Formstack Documents API Essential Guide

What type of API does Formstack Documents provide?

Formstack Documents has a REST API. Here are the key points about Formstack Documents' API:

API Type

Formstack Documents uses a REST API. This allows third-party applications to integrate with Formstack Documents and access document and data routing information.

Key Features

• REST API architecture for integration with other systems
• Webhooks for real-time notifications when documents are generated
• Zapier integration to connect with other services

API Access

To use the Formstack Documents API:

1. Log in to your Formstack Documents account
2. Navigate to the API Access page under your profile
3. Create a new API key
4. Choose your integration method (e.g. webhooks, Zapier)

Request and Response Formats

• The API accepts both HTTP URL encoded query parameters and JSON requests
• Responses are available in JSON (default) or XML formats
• To specify response format, add .json or .xml to the end of API resource URIs

Authentication

• All API calls require authentication using OAuth2 access tokens
• Access tokens are tied to a Formstack user account and follow user permissions

Best Practices

• Create separate API keys for different services/integrations
• Refer to the developer documentation for full technical details on using the API
• Use the appropriate content type headers and request formats when making API calls

In summary, Formstack Documents provides a REST API that allows developers to integrate document generation and data routing capabilities into their applications through a standard web service interface. The API follows REST principles and offers flexible options for authentication, data formats, and integration methods.

Does the Formstack Documents API have webhooks?

Based on the search results provided, I do not have any specific information about webhooks for the official Formstack Documents API. The search results focus primarily on Formstack Forms and general information about APIs and webhooks, but do not mention webhooks for Formstack Documents specifically.

Key points to consider:

1. Formstack does offer webhooks for their Forms product, allowing real-time HTTP POST notifications when a form is submitted.

2. Formstack provides APIs for their core products including Forms, Documents, and Sign.

3. The search results do not provide specific details about webhooks for the Formstack Documents API.

Without more specific information about the Formstack Documents API, I cannot confirm whether it supports webhooks or what events you might be able to subscribe to. To get accurate information about the Formstack Documents API and its webhook capabilities, I would recommend:

1. Checking the official Formstack Documents API documentation.
2. Contacting Formstack support directly for the most up-to-date information.
3. Looking for any developer resources or guides specific to the Formstack Documents API.

If webhooks are available for the Formstack Documents API, they would likely follow a similar pattern to the Forms webhooks, potentially allowing you to receive notifications for events related to document creation, updates, or other relevant actions. However, this is speculative without concrete information from Formstack.

Rate Limits and other limitations

Here are the key points about the API Rate Limits for the Formstack Documents API:

Rate Limits

• The Formstack API is rate limited to 14,400 calls per access token per day.

Formstack Documents Specific Limits

Formstack Documents has the following rate limits:

• 100 merges per minute for documents that include Microsoft to PDF conversion
• 300 merges per minute per document
• 600 merges per minute per account
• 300 route merges per minute per route
• 600 route merges per minute per account

Hitting Rate Limits

• If you hit a rate limit, you'll receive an error message indicating which limit was exceeded. For example: "error: your plan allows for 300 document merges per minute. Please wait a moment and try again."

How to Handle Rate Limits

If you hit a rate limit, you should:

• Reduce the number of requests being made in a specific period of time
• If using a script or batching process, send smaller batches or add manual slowdowns to your requests

Key Points to Consider

• Rate limits are in place to protect the application from being overloaded and causing issues for customers.
• Different types of merges (e.g. Microsoft to PDF conversion) have different rate limits.
• Rate limits are applied on a per-minute basis for Formstack Documents.

Best Practices

• Monitor your usage to stay within rate limits
• Design your application to handle rate limit errors gracefully
• Consider spreading out requests over time if you're approaching limits
• Use batch processing where possible to optimize API usage

By understanding and adhering to these rate limits, you can ensure smooth integration with the Formstack Documents API while avoiding disruptions due to exceeding usage thresholds.

Latest API Version

Based on the search results provided, I could not find a specific mention of the most recent version of the Formstack Documents API. However, I can provide some relevant information about the Formstack Documents API:

Key Points:

1. Formstack offers a REST API for Documents that allows third-party applications to access document and data routing information.

2. The API uses OAuth2 access tokens for authentication.

3. The API is rate limited to 14,400 calls per access token per day.

API Overview:

• The Formstack API accepts two request data types: HTTP URL encoded query parameters and JSON.

• It offers two response types: JSON (default) and XML.

• The API tries to conform to REST principles.

Authentication:

• Authentication is required for all API calls.

• Access tokens are tied to a Formstack user and follow Formstack (in-app) user permissions.

• To authenticate, include the access token in the HTTP Authorization header:

  Authorization: Bearer <access-token>
  

Best Practices:

1. Use OAuth2 access tokens for authentication.

2. Be mindful of the rate limit of 14,400 calls per access token per day.

3. Choose the appropriate request and response formats (JSON or XML) based on your needs.

4. Refer to the Formstack API documentation for specific endpoints and methods available.

While I couldn't find the exact version number of the most recent Formstack Documents API, it's always best to refer to the official Formstack developer documentation for the most up-to-date information on API versions and features.

How to get a Formstack Documents developer account and API Keys?

To get a developer account for Formstack Documents and create an API integration, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your Formstack Documents account.

2. Navigate to the API Access page located under your profile.

3. Select "New API Key".

Key points to consider:

• It's recommended to create a different API key for each service you use.
• You can choose various methods to create your custom integration, such as webhooks or Zapier.

API Access Options:

1. REST API: Allows third-party applications to pull document and data routing information to integrate with their systems.

2. Webhooks: Provides real-time HTTP POST notifications when a document is generated. You can push submitted data to other services or custom scripts.

3. Zapier: Formstack partners with Zapier to extend their native integrations.

Best practices:

• Create separate API keys for different services or integrations.
• Familiarize yourself with the Formstack Documents API documentation available at Developer Central.
• Consider using webhooks for real-time notifications and data pushing.
• Explore the Zapier integration if you need to connect Formstack Documents with other popular apps and services.

By following these steps and considering the key points, you'll be able to set up a developer account for Formstack Documents and create an API integration tailored to your needs.

What can you do with the Formstack Documents API?

Based on the search results provided, here are the key data models you can interact with using the Formstack Documents API, along with what is possible for each:

Documents

• Access and manage document templates used to merge data
• Generate documents by merging data with templates
• Retrieve document information
• Create, update, and delete documents

Data Routes

• Set up and manage data routing rules to merge multiple documents using one merge request
• Define conditions for routing data to specific document templates
• Retrieve data route information
• Create, update, and delete data routes

Key capabilities:

• REST API access to document and data routing information
• Ability to pull document fields and map to data in third-party applications
• Automatic document merging and generation
• Webhooks for real-time notifications when documents are generated
• Integration with Zapier for connecting to other services

Authentication and access:

• Uses OAuth2 access tokens for authentication
• Ability to create API keys tied to Formstack user accounts
• Rate limited to 14,400 API calls per access token per day

Data formats:

• Accepts HTTP URL encoded query parameters and JSON for requests
• Provides JSON (default) and XML response formats

Other features:

• Ability to integrate document generation into any application
• Supports use cases like contract generation, document assembly, and form automation
• Can connect to Salesforce and other CRM systems

The API allows developers to programmatically access and control Formstack Documents functionality to build custom integrations and automate document workflows. The core models are the document templates and data routing rules, which can be managed via the API.