Overview: HowNow's merge letters allow for pulling multiple data fields from a contact into a generated letter, providing flexibility and customisation opportunities to firms that wish to have more granular control over their processes and workflow. Letter content can also be generated conditionally, using the HowNowSelectText, requested from the user using HowNowAskData, and more.
Bookmarks
When editing a merge letter template, bookmarks can be accessed from the Insert ribbon in Word, under Links. This is also accessible with the shortcut Ctrl + I, K (Ctrl+I then Ctrl+K). In the bookmarks menu will be a list of bookmarks currently active, which HowNow will pick up on to embed data from the client that the letter is being generated under. If you wish to customise your merge letter futher, below is a full list of all available bookmarks:
Bookmark Name | Description |
HowNow ABN | Contact ABN number |
HowNow ACN | Contact ACN number |
HowNow Address1 | Contact address line 1 |
HowNow Address2 | Contact address line 2 |
HowNow Address3 | Contact address line 3 |
HowNow Address4 | Contact address line 3 |
HowNow Address5 | Contact address line 5 |
HowNow Addressee | Contact name if the contact is an entity |
HowNowAlternateEmail | Alternate email address |
HowNowAlternateInitials | Alternate initials |
HowNowAlternateName | Alternate contact name |
HowNowAlternatePosition | Alternate contact position |
HowNowAlternateSignature | Embeds a signature file called Signature - XX where XX is the alternate contact's initials. The signature file must be a current item in Knowledge |
HowNowAlternateWorkPhone | Alternate work phone number |
HowNowBody | Specifies the body section of the merge document |
HowNowClientCode | Contact identifier |
HowNowContactGroup | Bookmarks enclosed by this bookmark are repeated for every selected contact. Used in conjunction with the HowNowLabelAddress bookmark to print labels. See Creating Label Templates. |
HowNowDateEOM | The date of the end of the current month in short form |
HowNowDateEOMF | The date of the end of the current month in full |
HowNowDateEOY | The date of the end of the financial year in short form |
HowNowDateEOYF | The date of the end of the financial year in full |
HowNowDateYear | The current year number |
HowNowDateFYear | The current financial year number |
HowNowDocumentID | The unique ID of the template document |
HowNowEmail | Contact email address |
HowNowEnclosure | Specifies the enclosure section of the merge document |
HowNowEntityName | Contact entity name |
HowNowFax | Contact fax number |
HowNowFirmAddress1 | Firm address line 1. See the HowNowFullAddress bookmark as it ignores blank lines. |
HowNowFirmAddress2 | Firm address line 2 |
HowNowFirmAddress3 | Firm address line 3 |
HowNowFirmAddress4 | Firm address line 4 |
HowNowFirmName | The firm’s name |
HowNowFirmShortName | The firm’s short name |
HowNowFirstNames | Contact first names |
HowNowFormYear | The value of the contact's FormYear field. If no field by this name exists then the value obtained from the MailScan dialogue's form year field is used. |
HowNowFullAddress | Contact’s full address - blank address lines are ignored |
HowNowFullName | Addressee field if it contains data or contact full name (title, first names & last name) if not |
HowNowGreeting | The greeting specified on the Merge Document dialog |
HowNowGroupName | Contact group name |
HowNowIsIndividual | True (1 or Y) if contact is an individual - this value controls how the address block of a letter is printed |
HowNowJobCode | The code of the job selected on the merge document dialog |
HowNowJobName | The name of the job selected on the merge document dialog |
HowNowLabelAddress | Special address for labels that includes the addressee, entity name if applicable and the full address. The height of the label can be specified by adding an underscore (_) followed by the height in lines to the end of the bookmark name. For example, HowNowLabelAddress_7 forces the label to be 7 lines high. If no number is specified, the default is 7. See Creating Label Templates. |
HowNowLastName | Contact last name |
HowNowManagerEmail | Manager/Reviewer email address |
HowNowManagerInitials | Manager/Reviewer initials |
HowNowManagerName | Manager/Reviewer name |
HowNowManagerWorkPhone | Manager/Reviewer work phone number |
HowNowMasterBody | Specifies the point in the master style template where the body section of the merge document will be inserted. |
HowNowMasterEnclosure | Specifies the point in the master style template where the enclosure section of the merge document will be inserted. |
HowNowMobile | Contact mobile number |
