Alternative to mail merge

Hello Mary,

If you are using the MS Word Plugin, you can still perform a mail merge in Sugar versions 7.x. This documentation explains how to do it. This would be your best bet without having to do any coding as MS Word Plugin is free for Sugar users. You may be able to find some prebuilt packages at SugarForge and SugarExchange.

Kind Regards,

Jason Smith

Hi Mary,

I've done something similar in the past for making address labels for the customers who had requested information that day. Here's the procedure, which requires a bunch of setup but is easy to use day-to-day (bear with me here! ):

Admin Setup

1. Create a custom dropdown list called yes_no with 2 options: Yes, No.
2. Create a custom dropdown field in the Sales module called "Print Invoice" that uses the list from step one. Make the field default to No and make sure it is both reportable and mass updatable.
3. Add the dropdown to the Sales module's record view and list view.
4. Create a rows & columns report for the Sales module, filtered by Print Invoice = Yes, and display all of the fields you'll need on the invoice.

User Setup (user who is responsible for printing the daily invoices)

1. Create a saved filter for the Sales module for records with Print Invoice = yes.
2. Navigate to the report created in step four above.
   • Favorite the report (for easy access later)
   • Export the report results, even if the report is empty.
   • Create a local directory on the user's computer called Sugar Invoices
   • Save the exported file as invoices.csv in the Sugar Invoices folder
3. Create a mail-merge Invoice document in Word according to these instructions. Reference the invoices.csv file for the merge (you may need to save some dummy data in the spreadsheet to set up the mail merge). Save this document in the Sugar Invoices folder.

Daily Application

Now that you have the Print Invoice field and reports in place, and the user has set up their mail merge document, here's what a typical day will look like:

1. Throughout the day, the user(s) entering data into the Sales module should select Print Invoice = yes for any record that needs to be printed at the end of the day.
2. At the end of the day, the user who prints the invoices can pull up the favorited report and export it to Excel. They'll save it over the previous day's invoices.csv, which is linked to their mail merge document in Word. Then they can simply print the invoices from Word like a normal mail merge!
3. Before leaving for the day, the user should return to Sugar and mass update all Sales records to 'Print Invoices = No' (using the filter in User Setup step 1). Now they're all set to repeat the process tomorrow!

Everyone will think you're some kind of magician, I promise . Let me know if this will work for you, or if there are any special considerations I've missed here! Thanks for staying with me on this...

Kind regards,

Jill

2015.01.25 - Edited to reflect that the dropdown doesn't require a blank value.

Hi Mary,

I've done something similar in the past for making address labels for the customers who had requested information that day. Here's the procedure, which requires a bunch of setup but is easy to use day-to-day (bear with me here! ):

Admin Setup

1. Create a custom dropdown list called yes_no with 2 options: Yes, No.
2. Create a custom dropdown field in the Sales module called "Print Invoice" that uses the list from step one. Make the field default to No and make sure it is both reportable and mass updatable.
3. Add the dropdown to the Sales module's record view and list view.
4. Create a rows & columns report for the Sales module, filtered by Print Invoice = Yes, and display all of the fields you'll need on the invoice.

User Setup (user who is responsible for printing the daily invoices)

1. Create a saved filter for the Sales module for records with Print Invoice = yes.
2. Navigate to the report created in step four above.
   • Favorite the report (for easy access later)
   • Export the report results, even if the report is empty.
   • Create a local directory on the user's computer called Sugar Invoices
   • Save the exported file as invoices.csv in the Sugar Invoices folder
3. Create a mail-merge Invoice document in Word according to these instructions. Reference the invoices.csv file for the merge (you may need to save some dummy data in the spreadsheet to set up the mail merge). Save this document in the Sugar Invoices folder.

Daily Application

Now that you have the Print Invoice field and reports in place, and the user has set up their mail merge document, here's what a typical day will look like:

1. Throughout the day, the user(s) entering data into the Sales module should select Print Invoice = yes for any record that needs to be printed at the end of the day.
2. At the end of the day, the user who prints the invoices can pull up the favorited report and export it to Excel. They'll save it over the previous day's invoices.csv, which is linked to their mail merge document in Word. Then they can simply print the invoices from Word like a normal mail merge!
3. Before leaving for the day, the user should return to Sugar and mass update all Sales records to 'Print Invoices = No' (using the filter in User Setup step 1). Now they're all set to repeat the process tomorrow!

Everyone will think you're some kind of magician, I promise . Let me know if this will work for you, or if there are any special considerations I've missed here! Thanks for staying with me on this...

Kind regards,

Jill

2015.01.25 - Edited to reflect that the dropdown doesn't require a blank value.