In daily work, we often upload PDF files directly to Google Drive. Opening PDFs with Google Docs can convert PDF to Google Docs formats directly. However, there are several situations where automating workflows on Make to convert PDF to Google Docs can be beneficial:
- The file size of your PDF must be less than 2MB.
- Google only allows converting the first 80 pages of your PDF into Google Docs.
- When you have a large number of PDF files to convert.
- The PDF files needed to convert are in other apps, such as email or different cloud storage services.
- When you want more accurate conversion results than what Google Drive provides.
Follow the steps below to create your own automated PDF-to-Google-Docs conversion workflow with the ComPDFKit PDF Converter of ComPDF for free!
Step 1: Requirements of Converting PDF to a Google Doc
Before setting up automation Make Workflows, ensure you have the following:
- A Make.com (formerly Integromat) account.
- A ComPDFKit PDF Converter License. Register ComPDF to copy the free license.
- Log in and connect to the Drive account where your PDF files are stored. We will take Google Drive as an example.
Step 2: Set a Scenario to Convert PDFs to Google Docs on Make
- Login to your Make.com account.
- Click "Create a new scenario" from the dashboard.
Step 3: Connect ComPDFKit PDF Converter and Google Drive
In this step, you will add and connect the modules of Google Drive and ComPDFKit PDF converter:
- Search and add Google Drive.
- Connect your Google Drive account to select PDF files for conversion.
- Add a new module after the Google Drive. Search for ComPDFKit PDF Converter.
- Select the "Convert PDF to Word - Create a Task" action. Then, copy the license from the ComPDF dashboard and paste it.
- Add a new module to search and add ComPDFKit PDF Converter - Upload a File to map the PDF file from the Google Drive module to ComPDFKit PDF Converter. Then set it as the picture below:
- Add a new module to start the conversion process by adding ComPDFKit PDF Converter - Start a Task.
Step 4: Get the Conversion Result Word Files
Add and set the modules as steps below to convert PDF files into Word files with ComPDFKit PDF Converter:
- Add and set Flow Control > Repeater. When a certain condition is met, it will repeatedly execute the next module. This condition is set when adding the Router.
- Add Get the File Information of ComPDFKit PDF Converter and choose the file ID.
- Search and add the Router to check if the link of the merged PDF file is generated.
- Add the routes Tools Sleep and HTTP Get a file.
- Set the Sleep of Tools and the Get a File of HTTP as the image shown below. If the converted Word file isn’t generated, the workflow will rest for a few seconds and execute the next step “Get File Information” again. If the file is generated, we can get the file URL by HTTP.
- Set the filter of Tools -> Sleep. If the URL of the merged result file doesn’t exist, it will wait a few seconds and repeat retrieving the file information.
- Set the filter of HTTP -> Get a file. If the URL of the merged result file exists, a merged file will be returned.
Step 5: Upload Converted Word Files to Google Docs
Add a new module Google Drive - Upload a file after HTTP to store the converted Word file. After uploading the converted Word file to Google Drive. Then, it will be changed to Google Docs.
Add Stop - Parse JSON.
Now, we can end the workflow by right clicking and adding an Error Handler - Commit.
Step 6: Test PDF to Google Docs Auto-conversion Workflow
Click "Run once" to test the scenario with a sample PDF and verify that the PDF is correctly converted and uploaded to Google Drive. If the errors occurred, check the error in the logs.
Additional Tips and Best Practices for Make Automating Workflows
By following these steps above, you can streamline your document workflows to convert PDFs to Google Docs accurately!
- After setup, the workflow will automatically convert and upload PDFs to Google Drive. However, if unused the workflow for a long time, re-authenticate the connections with Google Drive and ComPDFKit PDF Converter.
- If you need to connect to Google Drive, a company account would be much easier to connect.
- ComPDF provides comprehensive tools on Make. To create more automation Make workflows for PDF data extracting, converting, or editing, search for ComPDF or ComIDP on the Make.com platform.