Prepare Your Google Form

Before Smart Form Publisher can generate and send documents, it needs data collected through a Google Form. Designing your form properly ensures smooth placeholder mapping and accurate document generation.

Form Design Best Practices

Follow these recommendations when building your form:

Use clear, descriptive question titles: These titles become merge tags (e.g., {{Full Name}}). Avoid overly long or unclear names.
Keep naming consistent: Use formats like Full Name,Email Address, Event Date. Avoid mixing styles such asfull_name and Full Name.
Avoid duplicate question titles: Each merge field must be unique to prevent merge conflicts during document generation.

Supported Question Types

The following Google Form™ question types are supported for use as merge tags:

Question Type	Merge Support	Notes
Short Answer	✅ Yes	Ideal for Name, Email, ID, etc.
Multiple Choice	✅ Yes	Captures selected option text
Checkboxes	✅ Yes	Merges all selected options, comma-separated
Dropdown	✅ Yes	Captures selected value
File Upload	✅ Yes	Special handling required (see below)

File Upload Questions

If you’d like to include uploaded files — such as photos, scanned IDs, or supporting documents — you can use File Upload questions in your Google Form.

Steps to Configure:

Add a File Upload question to your form.
Restrict file types to images or relevant formats (PDF, PNG, JPG).
Inform respondents that uploaded files may be included in generated documents.
Map the file upload field to a corresponding placeholder in your document or email template.
Use clear placeholder names like:
- {{Photo}}
- {{Resume}}
- {{Supporting Document}}

📝 Note: Uploaded files will be inserted or linked automatically in the published document if permissions allow access.

🔐 Important: Uploaded files must have “Anyone with the link can view”access, or Smart Form Publisher won’t be able to retrieve or display them.

Information Commonly Collected

Ensure your Google Form collects all essential information needed to personalize generated documents.

✅ Full Name – For document personalization
✅ Email Address – For automatic email delivery
✅ Project, Course, or Event Name – To include in the document or email
✅ Submission or Completion Date – For time-stamped records
✅ Additional Notes or Comments – For optional custom fields
✅ Uploaded File(s) – Optional; can be merged or attached

Example: Well-Structured Google Form

Once your form is complete and responses start coming in, you can connect it to a document template and automate publishing with Smart Form Publisher.