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Hi I am having the exact same problem as described here -- but I am unable to understand what the resolution was to this issue:  https://community.zapier.com/how-do-i-3/sending-a-whitespace-character-as-a-google-doc-template-value-10556

Basically, I have a Google Slides that I have setup as a template ready to accept dynamic values from my zap. The fields are designated using two curly braces for example I would have {{highlights_value}} in the google slide and would expect it to replace with the data I configure for that field when I run the zap. When the field comes in with some data ,. it replaces as I would expect, however, sometimes there is no data for that field. In this case, the bracketed notation persists in the Google slide , displaying {{highlilghts_value}} -- which is not the user experience I want since it makes it obvious that it is a template! I also do not want to replace with a string like “N/A” due to the formatting I am employing.

I have tried passing in an empty string (“”) and an empty string with a space (“ “) to try to get it to replace with those but have had no luck.

I also tried using the Zapier step “Text in Formatter by Zapier” to replace that value with again an empty string (“”) an empty string with a space (“ “) and the formatter code I found for a space c:space:] but none of them worked.

I also tried passing in “remove”.

What is the remove option Cassie is referencing in her post ? Or does anyone know of a resolution to this issue ?

Any help would be much appreciated!!

Hi ​@team_rappid 

One approach would be to use Paths: https://zapier.com/apps/paths/integrations#help

You could have 1 Path with a separate GSlides Template for the possible combos.

Hi ​@team_rappid 

One approach would be to use Paths: https://zapier.com/apps/paths/integrations#help

You could have 1 Path with a separate GSlides Template for the possible combos.

Thanks for the suggestion Troy, unfortunately up-keeping the numerous multiple google sheets templates that this solution would require is too much overhead at this time.

Do you have any other ideas ?

​@team_rappid 

Use a different template filler app.

Options: https://zapier.com/apps/categories/documents

​@team_rappid 

Or explore using the GSlides API to handle the {{placeholders}}.

https://developers.google.com/slides/api/reference/rest

 

Hi there, ​@team_rappid 👋 

The solution in that other thread you referenced was to select the Remove option from the Unused Fields Preference field when using a Create Document From Template (Google Docs) action, but as you discovered, there isn’t that same field available for the Google Slides.

Your approach of using a Formatter (Text > Default Value) action to supply a value when none are present for a specific field would definitely be the way to go. To get the name of the placeholder field to disappear when no value is present you’d need to pass a non-printable character like a zero-width space:  ‏‏‎ ‎ 

Can you try copying the zero-width space character and pasting it into the Default Value field on the Formatter actions? Then re-test the Google Slides action to see if that then allows the placeholder fields to be left blank when they don’t have a value. 

Looking forward to hearing from you on this!

​Hi ​@team_rappid, just checking in! Did my suggestion of using a zero-width character do the trick? Or were you able to find a different solution?

Happy to assist further if you’re still stuck at all—just let us know! 🙂

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