I’m trying to set up an automated system for making business cards at my company. We’re using Google Sheets, Google Presentation, and Zapier to make it work. The template looks good, but I’m having trouble with one part.
There’s a spot for cell and fax numbers, which are optional. I wrote some code in Zapier to handle this, but it’s not working quite right. When both numbers are missing, the placeholder text still shows up on the card.
Here’s what I want to see:
Jane Smith
Chief Coffee Officer
Lunar Cafe
123 Crater Ave
Moon City, Luna 54321
555-123-4567
[email protected]
But instead, I’m getting:
Jane Smith
Chief Coffee Officer
Lunar Cafe
123 Crater Ave
Moon City, Luna 54321
555-123-4567{{Print Cell/Fax}}
[email protected]
How can I fix this so the placeholder disappears when there’s no cell or fax number? Any ideas would be super helpful!
Having worked on similar automation projects, I can suggest an alternative approach. Instead of relying solely on Zapier, consider utilizing Google Apps Script within your Google Sheets. You can create a custom function that dynamically generates the contact information string based on available data.
This function would check each field (cell, fax) and only include them if they’re not empty. Then, use this function in your Google Sheets to create a single cell with the formatted contact info. Zapier can then pull this pre-formatted text into your template, eliminating the need for complex conditional logic in Zapier itself.
This method has proven more reliable and easier to maintain in my experience. It also allows for more flexibility if you need to add or modify fields in the future.
I’ve dealt with a similar issue when automating business card creation for my marketing agency. The problem likely stems from how the conditional logic is set up in Zapier. Instead of using a single placeholder for both cell and fax, try creating separate fields for each and use Zapier’s Formatter step to check if the fields are empty before adding them to the card template.
For example, if the cell number exists, output ‘Cell: [number]’; if the fax exists, output ‘Fax: [number]’; if both exist, output ‘Cell: [number] | Fax: [number]’; and if neither exists, output an empty string. This has worked well for us after some trial and error.
hey, tried using a zapier formatter step? output the cell/fax only when there is a value so the placeholder disappears. hope that helps!