Nested Mailmerge Merge Form Maintenance
Contents
Overview of WP03
The Merge Form Maintenance screen within Nested Mailmerge is the same as the existing Merge Form Maintenance, with some additional functionality included. The information related to this screen is below.
In order to generate merged output, forms must be configured within the system. DDI Client Support will work with you to create the appropriate form. Once the form is created, it can be imported into the Merge Form Maintenance screen for use within the system.
- From the DDI Connect main menu, double-click Merge System
- Double-click Nested Mailmerge
- Double-click Merge Form Maintenance. You will see a screen similar to this one:
To add a new form, click the Add button. You will now see the fields active for editing:
You have the following fields available to you:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Form Code | The unique code identifying this form. This code can be designated by your organization, and it is a required field |
| Default language | This indicates the language on the merge form. Currently, only English and Spanish are set up within the DDI Connect system |
| Description | A brief, unique description of this form |
| Template File | Select the template file that was set up for this merge. Click the folder icon to select from a list of available templates in your forms directory or leave the field blank if you are planning to import a template file |
| Additional File | If the form you are setting up requires additional information, such as legal verbiage, that is found in an additional file, you can indicate that here. Click the folder icon to select the file containing this additional information |
| Stock code | Short description for the stock on which to print the merge form. Unless you print on a pre-defined form, most merge forms are configured as LETTER or ENVELOPE |
| # in batch | This sets the number of records to be merged in each batch. For example, if you are setting up a form that could have thousands of documents, you might wish to set the number in each batch to be 100 or 200. That way, the system will merge 100 records at a time until the end of the run is reached. DDI recommends that you set this number no higher than 200, as it allows the system to process large batches more efficiently |
| Key field | This is the number corresponding to the field containing key information. For example, you might use an account number or PIN as the key field. This is not a required field |
| Catalog merge? | This is used when you have multiple forms per page. Selecting this box will cause Microsoft Word to replicate the form as many times as it will fit on a page |
| Email type | If your organization utilizes electronic correspondence and this form will have an email type associated with it, select the email type by clicking on the drop down arrow to select from a list of configured email types. For information on how to set up email types, reference this page: Email Correspondence Maintenance |
| Purge? | This tells the system whether or not to purge data for this form. Answering "Every X days" will open the field #Days before purge. Since forms are retained in the correspondence history for constituents, DDI recommends that this field be set to Never |
| Logo | If you wish to have a logo automatically attached to this document, click the drop down |
Note that the right side of the screen has fields listed:
In order for DDI-Connect to merge your forms successfully, it needs to know the field label for each field used in the form. These fields vary, depending on the program that generates the merge form. For example, the fields for investment statements will differ from those available with loan payment receipts.
You do have the ability to copy the fields from an existing form to a new form. This is explained in the Actions area of this document.
If you are setting up a new form, you will need a list of the available fields. Once you have the list, double-click the starting field (usually Field 3). You will see this screen:
Type the field name EXACTLY as it has been provided. These fields are case sensitive, so it is important that you type the field exactly as it is labeled. When you have entered the information, click OK. The system will save the field name and prompt you to enter the name for the next field:
When you have finished renaming the defined fields, click Cancel to close this popup.
Once you have set up the form, click Save to retain your changes. You will now be able to upload the template, as well as perform other actions.
Actions
The Actions button is only available to you if you are not in Edit mode on this screen. You must click once on a form record to highlight it in order to perform any of the items on the Actions menu. When you click Actions, you will see this list:
The items that are active on this menu will depend on whether or not you already have a template attached to the form record. If you do not, for example, Import is going to be your only option. If you do, Export and Delete will be active but Import will not.
Import Template
To import a template, click Actions and select Import Template:
The system will open the Import Template screen so that you can select the template you wish to import:
Click the form you wish to use, and click Open. The template will be imported and attached to the form record.
Export Template
To export an existing template, click the form record that contains the template you wish to extract. Then, click Actions and select Export Template:
The system will open the Export Template screen, allowing you to select the location and file name that you are exporting. Click Open to complete the export. The form will now be available for import.
Delete Template
If you wish to delete a template associated with a form code, click the form code to select and then click Actions and choose Delete Template:
The system will prompt you with this message:
If you wish to proceed with deleting the template, click Yes. Otherwise, click No to cancel the action.
Copy
The Copy function allows you to copy field formatting from one form to another. For example, if you are configuring multiple versions of an investment statement, you'll want to copy the field settings rather than setting them up manually for each form.
To copy the fields, you must be in Edit mode on the form you wish to copy TO:
- Locate the form you wish to copy to
- click Edit
- Click Copy. The system will prompt you to select the form you wish to copy FROM:
- Select the form by either double-clicking it or by clicking it once to highlight and then clicking Select
The fields will be copied to your form:
Click Save to retain your changes.
