PDF Output Renders Raw HTML Instead of a Formatted Table (Using Google Doc Template)

[Cristian_Giovany_Aco]

Hello everyone,

I’m facing a persistent issue where my automation is generating a PDF that shows the raw HTML code as plain text instead of rendering it as a formatted document.

I have already followed the standard troubleshooting steps, but the problem remains:

1. I am using a Google Doc as the template file.

2. I have pasted the HTML structure directly into the Google Doc.

3. My “Create a new file” task is correctly pointing to this Google Doc template and is set to output a PDF.

4. I have also tried explicitly setting the HTTP Content Type to text/html, but it did not solve the issue.

No matter what I try, the result is always a PDF showing the raw tags (<table>, <h1>, etc.).

Here is the HTML/AppSheet code from my Google Doc template:

HTML

<h1>Reporte de Mes: <<TEXT([Mes y Año], "MMMM YYYY")>></h1>

<hr>

<h3>Resumen de Ingresos</h3>
<table border="1" style="width:100%; border-collapse: collapse;">
  <thead>
    <tr style="background-color:#f2f2f2;">
      <th style="padding: 8px; text-align: left;">Concepto</th>
      <th style="padding: 8px; text-align: right;">Monto</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <<Start: FILTER("REPORTES MENSUALES", AND([ID del Cierre] = [_THISROW].[ID Cierre], [Tipo] = "Ingreso"))>>
    <tr>
      <td style="padding: 8px;"><<[Concepto]>></td>
      <td style="padding: 8px; text-align: right;"><<[Total por Concepto]>></td>
    </tr>
    <<End>>
  </tbody>
  <tfoot>
    <tr style="font-weight: bold; background-color:#e6e6e6;">
      <td style="padding: 8px; text-align: right;">Total Ingresos:</td>
      <td style="padding: 8px; text-align: right;">
        <<SUM(SELECT(REPORTES MENSUALES[Total por Concepto], AND([ID del Cierre] = [_THISROW].[ID Cierre], [Tipo] = "Ingreso")))>>
      </td>
    </tr>
  </tfoot>
</table>

Here is a screenshot of my ‘Create a new file’ task configuration: (Please make sure the screenshot shows the Template path, Output Type, and the HTTP Content Type fields)

And here is the resulting PDF file:

This seems like very unusual behavior. Could anyone see what might be wrong with my setup or suggest what else I could check?

Thank you so much for your help!

[mateo]

Put your HTML code into .txt or .html file and place that file on your drive, then point the automation bot to that file. The reason why you are getting plain HTML is because your Google Doc is being converted info HTML and the content of the document is your code. This is the same as you would click file → download → HTML in Google Doc.

Hope it helps

*Also make sure to check this post (and all related ones) by @SkrOYC - a lot of knowledge for HTML stuff in AppSheet

Part 1 - Almost pixel perfect pdf reports from automation

I’m very excited to talk about this with you! I’ve been experimenting with HTML/CSS since the beginning, considering that all of our templates, GDocs or MSWord, are first converted to HTML before the server applies the expressions <<>> and then creates our attachment (generally a pdf). I also have fight against email clients to make sure my emails get the format I want. This is where I started using/writting HTML. I take this opportunity to say: “Outlook, I hate you!” (And I love you Mozilla Th…

[Aurelien]

Hi @Cristian_Giovany_Aco

@Cristian_Giovany_Aco

I have pasted the HTML structure directly into the Google Doc.

Why that? with a Google Docs template, you don’t need to do so. You just need to format your Google Docs as expected. The PDF engine will proceed accordingly.

Here is an example:

Which gives:

For reference:

Examples of using Start expressions in templates - AppSheet Help

Use variables in templates - AppSheet Help

[SkrOYC]

@mateo

*Also make sure to check this post (and all related ones) by @SkrOYC - a lot of knowledge for HTML stuff in AppSheet

[Cristian_Giovany_Aco]

Hello community,

First, I want to give a big thank you to user mateo. His solution for my previous PDF generation problem (using an .html file as a template) was correct and worked perfectly. Thank you!

I am now facing a new, unrelated issue regarding the app’s home screen icon, and I’m hoping someone can help.

The Problem: The app shortcut on my Android home screen always uses the default AppSheet logo, not my custom logo.

Server-Side is Correct: I have confirmed that my new custom logo DOES appear correctly when I open the app in a web browser (incognito mode). This proves the changes are saved correctly on the server.

Extensive Troubleshooting Done: I have already performed a full “deep clean” on my phone to try and solve this. The exact steps were:

• Signed out of the main AppSheet app.
• Force-stopped the AppSheet app.
• Cleared the app cache.
• Restarted the entire phone.
• Signed back into the AppSheet app.
• Deleted the old shortcut and created a new one.

Despite all these steps, the shortcut is always created with the default AppSheet logo, not the custom one that is correctly configured and visible on the web version.

This appears to be a bug where the shortcut creation process on mobile is not fetching the correct custom icon from the app definition. Could the team please investigate this behavior?

Thank you for your help.

[hien_nguyen]

The AppSheet automation export functionality is experiencing performance issues, resulting in slow processing times and delays in synchronization. Consequently, we are transitioning to a custom coding solution to address these challenges.

[Steve]

Please contact Support for help with this.