Automate Image Creation with Pabbly Connect and Switchboard Canvas for Airtable Records

Learn how to automate image creation using Pabbly Connect and Switchboard Canvas for new Airtable records. Follow this detailed tutorial for seamless integration. This comprehensive guide reveals exactly how to connect your applications and automate repetitive tasks — accessible for professionals of all technical backgrounds.

Watch Step By Step Video Tutorial Below

1. Setting Up Pabbly Connect for Automation

To begin automating image creation using Pabbly Connect, first, access the Pabbly Connect platform. You can create a free account in just two minutes, which will allow you to set up and test your automation tasks.

Once logged in, navigate to the Pabbly Connect dashboard. Here, you will create a new workflow by clicking on the ‘Create Workflow’ button. Name your workflow, for example, ‘Airtable to Switchboard Canvas Automation,’ and click on the ‘Create’ button to proceed.

2. Connecting Airtable as the Trigger Application

In this step, you will integrate Airtable as the trigger application using Pabbly Connect. The trigger event for this automation is a new record in Airtable. To set this up, select Airtable from the application list and choose ‘New Record’ as the trigger event.

• Connect your Airtable account by providing the API key from the Airtable account settings.
• Select the base and table containing the data you want to use.
• Ensure you have a created time field in your table to trigger the workflow.

After configuring the trigger settings, click on ‘Save’ and send a test request to fetch the latest data from your Airtable base.

3. Formatting Date and Time with Pabbly Connect

Next, you will format the date and time using the Pabbly Connect Date Time Formatter. This step is essential to ensure the date appears correctly in the images created later. Choose the action event ‘Format Date with Time Zone’ from the Date Time Formatter options.

Map the created time field from the Airtable data into the formatter. Set the current format and select your desired output format, such as ‘DD-MM-YYYY’. Specify the time zone as Asia/Kolkata.

Once you have configured the formatter, click on ‘Save’ and send a test request to confirm that the date formats correctly. This formatted date will be used in your image templates.

4. Creating Images in Switchboard Canvas

This section focuses on using Pabbly Connect to create images in Switchboard Canvas. Select Switchboard Canvas as the action application and choose ‘Create Image’ as the action event. Connect your Switchboard Canvas account by providing the API key found in your account settings.

Next, select the appropriate template from Switchboard Canvas that you want to use for image creation. Map the required fields such as the profile picture URL, handle name, text, and the formatted date from previous steps.

• Specify the width and height for the image based on your template requirements.
• Map the profile picture URL, handle name, tweet text, and formatted date into their respective fields.
• Click on ‘Save’ and send a test request to generate a test image.

After the test request, you will receive a response confirming the image creation, including the URL to the generated image.

5. Uploading Created Images to Google Drive

Finally, you can automate the upload of the created images to Google Drive using Pabbly Connect. Select Google Drive as the action application and choose ‘Upload a File’ as the action event. Connect your Google Drive account and grant the necessary permissions.

Map the image URL generated from the previous step into the file URL field. Specify the folder ID where you want to save the images in Google Drive. You can find the folder ID in the URL of the folder in your Google Drive.

Once everything is set up, click on ‘Save’ and send a test request. This will upload the created image into the specified folder on Google Drive. You can verify the upload by checking your Google Drive account for the new file.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we demonstrated how to automate image creation using Pabbly Connect with Switchboard Canvas for new Airtable records. By following these steps, you can efficiently create and upload images without manual intervention. This automation saves time and enhances productivity in your workflow.