Google Slides is one of the most used applications to design presentations, but it might be a surprise that it has an ability to create and update slides automatically by a webhook. A webhook is how applications interact with each other and send data between them automatically in real time if any event takes place. We’ll show you in this article, step by step, how to create with Google Slides with webhook to save you precious time in automating your workflow.
What Is a Webhook?
Before beginning the process of using a webhook to create Google Slides, it is important to understand what a webhook is and how it functions.
One way for apps to communicate with one another is using a webhook. When an event occurs, one app transmits real-time data to another app. It simply means that one system automatically communicates the data based on the trigger of an event, like submitting a form or updating a database, rather than retrieving or pulling the data manually.
For instance, if you configure a webhook to be triggered whenever a new lead is added to your CRM, the webhook can automatically update a Google Slide or transfer the data to Google Sheets.
Why Use a Webhook with Google Slides?
Integrate webhooks with Google Slides to automate the repetition of tasks and improve workflow efficiency. Some common use cases include:
- Automated Report Generation: You could automatically generate a Google Slides presentation each time a new report is submitted.
- Event Tracking: Generation of slides from submitted forms, customers, or even sales data.
- Real-Time Updates: Update slides automatically if data from another system changes, for example, a chart or list of information.
In short, webhooks can be used to configure processes that result in Google Slides being updated or created without the need for manually entering data.
Prerequisites
Before you start making Google Slides with a webhook, there are a few things that you either already possess or will need to set up:
- Google Account: In order to access Google Slides and the other Google services, a Google account is required.
- Google Slides API: Before you can use the Google Slides API for automated tasks, ensure it is enabled.
- Webhook URL: This is the precise URL to which the data will be sent by the webhook. Tools like Integromat (previously Make) and Zapier make it possible to manage webhooks and automate the process.
- Programming Skills (Optional): Since tools like Zapier don’t need programming, directly working with Google Slides API and webhooks might involve a bit of programming.
Now let’s go through the process of creating a webhook that will create or update a Google Slide.
Step-by-Step Guide to Create Google Slides with Webhook
1. Set up Google Slides API
For you to access Google Slides programmatically, you have to set up the Google Slides API in your Google Cloud project. Here’s how to do it:
- Create a Google Cloud Project:
- Go to the Google Cloud Console.
- Click on “Select a project” and then click on “New Project.”
- Give your project a name and click “Create.”
Enable Google Slides API:
Now, for creating your project, go to the API & Services section and click on “+ ENABLE APIS AND SERVICES.”
Search for “Google Slides API” and enable it.
Set Up OAuth 2.0 Credentials:
- For your project, go to the Credentials section and create OAuth 2.0 credentials.
- Download the credentials for authenticity purposes of your requests (JSON file).
2. Select a Webhook Service (Optional)
If you don’t feel like coding, you can quickly set up a webhook with Zapier or Integromat (Make). These are third-party services acting as intermediaries between applications that can help to automate a flow without requiring knowledge of programming.
Set up an account in Zapier or Integromat:
Both provide easy visual workflows to create a webhook and then connect them with Google Slides.
3. Create a New Google Slide using the API
If you are comfortable working directly with the API (and know how to code), you can create a new Google Slide using the API.
Send an API request to construct a new slide: To construct a presentation, send an API request to Google Slides using a program like Postman or write your own script. You must use the credentials you previously created to authenticate with OAuth 2.0.
4. Use Webhook Trigger to Create New Google Slides or Update Existing Ones
When creating a webhook, Zapier or Integromat will be handy. Here are the steps via Zapier:
Create a new Zap:
- Hop on to your Zapier portal and create a new Zap.
- Select Webhook by Zapier as the triggering app. Go ahead and select the Catch Hook action.
- Zapier will display a unique URL for your use in the trigger webhook.
How to Configure Your Webhook:
Configure the system or application that will activate the webhook to send data to the Zapier webhook URL in case of an event (e.g., when a form is submitted or a new lead is added).
Google Slides Action Setup
Under the action that was triggered by the webhook, choose Google Slides as the action app. Select an action like Create Presentation or Update Presentation.
Map fields from your webhook data to appropriate fields in your slide. If a webhook is used to send the customer data, you can just insert the received data into the respective text boxes of your Google Slide.
Test Your Zap:
After this step, your setup is complete, and you will receive an automatically generated or updated Google Slide from a webhook after having triggered the said webhook through, for example, a submission of a form or the generation of a new lead.
5. Final Tuning
After getting your webhook running, you’ll be able to fine-tune and optimize the process:
- Custom Slides: Customize the presentation in Google Slides by including images, text, and formatting directly through the API or by configuring the webhook.
- Real-time Updates: Establish webhooks for real-time data updates to Google Slides upon changes (update a slide once a customer’s status is changed in your CRM).
Use Cases for Google Slides with Webhooks
Send automatically the details of any newly added event as an invitation through a Google Slide.
- Sales Reports: Have weekly or monthly sales reports auto-populate into Google Slides-based presentations, based on the latest CRM data.
- Customer Onboarding Use webhooks to generate slides for new customer onboarding, where it pulls in personalized information from other systems.
Benefits of Using Webhooks with Google Slides
- Automation: Webhooks would automate the generation or update of Google Slides, thereby saving time and much human effort.
- Efficiency: Generate several slides simultaneously, ensuring current data updates don’t require human intervention for presentation preparation.
- Customization: Webhooks allow for very customizable and dynamic content because you can integrate data from different sources to create personalized slides.
Conclusion
Google Slides through webhooks: With this powerful way of automating the creation and updating of presentations, it is now possible to create presentations based on real-time data and save much time while making workflow efficient. From the perspective of businesses and individuals, this possibility has opened the gates for them in using the capability of automated slide creation and updates with or without Zapier, Integromat, or direct coding using Google’s API.
Read Also : AI Google Video Chat Recording
FAQ: How to Create Google Slides with Webhook ?
A webhook is actually a method with which apps share real-time data from one application with another, independent of any requesting the data based on the happening of an actual event.
No, you can use platforms like Zapier or Integromat to create Google Slides with webhooks without needing to write code. However, coding is required if you want to interact directly with the Google Slides API.
Yes, the webhooks can cause an update of an existing Google Slides presentation by passing new data through to the slides when any specific event happens.
Services like Zapier or Integromat offer the ability to set up a webhook, and you configure the trigger (for instance, form submission) and link it to Google Slides for creating or updating presentations automatically.
The primary advantages include automation, efficiency, and real-time updates. Webhooks allow you to automatically generate and update Google Slides based on data from other systems, which saves time and minimizes manual efforts.