How to merge Airtable attachments into one PDF using Make

When working with Airtable, it's often necessary to merge Airtable attachments into a single PDF to simplify document management, sharing, and storage. Many users have expressed the need for this kind of automation, whether they want to merge PDF attachments or convert image attachments to a PDF.

This guide shows how to automate the process of merging attachments from a single Airtable record into one PDF using Make and Plumsail Documents. It works with PDFs, images, Word and Excel files, and combines them all into a single, ordered document.

You'll learn how to:

• retrieve all attachments from a record
• merge them using the Merge any files into PDF action in Make
• save the resulting file to Google Drive
• attach the final PDF back to Airtable

The entire process runs in one scenario and doesn't require separating files by type.

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Further in the article:

• Merge Airtable attachments into one PDF
  • Retrieve records with attachments
  • Process each file individually
  • Download files from Airtable
  • Aggregate files for merging
  • Merge files into a single PDF
  • Upload the PDF to Google Drive
  • Generate a shareable link
  • Attach the PDF back to Airtable
  • Optional cleanup in Google Drive
• Start merge any attachments in Airtable with Make and Plumsail Documents

Merge Airtable attachments into one PDF

Plumsail Documents for Make offers a handy action called Merge any files into PDF, which lets you combine multiple file types such as PDFs, images, Word documents, and Excel spreadsheets into a single well-structured PDF. You can pass in all attachments from an Airtable record at once, and the module will return one cohesive document.

Let's say your Airtable record contains both a contract in PDF and a scanned receipt in JPEG. Instead of handling them separately, you can now merge them into one cohesive PDF document.

This guide shows how to do exactly that, retrieve different file types from Airtable and generate a unified PDF, which is then linked back to the original record for easy access.

Here's an example of an Airtable base. Each record includes mixed file types in the Attachment field:

And this is the automation scenario we'll build in Make:

1. Retrieve records with attachments

• Use the Airtable Search Records module in Make to gather records containing attachments.
• You can use any Airtable trigger action that fits your workflow.
• In the module, select your base and table, and specify the attachment fields in the Output Fields section.

2. Process each file individually

• Add an Iterator to handle multiple attachments from a single record.
• Set the Array field to the list of attachments from the previous module.
• This will allow Make to download and process each file one by one.

3. Download files from Airtable

• Use the HTTP Get a file module to download each file.
• Map the file URL from the Iterator module to the URL field.

4. Aggregate files for merging

• Add a Control Flow – Array Aggregator module.
• Set the source module to HTTP Get File, and structure type to the next merge step.

5. Merge files into a single PDF

• Add Plumsail Documents – Merge any files into PDF.
• Enable Map and use the array output from the aggregator as the input.
• The module will combine all supported files into one PDF.

6. Upload the PDF to Google Drive

• Use Google Drive – Upload a file to store the final PDF.
• Choose your folder and set the Source to the merged document.

7. Generate a shareable link

• Add Google Drive – Get a share link to make the file accessible.
• Set the role to Reader and access type to Anyone.

8. Attach the PDF back to Airtable

• Use Airtable – Update a record to add the final PDF URL to the same record.
• Set the record ID and insert the Google Drive share link into the attachment field.

9. Optional cleanup in Google Drive

• Optionally, delete the file from Drive using Google Drive – Delete a file/folder.
• Set the file ID to remove the document after it's added to Airtable.

The setup is complete. The scenario will now automatically process each record, merge mixed file types, and attach a single PDF to Airtable.

The Merge any files into PDF action supports a wide range of formats including PDF, JPEG, PNG, DOCX, XLSX and others. You can send them together without converting or separating by type — the module will merge them into a single, well-structured PDF automatically.

This makes it suitable for automating document workflows such as internal reporting, record archiving, or preparing files for clients. Whether you're working with contracts, scanned receipts, product images, or spreadsheets, this action handles them all in one step.

You can also use it beyond Airtable. The module works with any file source available in Make — such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or email attachments.

Start merge any attachments in Airtable with Make and Plumsail Documents

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