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How to Attach Files to Autoresponder Emails

The Email Notifications add-on for Google Forms can send auto-responders to the form respondent when they submit your form. You can also add file attachments to your autoresponders using one or more files from your Google Drive.

There are two ways to include files in your email notifications:

  1. You can upload the file to Google Drive and make the file public so anyone with the link can view your file. Next, include the file link in your email template.
  2. You can upload the file to Google Drive and instruct Google Forms to include that file as an attachment in your email notification.

The first approach is preferred when the file size is big (say more than 5 MB) and you do not want to clog the recipient's mailbox with the large file.

The second approach is more convenient since recipients can view the file attachment directly in their inbox without having to click an external link. You can use this technique to reward users who complete the form. You may send them PDF ebooks, MP3 music files, software utilities, zip archives, or any file to the email address provided in the form response.

Send Files After a Form is Submitted​

As a first step, you need to upload the file to Google Drive, make the file public, and then grab the URL of the file. The steps are:

Upload file to Google Drive​

Open drive.google.com and upload one or more files from your desktop that you wish to send with the Google Form emails. Please note that files should not be more than 5 MB in size as larger file attachments may affect email deliverability.

Share Google Drive File

Share Uploaded Files​

Right-click the file inside Drive and choose the Share option. Change the sharing settings so that anyone with a link can view the file. Click the Copy Link button to copy the file link to the clipboard.

Attach the File to Email​

Create a new workflow for sending email notifications,or edit an existing workflow, and move to the section that says "PDF". Paste the URL of the Google Drive File in the "Embed Google Dive Files" input box and click the Save button to activate the new workflow.

Google Form File attachments

tip

You can also send multiple file attachments to the form respondent after the form is submitted. Paste all the file links in the Drive URLs field and the links should be separated with commas.

Troubleshooting​

If the specified files are not getting attached with the email notifications, here are some possible reasons:

  1. The file size should be less than 5 MB.
  2. The total size of all attached files should not exceed 10 MB.
  3. The file in Google Drive is public meaning anyone can view the file without signing in.
  4. The files are in a binary format like PDF, Images, Audio, ZIP, or Video.
  5. You can also attach native Microsoft Office files but native Google Docs are not supported.
note

The Google Forms addon is unable to attach files that have been uploaded by respondents.