HowNowPartnerEmail | Partner email address |
HowNowPartnerInitials | Partner initials |
HowNowPartnerName | Partner name |
HowNowPartnerWorkPhone | Partner work phone |
HowNowPhone | Contact phone number |
HowNowPreparerEmail | Preparer email address |
HowNowPreparerInitials | Preparer initials |
HowNowPreparerName | Preparer name |
HowNowPreparerWorkPhone | Preparer work phone |
HowNowRecordID | The unique ID of the record created from the document |
HowNowReference | The value of the Merge Document Dialogue's reference field |
HowNowReviewerEmail | Replaced by HowNowManagerEmail |
HowNowReviewerInitials | Replaced by HowNowManagerInitials |
HowNowReviewerName | Replaced by HowNowManagerName |
HowNowReviewerWorkPhone | Replaced by HowNowManagerWorkPhone |
HowNowSalutation | Contact salutation |
HowNowSFN | Contact SFN number |
HowNowSignatoryEmail | Signatory email |
HowNowSignatoryInitials | Signatory initials |
HowNowSignatoryName | Signatory name |
HowNowSignatoryPosition | Signatory position |
HowNowSignatoryQualifications | Signatory qualifications |
HowNowSignatorySignature | Embeds a signature from a file called Signature - XX where XX is the signatories initials. The signature file must be a current document in Knowledge. |
HowNowSignatoryWorkPhone | Signatory work phone number |
HowNowSignoff | Letter sign-off text |
HowNowSubject | Letter subject/title |
HowNowSubjectRE | Letter subject/title with a ‘Re:’ prefix |
HowNowTFN | Contact TFN number |
HowNowTitle | Contact title |
HowNowTodaysDate | Today’s date in short form (dd/mm/yyyy) |
HowNowTodaysDateF | Today’s date in full (dd, mmm yyyy) |
HowNowTime | The current time in the format HH:MM AM/PM |
Other kinds of bookmark available to use allows for more complex arrangements of data in your merge letter:
HowNowAskData
Displays a data entry dialog. The data can be referenced by other bookmarks via the HowNowDataField bookmark. The first field is HowNowDataField_1, the second field is HowNowDataField_2, etc.
Note: the ‘|’ character is the vertical bar (above the Enter key on most keyboards).
The text enclosed by the bookmark has the form:
[Title Text|Field 1 Prompt;Hint text;Input Status;Control Field #;Control Field Value|Field 1 Type|Field 2 Prompt;Hint text;Input Status;Control Field #;Control Field Value |Field 2 Type|Field X Prompt;Hint text;Input Status;Control Field #;Control Field Value |Field X Type]
Title Text is the text to display at the top of the data entry screen.
Field Prompt is the field prompt name.
Hint Text (optional) is the text to display as a hint for each field.
Input Status (optional) specifies that the field is Optional or Mandatory (the default).
Control Field Number (optional) is the number of the field that controls whether this field is enabled or not. The number can be positive or negative.
Control Field Value (optional if Control Field Number is not specified) is the value or values to compare with the control field. Multiple values can be entered by separating them with commas (,). If the control field number is positive and the comparison is equal, this field is enabled, if the control field number is negative and the comparison is equal, this field is disabled.
Field Type is one of the following field types. Note: if Field Type is followed by an optional field number, data entry fields can be rearranged later without having to change the numbers of the HowNow Data Fields that refer to them. The field number cannot exceed 999.
CHECKBOX – use to create a checkbox. Optionally followed by a semicolon and the word CHECKED to set the default state as checked.
DATE – use to input dates, output format dd/mm/yyyy. Optionally followed by a semicolon and a default value or bookmark to be displayed in the field (DATE;30/06/2006 or DATE;HowNowTodaysDate).
ELISTBOX – use to create an editable list box. Followed by a semicolon delimited list of items (ELISTBOX;Item1;Item2;…).
FULLDATE – use to input dates, output format dd Month, yyyy. Optionally followed by a semicolon and a default value or bookmark to be displayed in the field (FULLDATE;30/06/2006 or FULLDATE;HowNowDateEOY).
GRID – use to enter tabular data. Followed by a semicolon delimited list of column names and field types (GRID;Column1 Name;Column1 Size (in points);Column1 Type;Column2 Name;Column2 Size (in points);Column2 Type;…).
HEADING – use to create a heading/separator for groups of fields. Optionally followed by a semicolon and the word NEW (HEADING;NEW) to force a new column on the data entry screen, or the word TAB (HEADING;TAB) to force a new tab on the data entry screen. Note: to suppress the heading but still create a new column or tab, use NO HEADING as the prompt for this field.
