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Use a Google Sheets-bound Apps Script to read a column of web addresses, send each eligible URL to PDFCrowd’s HTML-to-PDF API, save successful PDF responses in Google Drive, and write a file link and status back to the matching row. The key safeguards are to validate each URL, check the HTTP response before saving, and make the batch resumable.
Set up the spreadsheet
Use one row per source page and keep the input, output, and status columns distinct. For example:
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| A: Source URL | B: PDF link | C: Status |
|---|---|---|
| https://example.com/page |
Put headers in row 1. The script below reads URLs from column A, writes the Drive link to column B, and records the outcome in column C. It skips blank URLs and rows already marked SUCCESS, so a later run can continue without recreating completed files.
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- Open the spreadsheet and choose Extensions → Apps Script to create or open its bound script project.
- In Apps Script project settings, add the explicit external request scope
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/script.external_requestif the project uses explicitly declared OAuth scopes. Google’s UrlFetchApp documentation describes the service and its authorization requirements. - Set the PDFCrowd account username and API key as script properties rather than putting them in spreadsheet cells or the URL list. In Apps Script, open Project Settings → Script Properties and add
PDFCROWD_USERNAMEandPDFCROWD_API_KEY. - Create a destination folder in Drive, then copy its folder ID from the folder URL. Add a
PDF_FOLDER_IDscript property. Leave this property empty to save files in the Drive root. - Restrict who can edit the script and its configuration. Anyone with the ability to change the script may be able to access credentials stored with it.
The PDFCrowd API key authenticates your API request; it does not log in to the source website. PDFCrowd’s servers must be able to reach each page. A page that is private, requires a website login, or exists only on a local machine may not be fetchable without a separately supported access arrangement. See PDFCrowd’s HTTP API documentation and parameter reference.
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Add the URL-to-PDF script
In the Apps Script editor, replace the starter code with the following. It uses PDFCrowd’s documented versioned endpoint, submits the source address as a form field using HTTP Basic authentication, and treats successful content as binary PDF data.
const CONFIG = {
sheetName: 'Sheet1', // Change to the tab containing your URLs
firstDataRow: 2, // Row 1 contains headers
urlColumn: 1, // A: source URL
fileColumn: 2, // B: Drive file URL
statusColumn: 3, // C: status or error
batchSize: 10, // Conservative starting batch; adjust to current quotas
endpoint: 'https://api.pdfcrowd.com/convert/24.04/'
};
function convertNextBatch() {
const props = PropertiesService.getScriptProperties();
const username = props.getProperty('PDFCROWD_USERNAME');
const apiKey = props.getProperty('PDFCROWD_API_KEY');
const folderId = props.getProperty('PDF_FOLDER_ID');
if (!username || !apiKey) {
throw new Error('Set PDFCROWD_USERNAME and PDFCROWD_API_KEY in Script Properties.');
}
const spreadsheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSpreadsheet();
const sheet = spreadsheet.getSheetByName(CONFIG.sheetName);
if (!sheet) throw new Error('Sheet tab not found: ' + CONFIG.sheetName);
const lastRow = sheet.getLastRow();
if (lastRow < CONFIG.firstDataRow) return;
const count = lastRow - CONFIG.firstDataRow + 1;
const rows = sheet.getRange(CONFIG.firstDataRow, 1, count,
Math.max(CONFIG.urlColumn, CONFIG.fileColumn, CONFIG.statusColumn)).getValues();
const folder = folderId ? DriveApp.getFolderById(folderId) : null;
const auth = Utilities.base64Encode(username + ':' + apiKey);
let processed = 0;
for (let i = 0; i < rows.length && processed < CONFIG.batchSize; i++) {
const rowNumber = CONFIG.firstDataRow + i;
const url = String(rows[i][CONFIG.urlColumn - 1] || '').trim();
const status = String(rows[i][CONFIG.statusColumn - 1] || '').trim();
if (!url || status === 'SUCCESS') continue;
processed++;
if (!/^https?:///i.test(url)) {
sheet.getRange(rowNumber, CONFIG.statusColumn).setValue('ERROR: Enter an http:// or https:// URL');
continue;
}
try {
const response = UrlFetchApp.fetch(CONFIG.endpoint, {
method: 'post',
contentType: 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
payload: { url: url },
headers: { Authorization: 'Basic ' + auth },
muteHttpExceptions: true
});
const code = response.getResponseCode();
if (code < 200 || code >= 300) {
const detail = response.getContentText().slice(0, 500).replace(/s+/g, ' ');
sheet.getRange(rowNumber, CONFIG.statusColumn)
.setValue('ERROR: HTTP ' + code + (detail ? ' — ' + detail : ''));
continue;
}
const filename = safeFilename_(url, rowNumber) + '.pdf';
const blob = response.getBlob().setName(filename).setContentType('application/pdf');
const file = folder ? folder.createFile(blob) : DriveApp.createFile(blob);
sheet.getRange(rowNumber, CONFIG.fileColumn).setValue(file.getUrl());
sheet.getRange(rowNumber, CONFIG.statusColumn).setValue('SUCCESS');
} catch (err) {
sheet.getRange(rowNumber, CONFIG.statusColumn)
.setValue('ERROR: ' + String(err).slice(0, 500));
}
}
}
function safeFilename_(url, rowNumber) {
let host = 'page';
try {
host = new URL(url).hostname || host;
} catch (err) {
// URL validation is performed before this function is called.
