Generate an Image Attachment from Latest Record Data

[IngSiang_Tan]

Hello guys, wondering if there’s a Zapier integration or some function that is capable of generating a custom image containing data in a record in an image file so I can further integrate it with others tools to send them to my customers?

This is mainly because I intend to send them via Chat system like WhatsApp (via drag and drop) or Messenger (integration).

I know blocks does this - but can the cards generated by blogs be integrated into Zapier?

[Andrew_Johnson1]

I am assuming the data in your record is simple text…

I am not sure whether Zapier provides a solution for your use case.

But you could always code your own web service using some language such as JAVA etc and hook it up upto Airtable using the Airtable API to create these custom images for you.

There are lot of open source libraries out there to help you out.
A Google search for “library to generate image from text” should point you in the right direction.

[W_Vann_Hall]

Take a look at CloudConvert, which Zapier supports. (Oddly enough, it’s not included under their ‘audio, video, image’ category; I initially found it as an Integromat-supported app, and searched it out by name on Zapier.) I’ve only glanced through their info, but it appears they support imagemagick command syntax, so I would think you could extract text from Airtable, feed it (through Zapier) to CloudConvert, turn it into an image, and then store the image file as an attachment in Airtable or pass it along to Messenger or [Real Soon Now, supposedly] WhatsApp.

[IngSiang_Tan]

Perfect, will give it a go and report back, :slightly_smiling_face:

Thanks for the replies guys.

[W_Vann_Hall]

Definitely interested in hearing how things turn out. It’s been, um, probably decades since I used imagemagick, but as Ii recall the command syntax was quite straightforward and easy to grasp — at least, for my relatively straightforward needs. It sounds as if your use case would be comparably ‘off the edge.’

Maybe it’s time to revisit my Sales CRM Dashboard, which initially was intended to showcase two things: First, an early example of cross- or multi-record calculations, and, second, using canned graphical images and ASCII-graphic bar charts to provide quick-and-dirty visualizations from within Airtable. Since then, the suite of Airtable Blocks was released, opening new possibilities for creative [ab]use of Airtable functionality, and I’ve become more adept with Zapier and Integromat. It might be fun to see what I can squeeze out of a relatively simple palette consisting of Airtable, Airtable Blocks, CloudConvert, and Zapier…

[IngSiang_Tan]

Just a quick update:

For now, as my initial goal was just to capture some images that I can quickly drag and drop to my WhatsApp contacts (aka customers), which aren’t integrated anyway (no API of any sort), I decided to use my macOS Yoink app instead (https://eternalstorms.wordpress.com/2015/01/15/capture-selective-screenshots-in-yoink/). By automating the screenshot-to-Yoink process, all I need to do now is just printscreen with shortcut --> drag across the screen to my WhatsApp contact, and viola.

I’ll however revisit the above method some day in coming weeks because sort of programmable export for records like that is certainly useful for a lot of other applications.