PDF Merger runs in the background. Each merge starts when a Quickbase email notification on your table sends the record's PDF Merger parameters to PDF Merger. The notification decides when a merge runs—for example, when someone selects the Execute PDF Merger button, when a record is added, or when a status field changes. The notification goes to PDF Merger, not to your users.
The installation wizard doesn't create this notification. You create it once on the table where you installed PDF Merger.
Before you start
Install PDF Merger on the table with the installation wizard, or add a PDF Merger Parameters formula field yourself. See PDF Merger setup and Formula Text field parameters.
Make sure you can create an email notification with the Open permission type in your Quickbase app, so it can be sent to an address outside your app. If you can't select Open, submit a technical support case.
Create the email notification in Quickbase
In your Quickbase app, create a new email notification on the table where you installed PDF Merger, and enter these settings:
Setting | Value |
|---|---|
Permission Type | Open: Emails sent openly to anyone |
Notification Name | Any name that makes sense to you, for example |
Notify Whom | A specific list of email addresses |
Email address |
|
Notify When | The record changes and conditions that should start a merge (see Choosing when to notify). |
Message Type | Custom Message, Single Record Version |
Subject | Any subject. PDF Merger doesn't use it, so pick one that helps you recognize the notification—for example, |
Custom Message | The PDF Merger Parameters field, and nothing else (see Custom message). |
Save the notification.
Custom message
The custom message sends PDF Merger everything it needs: which files to merge, where to save the result, and which fields to update. All of this is in the PDF Merger Parameters formula field, so the message is just that field in square brackets:
[PDF Merger Parameters]If you installed PDF Merger with the wizard, the field's value already ends with the type and a configid, so PDF Merger receives something like this:
clientid=Q123 appid=bq1a2b3c4 mrgdte=7 errorfid=8 triggerfid=9 Configuration=bq5d6e7f8:12-6|bq1a2b3c9:25-10 fn=Merged_File apptoken= type=pdfmerger configid=<config key>In the EU, the type is type=pdfmergereu.
If you installed PDF Merger before 2025, your formula may not include the type or a configid. Add them after the field, separated by spaces:
[PDF Merger Parameters] type=pdfmerger configid=<config key>configid is the key of your app's PDF Merger batch configuration. See Batch Config Portal overview. If your account requires batch configurations, PDF Merger only runs when the configid and the parameters match a saved batch configuration. Otherwise it writes an error to Merger Error Details and doesn't merge.
To see what your formula already includes, open the PDF Merger Parameters field's formula and look for type= and configid=. Don't add either one twice.
Note
Don't add other text to the message. PDF Merger reads the message as a list of parameters separated by spaces, so extra words can be read as parameters.
Choosing when to notify
Use Notify When and the notification's conditions so that a merge only runs when it should.
With the Execute PDF Merger button. The button writes Batch Execution Requested_ and the date and time to the PDF Merger Trigger Field, and it's hidden while that field contains Requested. Set the notification to:
Notify when a record is modified and PDF Merger Trigger Field changes.
Add a condition: PDF Merger Trigger Field contains
Requested.
Without the button. You can start merges from any change you like, so they run automatically. For example:
Notify when a record is added, to merge the files as soon as the record is created.
Notify when a record is modified and Status changes, and only when Status is Ready to merge.
Important
Make sure the notification can't fire again because of the merge it just ran. When a merge finishes, PDF Merger updates the record: the merged file field, Merged Date, Merger Error Details, and the trigger field (to
PROCESS COMPLETED_orERROR ENCOUNTERED_and the date and time). Don't notify on changes to those fields without a condition that rules them out—such as the contains Requested condition above—or PDF Merger can merge the same record again and again.
What happens after the notification is sent
PDF Merger merges the files and saves the merged PDF where the parameters say. Then it updates the record:
Field (wizard name) | When the merge succeeds | When the merge fails |
|---|---|---|
PDF Merger Trigger Field |
|
|
Merger Error Details | Cleared | The reason the merge failed |
Merged Date | The date and time of the merge | The date and time of the attempt |
The date and time in the trigger field are in your app's time zone. Merges take a little while, so refresh the record to see the result.
Test it
Open a record that has files to merge.
Select Execute PDF Merger, or make the change that your notification watches for.
Wait a moment, then refresh the record. The merged PDF should be in the file attachment field, and the trigger field should start with
PROCESS COMPLETED_.
If nothing happens
What you see | What to check |
|---|---|
The trigger field still says | The notification didn't fire, or didn't reach PDF Merger. Check that it's on the right table, uses the Open permission type, is sent to the right address for your region, and that its conditions match (trigger field changes and contains |
Merger Error Details has a message | PDF Merger ran but couldn't finish. The message says why—for example, a file couldn't be found, a limit was reached, or the parameters don't match your batch configuration. Fix the cause, clear the trigger field if needed, and run the merge again. |
The same record is merged more than once | The notification is firing on the fields PDF Merger updates. Add a condition as described in Choosing when to notify. |
Learn more
PDF Merger finish: the fields the wizard adds to your table.
Formula Text field parameters: what goes in PDF Merger Parameters.