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Microlink Zapier integrationAutomate Microlink with Zapier.

The Microlink Zapier integration gives you 0 triggers, 9 actions and 0 searches. Microlink never starts a Zap on its own: another app hands it a URL, and Microlink sends back a capture, a document or the text of that page.

See the 9 operations

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Overview

What the Microlink Zapier integration does for you

Microlink reads a web address and turns the page behind it into something you can store: an image, a PDF, plain text, Markdown, its logo or its metadata. Through Zapier, that reading happens inside a Zap, the automation that runs every time an event happens in another app. You never open Microlink by hand: the URL arrives, the page comes back processed.

A visual archive of the pages you track. A URL lands in a row of your spreadsheet, and Screenshot generates a capture of that page. Swap it for PDF when a document suits you better than an image.

The words of a page, without its layout. Markdown and Text return the content of a page, ready for the next step of the Zap: a doc, a note, a message.

A logo record for each new website. When a form entry brings a site address, Logo returns the logo details, palette included, and the next app stores them next to the entry.

What Zapier does not do here: Microlink has no trigger, so it cannot wake a Zap up. Another app must hand it a URL first, a form or a spreadsheet for instance. It has no search step either, so a Zap cannot ask Microlink whether it already processed a page: every run is a fresh request. And none of the nine actions writes anything back to a site. They read pages, they never publish them.

Still choosing the tool itself? See our Zapier review.

Vocabulary

Zapier words in one minute

Eight terms come back all over this page. One line each, in plain words.

Zap
The automation you build: one trigger, then one or more actions that run each time the trigger event happens.
Trigger
The event in an app that starts the Zap. With Microlink, it always comes from another app, since Microlink has none.
Action
The step that does the work once the Zap has started. All nine Microlink operations are actions.
Task
The unit Zapier bills: one action completed successfully. Your plan counts tasks, nothing else.
Polling trigger
A trigger Zapier checks on a timer, asking the app for new items at a fixed interval and keeping only the unseen ones.
Instant trigger
A trigger the app reports itself, calling Zapier the moment the event happens, so nothing waits for a check.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap continue only when the incoming data meets your condition, and stops it otherwise.
Multi-step Zap
Any Zap beyond one trigger and one action. A second action or a filter makes one, and it needs a paid plan.
Cost

What a Microlink Zap really costs

Microlink is not a premium app on Zapier, so it works from the free plan.

  • Premium appNo
  • Free plan100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps
  • BilledEach successful Microlink action
  • Not billedThe trigger, and failed actions

The trigger costs nothing, however often Zapier checks the app that starts the Zap. Each Microlink action that succeeds counts as one task; one that fails is not counted. A Zap that takes a screenshot and then a PDF of the same page uses two tasks per run. The free plan gives 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps, but each one stops at two steps, so adding a filter or a second action moves you to a paid plan. The interval grid below applies to the polling trigger of the app that starts the Zap, since Microlink has none.

Connect

Connect Microlink to Zapier in three steps

  1. 01

    Open the Apps page

    In your Zapier account, go to Apps and click + Add connection. A connection is your Microlink account linked once, then reused by every step that calls Microlink.

  2. 02

    Find Microlink and add it

    Type Microlink in the dialog, pick it from the results, then click Add connection. A new tab opens, and that is where the rest of the connection happens.

  3. 03

    Sign in and grant access

    Sign in to Microlink in that tab and allow Zapier to use the account. You need a Microlink account, plus read or write access on anything you do not own yourself and want the Zap to touch.

First Zap

Your first Zap: a screenshot for each tracked page

GoalEach time a row with a URL lands in your spreadsheet, keep only the rows you flagged, then let Microlink capture the page.

  1. 01

    Create the Zap and pick the trigger

    Start a new Zap and choose the spreadsheet app as the trigger, with its new-row event. That is the event that will start every run.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger

    Run the test: Zapier brings back the three most recent rows of the connected sheet. Pick one that holds a real URL, so the mapping uses true data.

  3. 03

    Add the filter

    Click the plus icon, add Filter, then fill the three boxes: the field to check, the rule, the value. The rule type must match the field, text with text. This filter makes the Zap multi-step, so it needs a paid plan.

  4. 04

    Add the Screenshot action

    Add Microlink, choose Screenshot, and map the URL column into the required URL field. Leave the other options for later, once the basic run works.

  5. 05

    Test, then publish

    Test the action and read what came back before going further. When the result looks right, click Publish to switch the Zap on.

Actions

The nine Microlink actions

Microlink gives you 9 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Audio

Action

In Zapier“Detect playable audio sources”

Point it at a page and it detects the audio sources you could actually play there.

When to use it
you log pages in a sheet and want to know which ones carry playable sound before anyone opens them.
Watch out
what comes back for a page with no audio is something to check at test, on a page you know.
2

Extract

Action

In Zapier“Return metadata and extracted data for a URL”

This one returns the metadata of a page together with the data Microlink extracts from it.

When to use it
you want a title and a description stored next to each link someone adds to your list.
Watch out
run the test first and map only the values your next step really needs.
3

Insights

Action

In Zapier“Get performance and technology insights”

Ask Microlink how a page performs and which technologies run it, and the answer comes back for your next step to store.

