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.f3 - # - Chapter 17 - Mail Merge .rm70 .tc .tc 17. MAIL MERGE ........................................# CHAPTER 17 MAIL MERGE .imData Files .imMerge Printing .irFormletters;Formletters - see Merge Printing Mail Merge, or Merge Printing, is the process of inserting information into a document while it is being printed. The document is often printed several times with different information. The most common use of merge printing is to merge mailing list information into a form letter or mailing labels. Other applications include invoices, reports, and any other standard document that requires you to fill in blanks. .ix Master Document .ix Template Document To merge print you need to create the form or template document (also called the master document). You usually need a data file as well. You then print the master document using the background print command Ctrl K P. Word fugue will obey the mail merge dot commands, and insert information in place of variables in your master document. If you are using a data file, a copy of the document will be produced for each set of information in the data file. A master document contains the text of the document and the instructions for how the documents are to be produced. These instructions include variables and special merge print dot commands. An example would be a form letter and a data file of names and addresses. .tc Variables ..........................................# Variables .ix Variables .ix Mail merge labels .ixAmpersands;Ampersands in Master Document .ixLabels,;Labels, merge printing .ixFields;Fields .ixFields;Field Names A variable is information that changes from one copy of the document to another. When you merge print, Word Fugue inserts information for each variable into each copy. This information can come from a data file, or you can be prompted for it when you print. Each variable has a name, and you place the name of the variable into the master document wherever information is to be inserted. The actual information inserted in place of the variable is called data. A variable name can contain up to 20 characters. You can use uppercase and lowercase letters interchangeably. You can make a name more readable by using hyphens (-) or underscores (_) to join words in the variable name. Where you want to insert variable data, type the variable name between ampersands (&) in the text of the document: &person-name& Fred Nurk &ADDress_1& The street &city&, &state& &postcode& Erehwon, XYZ 9000 If you have never set a value for a variable, it is termed uninitialised. These variables print their own name, to aid you in finding them. They usually happen when you misspell their name. word Fugue cannot match the misspelling, and so prints the name instead. .tc Merge Print Dot Commands ...........................# Merge Print Dot Commands .ix Dot Commands You type dot commands in the master document to tell Word Fugue the variable names and where to get the data that goes into them. If you do not obtain data for a variable name, Word Fugue will print the name instead. You cannot use a piece of data which is longer than 80 characters. The total amount of data to be merged is limited by the memory available on your PC. The following dot commands are available: .DF filename delim .RV variable list .AV prompt,variable .SV variable=value .MA variable=equation .DM message .GO go to top of file and start again .WS Y or N for Wordstar compatible variable replacement .ixDot Commands; .DF - Data File .ix Dot Commands .ix Data File (.DF) .ixDF;.DF - Data File .ixData Files; Selecting for merge printing (.DF) The .DF command defines the data file containing the variables to be merged into the text. If you follow the filename by at least one blank and another character, then that character is used as a delimiter instead of a comma eg .DF names.dat / means that the file NAMES.DAT contains the variables to be read, and that the separator between variables is a slash (/). The default is comma (,). .ixDot Commands; .RV - Read Variable .ix Read Variable .RV .ix Data Files .ixCommas;Commas in data files .ixData Files; Creating .ixData Files; Examples .ixRV;.RV - Read Variable .ixData Files; Naming fields for merge printing (.RV) A data file consists of a series of records. Each record consists of one or more fields or items of information. For example, a mailing list has a field for name, a field for address line one, and a field for address line 2. The .RV command