When a photo is submitted through Google Forms, convert it to text with OCR and add it to Google Sheets

■Overview

When you collect images along with surveys or application forms in Google Forms, manually transcribing text from those images can be time-consuming and prone to input errors. This becomes an even greater burden when processing a large number of responses.

With this workflow, whenever a response with an attached photo is submitted through Google Forms, the OCR feature automatically extracts text from the image and adds the information to a designated Google Sheets spreadsheet, helping you solve these challenges smoothly.

■Who Is This Template For?

• Anyone who manually enters image-based information, such as receipts or business cards received through Google Forms
• Anyone who wants to use OCR to efficiently convert information from paper documents into text and manage it
• Anyone who wants to eliminate data entry errors when transferring information to Google Sheets and achieve accurate data management

■Benefits of This Template

• Automate everything from extracting text with OCR to adding it to Google Sheets when a response is submitted through Google Forms, reducing time spent on manual work.
• Eliminate the need for manual data entry to prevent human errors such as typos and omissions, improving data accuracy.

■Flowbot Steps

1. First, connect Google Sheets and Google Forms to Yoom.
2. Next, select Google Forms as the trigger and set the action to “When a response is submitted to the form.”
3. Next, set the Google Drive “Download a file” action as an operation to retrieve the image file attached to the form.
4. Next, set the OCR “Read any image or PDF” action as an operation to extract text from the downloaded image.
5. Finally, set the Google Sheets “Add a record” action as an operation to add the extracted text information as a row to the designated sheet.

※“Trigger”: An action that starts the flow. “Operation”: An action that processes data within the flow after the trigger starts.

■Customizing This Workflow

• In the Google Forms trigger settings, enter the ID of the form you want to automate.
• In the OCR settings, specify the items you want to extract as text from the image file.
• In the Google Sheets settings, enter the ID of the spreadsheet where you want to add the extracted text information and the name of the target sheet (tab).

■Notes

• ‍‍Connect both Google Forms and Google Sheets to Yoom.
• You can choose a trigger interval of 5, 10, 15, 30, or 60 minutes.
• Note that the shortest available trigger interval varies by plan.
• AI operations for OCR or audio transcription are available only on the Team and Success plans. On the Free and Mini plans, operations configured in the Flowbot will result in an error.
• Paid plans, such as the Team and Success plans, include a two-week free trial. During the free trial, you can use apps and AI features (operations) that are otherwise subject to plan restrictions.
• OCR may not be able to read data containing more than 6,500 characters or text that is too small. Please keep this in mind.
• The maximum downloadable file size is 300 MB. Depending on the app specifications, the limit may be less than 300 MB.
• For details on the file sizes supported by the trigger and each operation, see below.
  See this article
• For details on how to retrieve response content when using Google Forms as a trigger, see below.
  See this article