Generating letters always begins with a search for contacts in your database. It can be initiated from the Contact—Individual Search, Mentor Search, Donor—Organization Search, etc.
Note: The Mailings functionality requires Microsoft Word 2007 or a newer version.
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Go to the Search screen for the type of contact you would like to send letters too.
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Enter the appropriate search criteria (e.g. potential mentors).
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Click Run Search.
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In the first tab of search results, click on the Communication button and select Mailing.
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You will be taken to the Mailing screen. On the right hand side, you will see information regarding the search you just performed.
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Write the letter template in the large editor box. If you have already created a letter template that you would like to use for this letter, select it from the Template drop-down at the top of the screen.
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To include a field from your data, place the cursor in the editor box where you would like the field to appear and double-click one of the fields in the Merge Fields area on the right hand side.
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When you are happy with the contents of the letter and are ready to generate the merged letter document, click the Run Merge button at the bottom of the screen.
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The database will generate a single Word document with all of the letters in it—one per search result. Each letter will be unique wherever a merge field was included in the letter template. You will be prompted to open or save the generated document.
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Select the Open with… option and click OK. The merged document will open in Word.
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Review the document and make any manual adjustments you would like. You may now print the letter or save it for later use.
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(Optional) You may save the letter template you have just created for future use.
a. Click the Save Template button at the bottom of the screen.
b. The New Template window will display. Enter a Name for the template, select the Module and set the Mailing Type to Letter.
c. For future mailings, you will be able to select this letter template from Template drop-down at the top of the screen rather than having to write a new letter from scratch.
For additional information, please see our training video: Using Mailings and Labels