defines the variables to be found on a single line of the data file. You can have more that one .RV to define different lines of your master document. If a line of the data file is exhausted before all the variables are read, the remainder are set to blank. eg .RV name,address1,address2 means that each line of the file will look like this: Joe Bloggs,17 West street,Newtown DG 9999 If you want to leave a variable blank, then leave it out: Joe Bloggs,,Newtown Post Office DG 9999 You can use a different separator, as defined on the .DF line, and put different variables on different lines: .DF names.dat / .rv name,address1 .rv address2 .cp7 Your file would then look like this: Joe Bloggs/17 Westside Ave., Newtown DG 9999 .ixData Files; Creating Make sure that the fields are in the same order in all records. Separate fields with commas or the separator you defined on the .DF line. Make sure that the fields on a record are consistent with the order you defined in the .RV line(s). If a field contains a comma, enclose the entire field in quotation marks. If a field is empty (you have no information for it in this record), indicate the blank field with a space and a comma. NOTE - The rules above are very important. If you enter data incorrectly, your merge printing will not print correctly. .ixDot Commands; .AV - Ask for Variable .ix Dot Commands .ix Ask for Variable .AV .ixAV;.AV - Ask for Variable The .AV line will prompt you to enter the contents of the variable. You can include an optional prompt: .AV Address1 will display ADDRESS1? and open a window for you to enter the value. .AV Enter the address,address1 will display Enter the address and open a window for you to enter the value. .ixDot Commands; .SV - Set Variable .ix Set Variable (.SV) .ixSV;.SV - Set Variable The .SV line sets the variable to the value: .SV vara,this is the value for variable A .SV addr= This is the address You can use either comma (,) or equals sign (=). Leading spaces in the variable are ignored. If you want to include leading spaces, you should enclose the data within single or double quotes. If you start with a single quote, you must end with a single quote, and vice versa: .SV company= " Fugue Software " You can set the maximum length of a variable by placing the characters /L and a length, or /R and a length, or /C and a length, depending on whether you want your data Left justified or Right justified or Centred, after the variable name: .SV A/L15=Joe Bloggs .SV B/R15=Joe Bloggs .SV C =Joe Bloggs .SV D/C15=Joe Bloggs gives A = "Joe Bloggs " B = " Joe Bloggs" C = "Joe Bloggs" D = " Joe Bloggs " If the line were too long, it would be truncated at the length specified. .ixDot Commands; .MA - Mathematical Calculations .ix Mathematical calculations .MA .ixMA;.MA - Mathematical calculations The .MA line allows you to compute values and store them in another variable: .MA VARB=25*10 .MA varc= &vara&+&varb& .MA total_price,&price&*(1-&discount&) * &qty& The text within the '&' are other variables that will be replaced before the calculation is done. You can use any functions and operators that are provided by the pop up calculator, including booleans, since the same code is used for evaluation. .cp5 .ix Dot Commands .ix Mathematical calculations .MA .ixMA;.MA - Mathematical calculations .ixCalculations;Calculations while merge printing (.MA) You can also have limited formatting when set in the .MA command. Follow the variable by $ for dollar format (2 decimal places) and by ! for integer format. The default is as many decimal places as required: .MA a = 1.2345 &a& gives 1.2345 .MA a$ = 1.2345 &a& gives 1.23 .MA a! = 1.2345 &a& gives 1 The value is actually truncated to the number of places specified when assigned to the variable .ixDot Commands; .DM - Display Message .ix Display message .DM .ixDM;.DM - Display Message .ixMessages;Messages while printing The .DM line will display the following message. You can include variables which will be substituted before the message is displayed. .RV varb .DM message is varb = &varb& will display message is varb = the value of variable b .ixDot Commands; .GO - Go to next letter .ix Dot Commands .ix GO command .GO .ixGO;.GO - GO command The .GO is used to exit from the current print and go back to the top of the file (assuming that there are more records to be printed) .cp8 .ixDot Commands; .WS - Wordstar Compatibility .ix Dot Commands .ix Wordstar compatibility .WS .ixWS;.WS - Wordstar compatibility The .WS is used to determine how variables in the text are replaced. You can set Y or N. The default is Y. All variables must be embedded within &s to be recognized and replaced. With the default, this is all that is needed: &address1& &address2& Setting .WS to N will mean that the variables within the text body must also be embedded inside print control brackets: {.