LISTBOX – use to create a non-editable list box. Followed by a semicolon delimited list of items (LISTBOX;Item1;Item2;…).
MONEY – use to input currency, format $#,#.##, minus sign, max 2 decimal places.
Optionally followed by a semicolon and FORCE, (Round) UP, (Round) DOWN or NO$SIGN. FORCE is used to force zero decimals to be inserted. By default, HowNow removes zero decimals. Up and Down are used to round the value up or down to the nearest whole number. NO$SIGN removes the dollar sign. Optionally followed by a semicolon and default value or bookmark to be displayed in the field.
NUMBER – use to input numbers, no decimals places. Optionally followed by a semicolon and default value or bookmark to be displayed in the field.
PERCENTAGE – use to input percentages, format #.##%, max 2 decimal places. Optionally followed by a semicolon and default value or bookmark to be displayed in the field.
TEXT – use to input a single line or multiple lines of alphanumeric text. Optionally followed by a semicolon and the number of lines to display on the data entry screen. If no entry is found, the default number of lines is 1.
Use CTRL-Enter to insert new lines. Otherwise, the text will automatically wrap (TEXT;5).
Optionally followed by a semicolon and default value or bookmark to be displayed in the field.
X – use to switch on diagnostic mode. Optionally followed by a semicolon and the name of a specific SelectText bookmark. For example, HowNowSelectText_032. In diagnostic mode, HowNow displays the text of each Select Text bookmark before it is executed to make debugging easier. Note: Diagnostic mode can also be selected from the merge document creation dialog when creating a merge document.
Example: the bookmark [Depreciation Details|Date Claimed|FULLDATE1|Depreciation Amount|MONEY2] displays a data entry screen with the title ‘Depreciation Details and two fields ‘Date Claimed’ and ‘Depreciation Amount’. The first field can be accessed by a HowNowDataField_1 bookmark and field 2 by a HowNowDataField_2 bookmark.
HowNowCalculate
Inserts the results of a calculation into the document. The text enclosed by the bookmark has the form:
[Value1|Operator1|Value2|Operator2|ValueX|OperatorX|Output Format;Function]
ValueX is a HowNow bookmark, a number or a date.
Operator is ‘+’ (add), ‘-‘ (subtract), ‘*’ (multiply), ‘/’ (divide), ‘SIGN’ ( -1 for negative, 0 for zero and 1 for positive) or ‘ABS’ (absolute value) or '<', '>', '=' (less than, greater than or equal to).
Output Format is NUMBER, MONEY, PERCENTAGE, DATE or FULLDATE.
Function is FORCE, (Round) UP, (Round) DOWN or NO$SIGN. FORCE is optionally used with the MONEY format to force zero decimals to be inserted. By default, HowNow removes zero decimals. Up and Down are optionally used to round the value up or down to the nearest whole number. NO$SIGN removes the dollar sign.
Example: In the HowNowAskData example above, [HowNowDataField_2|/|10|MONEY;FORCE] would insert a value equal to 10 percent of the Depreciation amount field, format it as money and force .00 to be appended if the result of the calculation is a whole number.
Note: use ABS|0 as the last operator and value to ensure that the absolute value of the total is calculated.
HowNowCompare
Compares multiple sets of values separated by AND or OR and returns a 0 (false) or 1 (true) depending on the results. This bookmark is useful in conjunction with the HowNowSelectText bookmark when multiple values must be compared.
The text enclosed by the bookmark has the form:
[Value1|Value2|Operator|Value1|Value2|Operator|ValueX|ValueY]
Value1 and Value2 are bookmarks or text to be compared.
Operator is AND or OR. If the sets of value are separated by AND, and the comparisons are all true, 1 is returned. If any of the comparisons are false, 0 is returned. If the sets of values are separated by OR, and any one of the comparisons is true, 1 is returned. If all of the comparisons are false, 0 is returned.
Examples:
[HowNowDataField_1|Refund] - Compares the value in HowNowDataField_1 with ‘Refund’ and returns 0 if false or 1 if true.
[HowNowDataField_1|Ineligible| AND |HowNowDataField_3|Appropriateness Consideration] - Compares the value in HowNowDataField_1 with ‘Ineligible’ and the value in HowNowDataField_2 with ‘Appropriateness Consideration’ and returns 1 (true) if both comparisons are true or 0 (false) if one or both comparisons are false.
