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Office PC Kiosk & Automated Self-Attendance Setup Guide

This step-by-step implementation guide details how organizations can set up direct self-service attendance for employees on their office computers using click-to-verify links without requiring manual team member pre-registration, physical QR codes, or camera scanners.

By combining Google Forms™ configuration, Custom SMTP delivery, and dynamic authorization ({Full Scanner}) with direct verification links ({Verify Link}), any employee can authorize their office desktop browser once and perform frictionless daily clock-in and clock-out actions.

To test form submission triggers before rolling out your office attendance system, explore our interactive Live Demo Form or install the add-on directly via the Google Workspace Marketplace Listing.

1. System Architecture: Automated Self-Service Attendance

Section titled “1. System Architecture: Automated Self-Service Attendance”

The internal automated self-service attendance model eliminates administrative friction by delivering both authorization and execution links directly to form submitters:

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                            ADMIN SETUP & CONFIGURATION                            |
|  1. Admin sets Google Form "Limit to 1 response" (single unique ticket per user)  |
|  2. Admin configures & tests Custom SMTP to unlock Templates & Rules tabs         |
|  3. Admin creates template containing {Full Scanner} followed by {Verify Link}    |
|  4. Admin configures auto-responder rule targeting submitter ({Email})           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                                          |
                                          v
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                   EMPLOYEE OFFICE PC ONE-TIME AUTHORIZATION                       |
|  1. Employee submits Google Form and receives auto-responder confirmation email   |
|  2. Employee opens email in main browser and clicks {Full Scanner} link once      |
|  3. Cloud platform sets 7-day rolling authorization on office browser             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                                          |
                                          v
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                        DAILY ATTENDANCE EXECUTION WORKFLOW                        |
|  1. Arrival: Employee clicks {Verify Link} in email / bookmark -> Check-In        |
|  2. Departure: Employee clicks {Verify Link} prior to leaving -> Check-Out        |
|  3. Backend verifies permissions, updates attendance state (IN/OUT), and refreshes|
|     data retention for 30 days                                                    |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
                                          |
                                          v
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                    AUTOMATED DUAL REAL-TIME RECEIPT DISPATCH                      |
|  Receipt 1: Instant confirmation email sent to Employee (UTC timestamp & ref ID)  |
|  Receipt 2: Activity audit log email sent to Employee & CC'd to Form Admin        |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

2. Step-by-Step Implementation Guide

Section titled “2. Step-by-Step Implementation Guide”

Follow these 7 steps to configure and deploy the camera-free self-attendance workflow:

Step 1: Configure Google Form

Section titled “Step 1: Configure Google Form”
  1. Open Google Forms™ and create the employee registration/attendance form (e.g., asking for Employee Name, Department, and Work Email).
  2. In Google Forms Settings > Responses, enable “Limit to 1 response”. This ensures each employee holds a single unique reference ticket code.
  3. Connect the form to FormMail Hub via the Google Forms™ entry add-on or Google Sheets™ add-on.

Primary Connector Rule: Only the first user among the form’s editors who connects that form to FormMail Hub is granted exclusive rights to configure settings, templates, rules, and triggers.

Step 2: Configure Custom SMTP

Section titled “Step 2: Configure Custom SMTP”
  1. In the FormMail Hub UI sidebar, navigate to Settings > SMTP Config.
  2. Configure and test your Custom SMTP provider (such as Gmail™ App Password, Amazon SES, SendGrid, or corporate SMTP relay).
  3. Click Test Connection to verify delivery.

Mandatory SMTP Prerequisite & UI Lock State: Admins MUST configure and test custom SMTP settings before unlocking Templates, Rules, Campaigns, or Analytics. Until custom SMTP is active, these feature tabs remain strictly locked in the UI. Built-in System SMTP is strictly restricted to internal administrative alerts.

Step 3: Create Self-Attendance Template (Must Be Created First)

Section titled “Step 3: Create Self-Attendance Template (Must Be Created First)”
  1. Go to Email Templates > + Create New Template.
  2. Set Template Name (e.g., Employee Daily Attendance Pass).
  3. Set Subject Line (e.g., Your Daily Attendance Portal - {Form title}).
  4. Build the email body with the mandatory dynamic tags in sequence:
    • {Full Scanner}: Grants dual check-in/check-out permissions to the employee’s office PC browser upon first click.
    • {Verify Link}: Direct clickable verification link used daily by the employee to trigger Check-in and Check-out actions.
    • {Form title}: Form title identifier.
    • {Unsubscribe Link}: Form-specific opt-out link.
  5. Add clear step-by-step instructions in the email body:
    • Step 1: Click the {Full Scanner} link once to authorize this browser device.
    • Step 2: Use the {Verify Link} (or bookmark it) daily to perform Check-in upon arrival and Check-out upon departure.

Sample Self-Attendance HTML Template

Section titled “Sample Self-Attendance HTML Template”
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <style>
    body { font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, sans-serif; background-color: #f8fafc; color: #1e293b; padding: 20px; }
    .card { max-width: 540px; margin: 0 auto; background: #ffffff; border: 1px solid #e2e8f0; border-radius: 8px; padding: 28px; }
    .header { text-align: center; border-bottom: 2px solid #2563eb; padding-bottom: 14px; margin-bottom: 20px; }
    .step-box { background: #eff6ff; border: 1px solid #bfdbfe; border-radius: 6px; padding: 16px; margin: 16px 0; }
    .action-box { background: #f8fafc; border: 1px solid #cbd5e1; border-radius: 6px; padding: 20px; text-align: center; margin: 16px 0; }
    .btn { display: inline-block; background-color: #2563eb; color: #ffffff !important; padding: 12px 24px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; font-weight: 600; font-size: 15px; }
    .footer { text-align: center; font-size: 11px; color: #64748b; margin-top: 24px; }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <div class="card">
    <div class="header">
      <h2 style="margin: 0; color: #1e40af;">Daily Attendance Portal</h2>
      <p style="margin: 4px 0 0 0; color: #64748b; font-size: 13px;">{Form title}</p>
    </div>