&address1&} {.&address2&} .tc Merge Printing Conditional Commands ................# .ix Conditional Commands Merge Printing Conditional Commands Additional printing commands for evaluating conditional expressions and controlling the text that is printed. .IF condition is the IF condition .EL is the else .EI ends the IF expression. You must have an .EI for every .IF, but you do not need to have .EL (else). The lines following the .IF are evaluated if the .IF were true, while the lines following the .EL are evaluated if the condition were false. .tc The IF Condition .................................# The IF Condition .ixDot Commands; .IF - IF condition .ix Dot Commands .ix Conditional Commands .ix IF condition .ixIF;.IF - IF Condition Whether a condition is true is usually determined by comparing one item with another. If an item can be considered numeric (ie it consists only of digits), it is converted to a number before the comparison is done. Otherwise the comparison is done as text. The following comparisons are available: Operator Meaning = is the same as < is numerically less than or comes alphabetically before > is numerically greater than or comes alphabetically after <= is less than or equal to >= is greater than or equal to <> is not equal or not the same The most common way to specify a condition to be evaluated is .IF item1 operator item2 .cp6 For example, you can compare a merge print variable to a constant (a word, phrase or number that does not change) or to another merge print variable: .IF &pet& = dog .IF &pet& = &pet_2& .if &amt& = 12.35 In the first case, the condition is true if the value of the variable PET is dog. Note that uppercase and lower case are significant. In the second case, the condition is true if the value of the first variable is equal to the second variable. In the third case, the condition is true if the value of the variable is numerically equal to 12.35. With strings of text, you should enclose them in quotes if leading or trailing spaces are significant. For 2 text items to be considered the same (=), they must consist of exactly the same characters. .IF "&pet&" = " dog" .if "&pet&" = " dog's" mean that the value of the variable PET must have 4 leading spaces. Words are considered in alphabetic order, so that the following are true: .if cat < catalog .IF catalog > cat since cat comes before catalog in the dictionary. In alphabetic order numbers come before letters. Note that the first variable determines the type of comparison. Text that cannot be converted to numbers for a numeric comparison is considered to be zero: .ix IF condition .ixIF;.IF - IF Condition .if 2<apple .ix Dot Commands .ix Conditional Commands is FALSE since 2 determines that the comparison will be numeric, and apple converts to the number 0. Whereas: .if apple>2 is TRUE, since apple is alphabetically after 2. You can also use the .if command with just one variable name, in which case the condition is true if the variable is not zero or blank. .if &pet& will be true if the variable PET contains a non zero non blank value. Note 1. that a variable that has never been initialised will return a blank in this situation. 2. If your variable will contain text with spaces, enclose the variable in quotes to perform the test: .if "&pet&" .cp6 .tc Complex Conditions .............................# Complex Conditions You can use mathematical equations on either side of the relational operator, and can join conditions together by using AND and OR. The following additional operators are available: AND true and true => true anything else => false OR false and false => false anything else => true XOR true xor false => true false xor true => true true xor true => false false xor false => false NOT not true => false not false => true .cp5 You should use brackets to group parts of the condition for easier understanding: .IF (&PET& = dog) and (&pet2& = cat) .IF ((&pet& = dog) or (&pet& = cat)) and (&income& > 25000) .cp12 .ix Dot Commands .tc The End If .......................................