Google Sheets Integration Guide

Keep your attendee or student list in Google Sheets? Connect your Google account to CertFusion and turn any spreadsheet into certificates in a few clicks. This guide walks you through connecting the integration, importing rows from a sheet, and sending out certificates.

1. How to Connect Your Google Account

1. Navigate to the Manage Integrations page in your CertFusion dashboard.
2. Click Connect next to Google Sheets in the integrations list.
3. Choose your Google account and approve the permission request. Keep the box for "See, edit, create, and delete only the specific Google Drive files you use with this app" ticked. CertFusion needs it to open the spreadsheets you pick.
4. You are returned to CertFusion with a success message once connected.

CertFusion uses Google's most limited file permission. It cannot browse your Google Drive. It can only read the spreadsheets you explicitly choose in Google's file picker, and it never changes them. Your access tokens are encrypted at rest.

2. How to Import Recipients from a Sheet

1. Go to your Certificate Templates dashboard on CertFusion.
2. Open the Recipients section of the template you want to use.
3. Click Add Recipients and select import from your tools, then choose Google Sheets.
4. Click Choose spreadsheet and pick your sheet in the Google file picker.
5. If the spreadsheet has several tabs, select the tab that holds your recipients. Leave First row contains column headers ticked if your sheet has a header row.
6. Click Preview Rows. CertFusion shows the first rows of the sheet with a dropdown above each column.
7. Map your columns. Email Address is required, along with either Recipient Name or First Name and Last Name. Columns named "Name" or "Email" are matched for you. Map any other column onto a [custom.your_field] placeholder from your design, for example a course name or a completion date.
8. Click Import and confirm. The rows are added to your certificate list as draft recipients.

You can safely re-import the same sheet after adding rows. Existing recipients are matched by name and email, so only new people are added, and new custom field values are filled in on existing ones.

3. Issuing Certificates to Recipients

1. After importing, you'll land on the Recipients page with your rows listed as drafts.
2. Review the recipients and their custom field values.
3. Issue certificates individually, or use the bulk actions to issue to everyone at once. Certificates are generated and emailed automatically.

4. How to Disconnect Your Google Account

1. In CertFusion, go to Manage Integrations and click the Disconnect button next to Google Sheets. This revokes CertFusion's access at Google and deletes your stored tokens.
2. You can also remove CertFusion at any time from your Google Account under Security → Your connections to third-party apps & services.

Disconnecting stops CertFusion from accessing your spreadsheets, but existing recipients and certificates remain intact. You can reconnect at any time by following the connection steps above.

5. Troubleshooting

The File Picker Does Not Open

• Ad blockers and strict privacy extensions can block Google's picker. Allow apis.google.com and docs.google.com for CertFusion and try again
• Allow pop-ups and third-party cookies for Google if your browser blocks them

"CertFusion cannot open this spreadsheet"

• Choose the spreadsheet again with the file picker. Access is granted per file, at the moment you pick it
• Make sure the connected Google account can view the spreadsheet
• Excel files stored in Drive are not supported. Open the file in Google Sheets and use File → Save as Google Sheets first

Skipped Rows

• Rows without a valid email address or without a name are skipped, and the import summary tells you which rows
• Completely empty rows are ignored
• Up to 5,000 rows are imported per tab. Split larger lists across tabs

Field Mapping Problems

• Each target can be used by one column only
• Add [custom.your_field] placeholders to your design first, then return to the import page to map columns onto them
• Values are imported as they are displayed in the sheet, so format dates and numbers in Google Sheets the way you want them to appear on the certificate

---

Collecting responses with Google Forms? See the Google Forms guide. Need help? Reach us from our support page.