts the security and encryption details from a PDF document.”

Tells you how a PDF is protected: its security and encryption details. Map the file and read the answer in the next step.

When to use it
checking that contracts are protected before they leave for a client.
Watch out
it reports protection, it does not add or remove any.
9

Extract PDF Text

Action

In Zapier“Extracts text from a PDF.”

Pulls the text out of a PDF so the next steps can store, search or analyse it. The PDF file is the only input.

When to use it
archiving the content of supplier invoices in a spreadsheet you can search.
Watch out
test it on a real document from your own flow before relying on the output.
10

Extract XMP Metadata

Action

In Zapier“Extracts XMP metadata from a PDF as XML.”

Returns the XMP metadata embedded in a PDF as XML. It is the deeper, structured counterpart of the general metadata action.

When to use it
a publishing team that tracks rights or authorship stored inside its files.
Watch out
the output is XML, so a later step has to know what to do with it.
When it breaks

When a DynamicPDF API Zap breaks

Zapier attaches no help article to DynamicPDF API, so the cases below come from how Zapier behaves and from the required fields of the actions.

  • Files sent before the Zap are ignored

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after it is switched on. PDFs already sitting in your inbox or folder never pass through it; that backlog is a separate job.

  • A Zap that feeds its own folder

    If the trigger watches a folder and the Zap saves the generated PDF into that same folder, it sets itself off again and again and burns tasks fast.

  • A bulk drop of documents

    When a huge batch of files arrives at once, after an import or a migration, Zapier's flood protection can hold the trigger back.

  • Resource lists out of step

    The local template and instructions actions pair each resource file with a name at the same position. Different lengths or orders break the step.
Need help

Need help automating DynamicPDF API with Zapier?

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FAQ

DynamicPDF API Zapier integration: common questions

01Is the DynamicPDF API Zapier integration free?
Yes, it works on Zapier's free plan, since DynamicPDF API is not a premium app. The free plan includes 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps, but each Zap is limited to one trigger and one action. Because DynamicPDF API has no trigger, a free Zap is another app's trigger plus one DynamicPDF API action. Doing something with the result, such as storing the extracted text, adds a second action and needs a paid plan.
02How many tasks does a DynamicPDF API Zap use?
One task per DynamicPDF API action that completes successfully. The trigger from the other app costs nothing, and Zapier checking that app for new items is free too. A Zap that extracts text from each attachment uses one task per file; if it then writes a spreadsheet row, that is two tasks per file. A failed action is not counted. Some apps and actions on Zapier take more than one task when they complete.
03How fast does a DynamicPDF API Zap start, with no trigger of its own?
As fast as the app that starts it. DynamicPDF API only offers actions, so another app's trigger opens every Zap. If that trigger is instant, the app tells Zapier as soon as something happens and the Zap starts right away. If it polls, Zapier checks it on your plan's interval: 15 minutes on Free, 2 on Professional, 1 on Team and Enterprise. Pick the starting app with that in mind.
04What does it take to connect DynamicPDF API to Zapier?
A DynamicPDF API account, plus access to anything you do not own yourself and want the Zap to touch. In Zapier, open Apps, click + Add connection, search for DynamicPDF API, sign in on its side and grant access. The connection is saved once and reused by every step. For the remote template action, the DLEX file also has to be in your DynamicPDF API storage, and you need its path.
05Why does a DynamicPDF API generation step fail on resource files?
Most often because the two lists do not line up. The local template action and the instructions-and-resources action take resource files in one list and their names in another, matched by position: the first file goes with the first name. Both lists need the same length and order, and every name needs its extension. For the local template, the .dlex file itself is one of the resources. Test with a real template before you publish.
06What if the DynamicPDF API operation you need is not in Zapier?
Then this integration does not offer it today. Zapier exposes 10 actions for DynamicPDF API: four ways to generate a PDF, one to turn pages into images, and five to extract text, metadata, XMP or security details from PDFs and images. There is no trigger and no search. You can often get close by chaining steps, for instance extracting text first and letting a later step decide what to do with it.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for DynamicPDF API?
It depends on your criteria rather than on a ranking. On Zapier, DynamicPDF API brings 10 actions, works on the free plan for two-step Zaps, and needs another app to start each Zap. The questions to ask of any platform are the same: does it expose the exact DynamicPDF API operation you need, how easily does it pass files between steps, how does it bill a run with several steps, and who will maintain it.
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