# .ix Conditional Commands .ix End IF .ixIF;.IF - IF Condition .ix IF condition The End If .ixDot Commands; .EI - End IF .ixEI;.EI - End IF The .IF dot command is followed by the commands and text to be printed if the condition is true. You must signify to Word Fugue where the text finishes, so the program knows where to start again if the condition is false. You indicate this by using the dot command .EI (End If) Almost anything can come between a .IF and its corresponding .EI. This can include text or other dot commands: .IF (&debt_age& > 30) and (&debt_age& < 60) According to our records, you account is overdue. Maybe you have overlooked our invoice. Could you please pay $&amt& as soon as possible? If you have paid in the last few days, please disregard this warning. .EI .if (&debt_age&>=60) .fi nasty.doc .ei In this example, if a debt is between 30 and 60 days old, a warning is printed. If it is 60 days or more overdue, a stronger message is printed. If it is under 30 days, no message is printed. .cp9 .tc The Else Condition ...............................# The Else Condition .ixDot Commands; .EL - ELSE .ix ELSE command .ix IF condition .ixEL;.EL - ELSE The else condition says what action to take if the corresponding IF were false. The phrase ELSE is represented by the dot command .EL. The previous example could be redone as: .if (&debt_age&>=60) .fi nasty.doc .el According to our records, you account is overdue. Maybe you have overlooked our invoice. Could you please pay $&amt& as soon as possible? If you have paid in the last few days, please disregard this warning. .EI You should note a subtle difference here. In the first example, a debt could be under 30 days, and no message would be printed. In this example, all debts are assumed to be overdue, so a warning will always be printed if the debt is under 60 days old. .tc Nested Ifs .......................................# Nested Ifs You can use conditional print commands and have Word Fugue choose among three or more alternatives by nesting the commands. For example, you may want to have different text for debts that are over 90 days, over 60 days, and over 30 days, as well as not printing a warning if they are less than 30 days. You could set up individual IFs as in the first example, and each IF must be phrased in such a way as to exclude all the other conditions. (This is why we tested > 30 days and < 60 days). Alternatively, you could separate each condition by ELSEs, and simplify the conditions: If the debt is more than 90 days old, insert SOLICITR.DOC, otherwise if the debt is more than 60 days old, insert NASTY.DOC, or else if the debt is more than 30 days old print a warning, or if the debt is less than 2 days old, offer a discount for prompt payment: .CP16 .ix Dot Commands .ix Conditional Commands .ix IF condition ┌───.IF &debt_age& > 90 │ .fi solicitr.doc │ .el │┌──.if &debt_age& > 60 ││ .fi nasty.doc ││ .el ││┌─.if &debt_age& > 30 │││ .fi warning.doc │││ .el │││┌.if &debt_age& < 2 ││││.fi discount.doc │││└.ei ││└─.ei │└──.ei └───.ei Every .IF must have a corresponding .EI command. There are 4 IFs so there must be 4 EIs. The lines shown link up the IFs with their corresponding EIs. .tc Command Files ....................................# Command Files .ix Master Document .ix Template Document .ix Command Files .imCommand Files .ix in Merge Printing .imMerge Printing A command file is a file that contains only (or mainly) dot commands. Command files can be very useful for controlling merge printing or for chaining together the chapters of a large document by use of the .FI file include command: Example 1 ┌─────────────────────────┐ │.FI letter.txt │ │.pa │ │.fi proposal.doc │ │.pa │ │.fi specs.doc │ └─────────────────────────┘ .cp20 .ix Dot Commands .ix Conditional Commands Example 2 ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │.DF names.txt │ │.RV first_name,last_name │ │.RV address_1 │ │.RV address_2 │ │.RV city,state,postcode │ │.if &postcode&<2000 │ │.fi special.doc │ │.el │ │.if (&postcode&=2620) and (&city& = Queanbeyan) │ │.sv state = NSW │ │.ei │ │.fi normal1.doc │ │.if (&postcode&>=2000) and (&postcode& <=2110) │ │.fi offer.doc │ │.ei │ │.ei │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ .CP5 This document reads a data file called NAMES.TXT, and prints a special letter if the postcode is less than 2000. Otherwise, it ensures that all Queanbeyan addresses with postcode 2620 have the state set to NSW and not ACT. (The postcode 2620 is allocated to parts of ACT and NSW as well). It then prints a normal letter to these people. If they live in areas around Sydney (postcode 2000 to 2110), it also prints a special offer.