Google Slides PDF Export Bug - 1KB Corrupted File

[Daniel_Bala]

Hello community,

I am facing a critical issue with a mission-critical scenario involving Google Slides-to-PDF export in Make (Integromat). After multiple hours of debugging, the scenario runs error-free, but the final file is corrupted.

Scenario Flow (See attached image):

1. ClickUp [1, 2]: Retrieve candidate data.

2. Google Slides (Create from Template) [3]: Creates a new presentation (Text fields are successfully replaced here).

3. Google Slides (Upload an Image To a Presentation) [10]: Inserts a profile picture. (This step now works).

4. Google Drive (Download a file) [23]: Intended to convert the Slides file to PDF.

5. Google Drive (Upload a File) [9]: Saves the final PDF.

The Problem:

The final file saved to Google Drive is corrupted, consistently $1 \text{ KB}$ and unopenable. The conversion/download process is failing.

What We Have Tried (and failed):

Text and Image Replacement Exhaustion: We exhausted all methods for inserting the image¹¹¹. This included:

• Using the dedicated module Upload an Image To a Presentation².

• Using Make an API Call with replaceImage on an object ID named via “Alt Text”³.

• Replacing an image with a new image (using technical Object ID).

• Replacing a text placeholder with an image.

2. Conversion and Export Attempts: We attempted multiple export methods:

   • Using Tools - Sleep (delay) before download.

   • Using the specialized Google Drive (Download a file) module for conversion.

   • Using the HTTP - Make a request module with manual application/pdf headers and Authorization token.

Our Hypothesis:

The core issue is that neither the Google Slides module nor the Google Drive module is correctly performing the Slides-to-PDF conversion for a newly created presentation file in a stable manner. We believe the download/conversion is the failure point.

The Ask:

What is the most reliable, guaranteed method in Make to convert a newly created Google Slides file to PDF? Are we missing a crucial module or step in the download/export process?

Thank you for any insight!

[Prem_Patel]

Hi @Daniel_Bala

Ideally you should use folder within create a presentation action, you can map desired drive folder there. If you need slides in PDF format, you can simply create export link using the presentation id.

Share your final presentation output. so i can help in formatting the export URL.
if you have other question, please let me know!

Best,
@Prem_Patel

[Daniel_Bala]

Hi @Prem_Patel,

Thank you so much for your quick reply and for confirming the export link method. We’ve been trying to implement exactly that, but unfortunately, we are still hitting a wall.

After another few hours of intense debugging, here are our two critical, unresolved problems:

1. Image replacement is failing: In our final PDF, the placeholder image is not being replaced. The rest of the text data from ClickUp is inserted correctly, but the image remains the original one from the template.

2. Corrupted/Empty PDF: When we try different export methods, the final file saved to Google Drive is consistently a corrupted/empty 1KB file that cannot be opened.

To give you a full picture, here is a summary of what we have tried and what failed:

• Image Replacement Attempts: We have exhausted all possible methods for the image replacement, including using the dedicated Upload an Image To a Presentation module (both by replacing a text tag and by trying to replace an image object), and using the Make an API Call module with replaceImage on an object ID named via “Alt Text”. None of these methods successfully placed the image in the final file.

• Conversion/Export Attempts: We have tried multiple export methods to get a valid PDF, including using the Google Drive (Download a file) module, and using the HTTP - Get a file module with various export URLs (including .../export/pdf and the Drive API endpoint .../export?mimeType=application/pdf). All these attempts result in the 1KB corrupted file.

At this point, we are completely stuck. We feel we are missing one crucial detail.

Our Questions:

1. Could you perhaps guide us step-by-step or even help us build a simple, working proof-of-concept scenario that reliably achieves this?

2. Alternatively, should we abandon Google Slides entirely and use Google Docs instead? The presentation format is not a strict requirement for us; it was just an idea. If Google Docs is more reliable for this kind of automation (text + image replacement and PDF export), we are 100% ready to switch.

We are at a point where your expert guidance would be incredibly valuable. Thank you again for your help.

Best regards, Daniel Bała

[Stoyan_Vatov]

Hey there,

Upload image places the image in a specific place. I’ve had a lot more success with the generic API call module. Can you show how the module is configured at the moment and what the presentation has in that place? If it’s an image already you need to get the presentation after it’s created from a template and find the image ID, then use that when replacing it.

[Prem_Patel]

I use this setup to add images to template, safest.

You can try this. for more share your template and dynamic mapping details.

Best

[Daniel_Bala]

Breakthrough on Google Slides → PDF bug! Image works, but HTTP export to PDF is corrupted.

Hello everyone,

Quick update and a huge thank you for your previous help! I’ve had a major breakthrough: I am now able to successfully upload a dynamic image into the Google Slides template by replacing a text tag. The core of that issue was a problem in the template file itself.

However, I’m stuck on the very last step. The final PDF file generated by the HTTP - Get a file module is still corrupted (it’s only a few KB and won’t open).

Here is my current, almost-working scenario flow:

1. Google Slides: Create Presentation from Template

2. Tools: Sleep (now set to 30 seconds)

3. Google Slides: Upload an Image by Replacing Text Tag (This part is now working perfectly! )

4. Tools: Sleep (also set to 30 seconds)

5. HTTP: Get a file (This is the module that fails)

6. Google Drive: Upload a file

The HTTP: Get a file module is configured to use the direct export URL: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/``[Presentation ID]/export/pdf.

My Question: What could be going wrong at the final export stage? Are we missing a specific request header in the HTTP module, or is there a more reliable method to convert a newly generated slide into a valid PDF? We feel we are incredibly close.

I am attaching screenshots of:

• The entire scenario flow.

• The configuration for the (now working) Google Slides: Upload an Image module.

• The configuration for the failing HTTP: Get a file module.

Any insight on this last step would be massively appreciated!

Thank you, Daniel

[samliew]

The direct export URL might not be accessible to the public, and may fail silently as it may display a webpage instead. You might need to make the document public first.

To do this, you can try using the Google Drive “Get a Share Link” module —

Gets a share link for file or folder.

This allows you to set the file to be publicly exportable.

Alternatively, you can simply use the Google Drive “Download a File” module —

Downloads a file.

For more information about the “Get a Share Link”/“Download a File” modules and Google Drive app, see the corresponding Integrations page and the Help Centre documentation.

Hope this helps! If you are still having trouble, please provide more details.

— @samliew

[Daniel_Bala]

Final Update & Thanks

Hi everyone,

The issue is now fully resolved — the PDF generation works perfectly!

It turned out that the key was to use the direct export URL method (https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/[PRESENTATION_ID]/export/pdf) instead of relying on the “Download a file” module. This approach ensures the file is properly converted and not corrupted.

Special thanks to @Prem_Patel and everyone who contributed to this thread. I really appreciate the time and insights you shared.

P.S. I’ve learned a lot from this debugging process — especially about the importance of working with native export endpoints rather than pre-built modules.
In my next automation, I’ll be redesigning the entire flow following this principle:

1. Create the file in Google Slides.

2. Replace text and images using API/object IDs.

3. Use the direct export link with the HTTP module for a clean PDF conversion.

4. Upload the final file back to Drive for storage or sharing.

Thanks again, everyone — I’m marking this topic as resolved.

Best,
Daniel Bała