Features

Including Merge Fields in Word Templates and Stationery

You can include Merge Fields in a Word Template or Stationery to bring in content from your practice management software and from FYI.

Word Templates and Stationery can only be set up and maintained by an FYI Admin, or a user in a User Group that has Permissions enabled for Templates (refer to Managing User Groups).

For an overview of how Merge Fields are used, refer to Setting up Document Templates and Stationery. For general information on creating and updating Templates and Stationery in FYI, refer to Creating Stationery for Word and Creating Templates for Word, Spreadsheet or Presentation.

Creating the Word Template or Stationery

Before you Begin

Before creating your Word Template or Stationery, you must keep in mind the following:

Signature Merge Field
When sending documents for signature via Annature you need to ensure the document you send has the Signature Merge Field included in the document. The Signature Merge Field is automatically detected as a placeholder where the recipient has to sign, not the sender's signature. Refer to Digital Signatures using Annature.

Word Fields that give a Prompt, such as Ask and Fill-in
The Word Fields that give the user a prompt, such as Ask and Fill-in, are not compatible with FYI Templates and Stationery, and cannot be used.

Step 1 - Create a List of Merge Field Names

When adding your Merge Fields to the Word document, you will need to enter the name of the Merge Field from FYI.

To locate the Merge Field Names, you can use either of the options below:

  • FYI Merge Field Glossary.
  • FYI Email Template function.

Merge Fields Glossary

The Merge Fields Glossary contains a list of all Merge Fields available to FYI. Refer to FYI Merge Field Glossary.

When using the Glossary, fields available to Word Templates will display the code in the Merge Field Code column. The code will not have any brackets, and can be copied and pasted into Word when creating the Merge Field as per Step 5 - Insert Merge Fields using the Word Insert Field Function.

Note: Custom Fields are unique to each practice, and not available in the Merge Field Glossary. To insert Custom Fields, refer to the Email Template method below.

For example, to use the Client Name Merge Field, the following code is copied from the Glossary:

3670_Merge_Fields_Glossary_highlight.gif

Email Template

To use the Email Template function, a draft email template can be created to access the Merge Field selection window. The template does not need to be active.

  1. Open Knowledge - Templates, from the Create Template drop-down, select Email.

  2. In the Merge Fields section of the Email Template, click to select the required Merge Field, for example, the Name field in the Client section. 

    The Merge Field is added to the body of the Email Template. When the Merge Field is inserted into the document, only the value between the curly brackets will be used. In the image below, the Merge Field would be ClientName.

    Repeat for any other Merge Fields to be added to the Word document.
    3635_Email_Editor_Merge_Field_Client_Name.gif

Step 2 - Create a Template or Stationery in FYI

In FYI, create your Word Template or Stationery in FYI in the usual way (refer to Creating Stationery for Word and Creating Templates for Word, Spreadsheet or Presentation).

Step 3 - Open the Template in Word Desktop Version

When adding Merge Fields to a Word document, this must be done using the desktop version of Word. The functionality is not available in the Online version of Word.

  • If you have prepared the Word document and will be using drag and drop or Upload to import it as a new version of a Template, you can add the Merge Fields to the document using the desktop version of Word. Ensure you upload this as a new version of the template created in Step 2 above.
    Refer to Uploading a New Version of a Document.
  • If you will be editing the Template or Stationery from FYI, you need to use the Edit from Desktop function.

Step 4 - Design your Template or Stationery

Begin adding the content to your Template.

For now, leave blank sections where the data will be inserted by merge fields. This will be covered in the next step. For example, leave a blank space next to "Dear" where the merge field for Salutation will be inserted. 

2846_Word_Document_Merge_Empty.gif

Step 5 - Insert Merge Fields using the Word Insert Field Function

Merge Fields can be inserted by using the Word Insert Field function. 

Note: If you are using merge fields from the Merge Fields Comprehensive Guide, omit the angled brackets from the start/finish of the Merge Field.

  1. Go to the location in the Word document where you want to enter the contents of the field.

  2. From the Word ribbon menu, select Insert - Quick Parts - Field (in the text section of the ribbon).

    453_Word_Quick_Parts.gif
  3. Select the Field named MergeField.

  4. Under Field properties, paste the Field Name created from Step 1 - Create a List of Merge Field Names, ensuring that you omit the curly brackets. For example, inserting a client custom field called Client Level should be entered as "Client_custom_Client_Level".

    Note: If copying from an Email Template, ensure you omit the angled brackets before pasting in the Field Name.
    456_Merge_Field_for_Custom_Field.gif
  5. Click OK to add it to the Word document.

    When the Merge Field is added to the Word document, it will be displayed with angled brackets, for example,

    «Client_custom_Client_Level»

  6. Check the merge field has been inserted in a valid format by right-clicking on the field itself. The drop-down list should display options such as "Update Field" "Edit Field..." and "Toggle Field Codes". If these options are missing, the data has not been inserted in a valid merge field format.
    3643_Insert_Merge_Field_Word_Template_Check.gif

Step 6 - Test the Template

Save the changes to the Template, and either upload it to FYI or click I am finished editing to synchronise the changes. Refer to Creating Templates for Word, Spreadsheet or Presentation for instructions.

Note: Ensure the Template is marked as "Active" in the Filing section to become available to create documents.

You should now test the file by creating a Word document from the Template. The Word Document that is created can be previewed or edited using the online version of Word (the Desktop version is only required when creating the template).

Updating Merge Fields

You can make any changes to Templates or Stationery that include Merge Fields by editing it directly in FYI using Word desktop. Refer to Making Changes to a Template in Creating Templates for Word, Spreadsheet or Presentation.

To change a Merge Field in a Word document:

  1. Right-click on the Merge Field and select Edit Field.
    3643_Insert_Merge_Field_Word_Template_Check.gif
  2. The Field pop-up displays. Make any changes as needed and click OK.

  3. Right-click again on the Merge Field and select Update Field.

  4. For advanced formatting in Microsoft Word, for example, automatically entering the Current Date or the Created Date, refer to Formatting Merge Fields.
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