[HowNowDataField_1|Ineligible| OR |HowNowDataField_3|Appropriateness Consideration] - Compares the value in HowNowDataField_1 with ‘Ineligible’ and the value in HowNowDataField_2 with ‘Appropriateness Consideration’ and returns 1 (true) if any of the comparisons are true or 0 (false) if both comparisons are false.
HowNowDataField
Inserts data from fields on the HowNowAskData data entry screen. A new HowNowDataField bookmark must be entered for each field specified in the HowNowAskData bookmark and given a number that matches the number of the data entry field.
Example: In the HowNowAskData example above, the Date Claimed (data field 1) and the Depreciation Amount (data field 2) have been entered. To insert these values into a letter, create two bookmarks HowNowDataField_1and HowNowDataField_2.
Note: to insert the same data field more than once, add a non-numeric character after the field number: HowNowDataField_1, HowNowDataField_1A and HowNowDataField_1B allows the same data field to be inserted three times in a document.
Inserting Tabular (Grid) Data
To insert the results of a HowNowAskData GRID field into a table in a document:
In the document, create a table with the required number of columns and two rows. Enter the column headings in the first row and format the heading row and the column’s alignment as required.
Insert a HowNowDataField_X bookmark in the first column of the second row, where X is the field number of the GRID field.
If required, add additional rows for use as a footer.
HowNowGridTotal
Inserts the total of a grid column. The text enclosed by the bookmark has the following format:
[HowNowDataField_X;Column Number]
Where HowNowDataField_X is the grid data field, and
Column Number is the column to be totalled.
HowNowPageHeader & HowNowPageFooter
Microsoft Word contains an anomaly whereby bookmarks placed in page headers and footers cannot be found. The HowNowPageHeader and HowNowPageFooter bookmarks convert ordinary paragraphs containing bookmarks into page headers or footers AFTER the bookmarks have been replaced with data.
For example, to embed the Partner’s name in a page header, create a paragraph containing the HowNowPartnerName bookmark anywhere in a document as follows:
Partner: [HowNowPartnerName]
Then highlight the paragraph and create a HowNowPageHeader bookmark.
When HowNow processes the document, the HowNowPartnerName bookmark will be replaced with the Partner’s name and then the paragraph will be converted into a page header.
HowNowIncrementMonth & HowNowIncrementYear
Increments a specified date by a specified number of months or years respectively. Leap years are catered for. Note: the ‘|’ character is the vertical bar (above the Enter key on most keyboards).
The text enclosed by the bookmark has the form:
Date;Increment;Function
Date is either a HowNow Bookmark or a fixed date.
Increment is the (positive or negative) increment required.
Function (optional) is FULL to specify output in full date format (Day Month Year)
Example: [HowNowDateEOY;1;Full] will insert 30th June, 2017 into the document if the current year is 2016.
HowNowSelectText
Allows the insertion of alternate text depending on the value of a specified bookmark.
The text enclosed by the bookmark has the form:
[Text1|Text2|Text to insert if Text1 = Text2|Text to insert if Text1 <> Text2]
Text1 is a HowNow Bookmark or text and
Text2 is True (or 1), False (or 0), IsBlank (Text2 is empty), IsNotBlank (Text2 contains a value) or text.
Example 1: [HowNowAlternateName|True|myself or [HowNowAlternateName].|me.] will insert the ‘myself or’ and the alternate contact’s name if there is one, or ‘me’ if there isn’t one.
Example 2: This bookmark inserts the words 'Payable', 'Refund' or 'No Payment' depending on the value in a data field field (HowNowDataField_5, say). Note 'space' is a single space and is needed to separate the ends of the two Select Text bookmarks:
[[HowNowDataField_5|SIGN]|1|Payable|[[HowNowDataField_5|SIGN]|0|No Payment|Refund]Space]
HowNowUserField
This bookmark allows the insertion of user defined data into documents. Contact support for assistance in setting up your client database to use this bookmark.
The text enclosed by the bookmark has the form:
[FIELDNAME] where FIELDNAME is the name of a data field in the client database.
Bookmark Order
When the merge letter is run, bookmarks are processed in the order in which they are numbered. This is an example of the order in which bookmarks are processed:
HowNowCalculate_01
HowNowCalculate_02
HowNowSelectText_20
HowNowSelectText_30