}
host = host.replace(/[^a-z0-9.-]/gi, '_').replace(/.+/g, '_');
return host + '-row-' + rowNumber;
}For the documented endpoint and parameters, consult PDFCrowd’s HTTP API guide before adopting a different API version. The endpoint path shown here contains version 24.04; it is an API version marker, not a promise that it is the newest version. Apps Script’s UrlFetchApp supports POST requests and response handling. Google documents its URL Fetch service and response blob/content methods at URL Fetch Service.
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Why this script checks before saving
With muteHttpExceptions: true, non-success HTTP responses are returned to the script instead of immediately throwing an exception. The code records the status and a limited portion of the response body, and creates a Drive file only for a successful status. Successful responses are handled as blobs because they contain PDF bytes, not text. Spreadsheet and Drive operations use Google’s SpreadsheetApp and Drive services.
Run a batch and authorize it
- Save the project and select
convertNextBatchin the function list. - Click Run. On the first run, review and grant the requested Google permissions for spreadsheet, Drive, and external requests.
- Return to the sheet and inspect columns B and C. A successful row contains a Drive file URL and
SUCCESS; failures have anERRORstatus with available diagnostic information. - Run the function again to process the next eligible rows. Successful rows are skipped. Change the sheet name and column numbers in
CONFIGif your layout differs.
The batch size of 10 is only a conservative starting setting in this example, not a guaranteed safe limit. Actual limits depend on current Apps Script execution and URL Fetch quotas and your PDFCrowd account limits. Check those limits before increasing batch size or adding a time-driven trigger.
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Make reruns and failures manageable
Resuming without duplicate PDFs
The script’s simplest duplicate policy is to skip rows marked SUCCESS. If you clear that status and run again, it will create another Drive file; decide whether you want to keep, replace, or delete prior files before doing so. The row number is part of each filename, and the result URL is written beside its source URL.
Improving batch processing
For larger lists, run one manageable batch at a time and retain the row status as the progress record. If execution stops, successful rows remain marked and can be skipped on the next run. Do not assume a fixed number of rows or a trigger schedule is within quota: verify current Google Apps Script and PDFCrowd account limits for your use case.
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Handling errors safely
The code stores up to 500 characters of a response body or exception in the status cell to aid diagnosis. Check that detail before retrying. Do not automatically retry every failure: malformed URLs, denied access, or bad API credentials need a correction rather than repeated requests. If you need more diagnostic detail, PDFCrowd documents optional JSON error formatting and debug information in its parameter reference.
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Troubleshoot common problems
- Missing credentials: Confirm that both script properties are named exactly
PDFCROWD_USERNAMEandPDFCROWD_API_KEY, and that the account username and API key are correct. - Authorization or API error response: Check the recorded HTTP status and response detail, then verify credentials and the endpoint and parameters against the current PDFCrowd API documentation. Do not save an error response as a PDF.
- Invalid URL status: The script accepts only values beginning with
http://orhttps://. Correct the cell to a complete web address. - Page cannot be fetched: Ensure the source is reachable from PDFCrowd’s servers. A URL accessible only on your computer or behind an organization login is not made accessible by the PDFCrowd API key.
- Apps Script authorization or scope failure: Run the function interactively to authorize it. If using explicit OAuth scopes, include
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/script.external_request. - Execution stops partway through: Check the last written statuses and run again. The script skips
SUCCESSrows, but rows that failed will be attempted again, so diagnose persistent failures first. - Drive folder error: Verify that
PDF_FOLDER_IDcontains the folder’s ID and that the Google account running the script can create files there. Clear the property only if saving to Drive root is intended.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does this workflow convert every row in one run?
No. The sample processes up to its configured batch size per run and skips blank or successful rows. Run it again for later eligible rows.
Can PDFCrowd convert a URL that is only available on my computer?
Not through this URL-fetch workflow unless the page is made reachable to PDFCrowd’s servers or another supported access method is configured.
Is endpoint version 24.04 necessarily the latest PDFCrowd API version?
No. It is the versioned endpoint documented for this guide; check PDFCrowd’s current API documentation before starting a new production integration or changing versions.
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