A PDF report turns one person's response into a clean, print-ready PDF. BlockSurvey attaches it to your notification emails, signs it digitally so any later change shows up, and keeps a copy on each response so you can download it or email it again.
Use it for anything that needs a document per response: assessment records, applications, intake forms, certificates or a summary for your team.
Attach a PDF report to an email
Open your survey and go to Settings > Notifications > Email notifications.
Open Self Notification (the email you receive) or Thank You Email (the email the respondent receives).
Under Attach a PDF Report, click Turn on and choose how to start:
Classic BlockSurvey template: a ready-made layout with the response details and every answer.
Create with AI: describe the report you want and AI drafts it from your survey's questions.
Use a saved report: start from a report your team already made.
Adjust the report in the builder if you want, then click Save Report.
Click Subscribe (or Update if the notification is already on) to save the notification with its PDF report.
From now on, every new response sends the email with the PDF attached. If you use the same report on both emails, BlockSurvey creates the PDF once and sends the same file.
Design your report in the builder
The builder works like a page editor. Click anything on the page to change it, or add blocks from the left pane:
Block | What it adds |
Text | Headings and paragraphs. You can mix in data fields such as the survey title or a respondent's answer. |
Image | Your logo or any image you upload. |
Divider | A horizontal line between sections. |
Table | Rows and columns of text and data fields. |
All Responses | Every question with its answer, grouped by section. You can hide questions and choose what unanswered ones show. |
Response Field | One answer in a labelled box. Set its width to place two or three side by side. |
Signature | The respondent's drawn signature, or a signature image you upload (for example a reviewer's), over a line with the name and date. |
On the page, data fields appear as labels such as {} Survey title. Click Sample data to see the report filled with example answers, and click it again to go back.
The Settings tab controls the whole document: Paper Size, Orientation, Margins, Header, Footer, Font, Accent Colour, Logo and the Attachment file name.
Change the report with Ask AI
Type a request in the Ask BlockSurvey AI box at the bottom of the builder. With nothing selected, the change applies to the whole report. Select a block first to change only that block.
Requests that work well:
Add all responses at the bottom
Show the satisfaction answers in two columns
Add an image at the top
Add a signature at the end
Use a serif font and a dark green accent colour
Blocks the AI adds start the same way as blocks you add from the left pane, so an image appears as an empty image box for you to upload to. Every AI change can be undone with the undo button.
Note: Only your question labels are sent to AI, never respondent answers. Each AI request uses AI credits.
Digitally signed PDFs
Every PDF report is digitally signed by BlockSurvey, whether it is emailed or downloaded. Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader or macOS Preview to see the signature. If anyone changes the file after BlockSurvey created it, even one character, the reader shows that the document was modified.
Download or email a copy from a response
Open Responses and click a response.
Below the answers, the Report PDF section lists the PDF reports sent with this response's emails. A label next to each one shows whether it went with the Self Notification, the Thank You Email or both. Click the file name to download it, or the eye icon to preview it.
To email it, click Send Mail at the top of the response. Attach signed PDF report is ticked by default, so the PDF goes with the email. Untick it to send the email without the PDF.
The Report PDF section only appears on responses whose emails included a PDF report. Responses received before you attached a report, or whose email was not sent because a send condition was not met, do not show it. The section is not included when you print the response screen.
Who can download and send the signed PDF
People without access do not see the Report PDF section or the attach option in Send Mail. Downloads and emails of the PDF are recorded in the team audit log.
Example: licensing assessment record
A psychologist runs a licensing assessment form. They chose Create with AI and asked for "an official assessment record with applicant details, the assessment outcome, the assessor notes and the applicant signature". The report came out with the applicant details in a two-column grid, the outcome and notes below, and the applicant's signature at the end.
They attached it to their Self Notification. Each completed assessment now arrives as a signed PDF, and when the licensing office asks for a copy, they open the response and use Send Mail with the PDF attached.
Tip: Edit the Attachment file name in Settings to include the respondent's name or response ID, so each PDF is easy to find in your inbox.
If you are still running into issues, contact us at [email protected] at any time.