    <p>Hello,</p>
    <p>Use this personalized portal for your daily office arrival check-in and departure check-out.</p>


    <div class="step-box">
      <strong style="color: #1e40af;">Step 1: One-Time Office PC Browser Authorization</strong>
      <p style="font-size: 13px; margin: 8px 0;">Click the authorization link below once on your main office desktop browser (valid for 7 days rolling):</p>
      <p style="word-break: break-all; font-size: 12px;"><a href="{Full Scanner}">{Full Scanner}</a></p>
    </div>


    <div class="action-box">
      <strong style="color: #0f172a;">Step 2: Daily Check-In & Check-Out</strong>
      <p style="font-size: 13px; color: #475569; margin: 8px 0 16px 0;">Click the button below upon arrival and departure (or bookmark the destination link):</p>
      <a href="{Verify Link}" class="btn">Record Check-In / Check-Out</a>
    </div>


    <div class="footer">
      <p>Powered by FormMail Hub • <a href="{Unsubscribe Link}">Unsubscribe</a></p>
    </div>
  </div>
</body>
</html>

Step 4: Configure Email Auto-responder Rule

Section titled “Step 4: Configure Email Auto-responder Rule”
  1. Navigate to Email Rules > + Add Rule.
  2. Set trigger type to Auto-responder (triggered upon form submission).
  3. Set condition: When a form submission occurs, send the template created in Step 3 directly to the form submitter ({Email}).
  4. Select your verified Custom SMTP transport.
  5. Save and activate the rule.

Note on Team Member Pre-Registration: Adding employees as Team Members is no longer required for self-attendance. The authorization token is dynamically generated and sent directly to the submitter via {Full Scanner}.

Step 5: Employee Office PC One-Time Authorization

Section titled “Step 5: Employee Office PC One-Time Authorization”
  1. The employee submits the Google Form and receives the confirmation email on their office computer.
  2. The employee opens the email in their main office browser and clicks the {Full Scanner} link once.
  3. FormMail Hub grants device permissions, setting a secure 7-day rolling authorization on that browser.

Browser Session Isolation Note: Because authorization relies on a secure browser session set during link activation, opening the link in one browser (e.g., an in-app email previewer) will NOT authorize a different browser (e.g., standard Google Chrome or Edge). Employees MUST open or copy/paste the authorization link directly into the exact browser application used for daily verification.

Step 6: Daily Attendance Execution Workflow

Section titled “Step 6: Daily Attendance Execution Workflow”
  1. On working days, the employee opens their authorized office desktop browser.
  2. Arrival: The employee clicks {Verify Link} from their email (or saved bookmark) to perform Check-in.
  3. Departure: The employee clicks {Verify Link} prior to leaving to perform Check-out.
  4. The cloud platform verifies authorization, updates ticket state (IN or OUT), and refreshes data retention for 30 days.

Step 7: Automated Dual Real-Time Receipts

Section titled “Step 7: Automated Dual Real-Time Receipts”

Upon every successful Check-in or Check-out action, two real-time receipts are dispatched immediately:

  1. Employee Attendance Receipt: Sent immediately to the employee confirming their updated status (Checked In or Checked Out), complete with Event/Form Name, Reference ID, Location (if applicable), and UTC timestamp.
  2. Admin Audit Trail Email: Dispatched immediately to the employee and CC’d directly to the Form Admin recording an audit trail containing attendee identity, ticket reference code, operator identity, and scan timestamp.

3. Real-Time Concurrency & 30-Day Retention Rules

Section titled “3. Real-Time Concurrency & 30-Day Retention Rules”

The state engine enforces strict concurrency and status transitions:

Action Current Ticket State Engine Execution & Concurrency Behavior Data Retention Result
Check-in OUT or Initial Unscanned Validates permission, sets status to IN, logs operator email & timestamp. Refreshes for 30 Days
Check-in IN Rejected duplicate check-in (prevents duplicate clock-ins). Unchanged (retains existing state)
Check-out IN Validates active IN state, updates status to OUT, logs operator & timestamp. Refreshes for 30 Days
Check-out OUT or Initial Unscanned Rejected (ticket must be in IN state before checking out). Unchanged

4. Diagnostic & Troubleshooting Reference

Section titled “4. Diagnostic & Troubleshooting Reference”
Symptom / Error Root Cause Technical Remediation
Templates and Rules tabs locked in UI Custom SMTP not configured or connection test unverified. Go to Settings > SMTP Config, input custom credentials, and click Test Connection to unlock the UI.
"Unauthorized Device" error on click Browser authorization missing or opened in a different browser. Copy the {Full Scanner} link from the email and paste it directly into the office PC browser address bar to activate authorization.
Duplicate ticket submissions per employee "Limit to 1 response" disabled in Google Forms. Enable "Limit to 1 response" in Google Forms Settings. The backend tracks canonical ticket state automatically.
Duplicate Check-in rejected Employee is already clocked in (IN state). The system detected status IN. If the employee is departing, select the Check-Out action button.
Dynamic tag renders raw text Malformed tag syntax. Use verified single-pass tags: {Full Scanner}, {Verify Link}, {Form title}, {Unsubscribe Link}.

5. Official Resources & Enterprise Support

Section titled “5. Official Resources & Enterprise Support”

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