When to use it
a new website address arrives from a form and you want its technology profile kept with the entry.
Watch out
read the test result before mapping anything, since what each insight contains is only visible there.
5

Markdown

Action

In Zapier“Return page content in Markdown”

Turns the content of a page into Markdown, the light text format many note tools read well.

When to use it
you paste pages into a doc and want their headings kept without the site layout around them.
Watch out
if the next app does not read Markdown, the Text action fits better.
6

PDF

Action

In Zapier“Generate a PDF”

Generates a PDF of the page you point it at, so you keep a document rather than a link.

When to use it
a page must be kept as a file each time its URL is logged in your sheet.
Watch out
PDF Landscape is one of the options; compare it with the default at test before you choose.
7

Screenshot

Action

In Zapier“Generate a screenshot”

Captures an image of the page, the quickest way to keep a visual trace of how a site looked.

When to use it
every new URL in your tracking sheet should come with a capture filed next to it.
Watch out
the step has options such as Screenshot Full Page; compare the results at test.
8

Text

Action

In Zapier“Return page content as plain text”

Gives you the page content as plain text, with no formatting at all.

When to use it
a filter placed right after it checks the words of each new page, and formatting would only get in the way.
Watch out
that filter makes the Zap multi-step, so it needs a paid plan.
9

Video

Action

In Zapier“Detect playable video sources”

Scans a page for video you can play and reports the sources it detects.

When to use it
you review pages from a list and want to know which ones embed a playable video.
Watch out
test it on a page you know has a video, then on one without, before trusting the output.
When it breaks

When a Microlink Zap breaks

Zapier links no help article to Microlink, and no limit specific to the app has been recorded.

What goes wrong is general Zapier behavior, and it is worth knowing before your first run. If a run fails and the cause is unclear, see our Zapier troubleshooting guide.

  • Old URLs are not processed

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after you switch it on. URLs already in your sheet stay untouched; capturing that backlog is a separate job.

  • A Zap that feeds itself

    As a general precaution, a Zap that writes into the very place its trigger watches can start itself again and again, and it burns through tasks fast.

  • A big import gets held back

    When the starting app suddenly returns a huge batch, after a bulk import for instance, Zapier's flood protection can hold those runs back.

  • The same row twice

    On a polling trigger, Zapier keeps track of what it has already seen, so the same row does not start the Zap a second time.
Need help

Need help automating Microlink with Zapier?

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FAQ

Microlink Zapier integration: frequent questions

01Is the Microlink Zapier integration free?
Yes, it works on the free plan, because Zapier does not class Microlink as a premium app. That plan gives 100 tasks a month and an unlimited number of Zaps, each limited to two steps: one trigger and one action. A single Microlink action after a trigger fits inside that. Add a filter before the screenshot, or a PDF on top of it, and the Zap has three steps, which moves you to a paid plan. The free plan also checks polling triggers every 15 minutes.
02How many tasks does a Microlink action use?
One per successful run of each Microlink action. The trigger that hands over the URL costs nothing, and checking for new data costs nothing either. If a Zap runs Screenshot and then Markdown on the same page, that is two tasks for that run. An action that does not go through is not counted against your plan. So when you estimate volume, multiply the number of URLs you expect by the number of Microlink actions in the Zap, and compare it with the task count of your plan.
03Does Microlink work in real time with Zapier?
It depends entirely on the app that starts the Zap, since Microlink has no trigger of its own. If that app has an instant trigger, it reports the event to Zapier straight away and Microlink runs right after. If it has a polling trigger, Zapier checks it on a timer that depends on your plan: 15 minutes on Free, 2 on Professional, 1 on Team and Enterprise. Look at the trigger of the starting app on its Zapier page before you promise anyone a delay.
04What do you need to connect Microlink to Zapier?
An account on Microlink, plus read or write access on anything you do not own yourself and want the Zap to touch. The connection is made once from the Apps page of your Zapier account with + Add connection, then reused by every Microlink step in every Zap. You sign in to Microlink in the tab that opens and grant Zapier access to the account. After that, each action only asks for the URL to read, which is the one required field.
05Can a Microlink screenshot start a Zap by itself?
No. Microlink has no trigger in Zapier, so nothing that happens in Microlink can set a Zap off. The first step must come from another app that carries a URL, such as a form entry or a new spreadsheet row. Microlink then sits in second position as the action. If your idea starts with a page changing, the Microlink integration cannot detect it: you would need an app that reports that event and passes the address along.
06What if the Microlink operation you want is not listed?
Then Zapier does not offer it today, and no setting will make it appear in the editor. The Microlink page on zapier.com shows the current list of operations, so it is the place to check before planning a Zap around a missing one. Within the nine actions, many variations come from the options of each step, such as Screenshot Full Page or PDF Landscape, so look at those options at test before concluding that the operation itself is missing.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for Microlink?
Pick by criteria rather than by reputation. First, check which Microlink operations each tool offers, since the list differs from one platform to another. Second, compare how each one bills a run: on Zapier, every successful action is a task, so a Zap that captures and converts the same page pays twice. Third, count your steps: if your Zap stays at one trigger and one Microlink action, the free Zapier plan covers it, and anything longer needs a paid plan.
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