Hello everyone! I’m just getting started with Zapier and could really use some advice on my current automation setup.
My zap pulls PDF documents from a specific Google Drive directory using custom criteria, then processes them into plain text through a PDF conversion service. The converted text gets combined together using Zapier’s storage feature with a loop mechanism.
I’m running into two main issues that I can’t figure out:
How do I configure the storage to only keep the most recent 7 days worth of data?
What’s the proper way to exit the loop and continue with additional processing steps on the combined text?
I’ve been searching through documentation but I’m still confused about the loop logic. Has anyone dealt with similar requirements before? Thanks in advance for any tips or suggestions!
Zapier doesn’t handle storage cleanup automatically - you’ll need a separate zap for that. Set up a daily schedule trigger that checks your storage, finds anything older than 7 days, and deletes it. For your loop issue, add a condition that checks when you’ve processed all PDFs. The loop stops when that condition hits, then moves to the next step. Don’t rely on manual stops - always build in a clear end condition. I ran into the same problem with document workflows, and good error handling inside the loop saved me from endless runs.
Zapier doesn’t have built-in retention policies, so you’ve got to plan your storage carefully. Don’t wait for cleanup automation - add a timestamp field when you store data and build date filtering into your retrieval logic. This stops accumulation problems before they start.
For loop termination, Zapier processes items sequentially and moves to the next step once everything’s done. But you should add a counter or status flag to your storage to track where you are. This is huge when you’re dealing with large document sets - if something fails halfway through, you need to know exactly where it stopped.
I learned this the hard way when runs failed and left partial data sitting in storage. Had no clue where the process actually died.
hey sophia! i totally get how zapier can be tricky initially. for the 7-day thing, try adding a filter before the storage step to check the date. as for exiting the loop, it’s pretty smooth - zapier should automatically move to the next step. just make sure that step is outside the loop!