Letters Merge Preferences - The 'Letters' preference tab

The Letter Merge preferences control how the Template/Letter merge system work for all users in the Firm. These instructions cover how to access the Letter Merge preferences and what each of the settings controls.

Accessing Letter Merge Preferences

The Letter Merge preferences can be accessed via either the Firm Setup Guide or via the top menu Tools > Administrative > Preferences.

1. Via the Firm Setup Guide

To access the Firm Setup Guide click on Tools in the top menu and then click on Firm Setup Guide.

Once the Firm Setup Guide appears, click on the Letter Merge button.

2. Via the Tools menu

You can also access the Letter Merge preferences by clicking on Tools, then Administrative, then Preferences.

If you don’t have access to this feature, you may need to log into Migration Manager as user Administrator.

In Preferences, select the Letters tab.

Letters settings

The Letters' settings window should now be visible.

1. Word Template Configuration

The Word Template Configuration section gives you control over various aspects of how the letters merge.

1.1. Use Saved Letterhead

Tick this preference if you want Migration Manager to apply a letterhead by default to any Word document that is merged.

1.2. Download and Edit Letterhead

To use the Letterhead functionality, you must first download the Letterhead template by clicking the Download Letterhead button.

A pop up will appear. Click Yes to download a new letterhead (note that any existing letterhead will be deleted)

Now click the Edit button and then follow the steps outlined in How to set up a Letterhead

1.3. Remove the File Path

By default, when Migration Manager merges a Template it automatically inserts into the footer the file path location of the document which has been merged. Ticking the option 'Remove the file path from the footer of MM Templates when they are merged' will result in that footer information not appearing on merged documents.

1.4. Insert a Logo in Logo Field

One of the merge fields available is a Logo field. If this option is ticked and a logo file is selected (via the 3 dots button), then at the time of merging any letter/template, Migration Manager will insert the chosen logo file in to the document.

Note that any logo file should be no more than 170x85 pixels and in the JPEG format. It should also be saved in to Migration Manager's Data\MiscFIles sub-folder so that all users can access it.

1.5. Generate and Save Document Merge ID in Tags

Ticking this option will result in Migration Manager generating a Document Merge ID whenever a new letter/document is merged. This ID will then be saved in to the Tags of the Word file and will show up in the Keywords/Content column in Migration Manager. It can also be searched for via the Documents search window. The MID (Merge ID) is available as a merge field which can be added to the body of the document, or to the footer of the Letterhead (see note above about editing Letterheads).

Note: Do not place the MID merge field in the footer of a template other than the Letterhead template. Merge fields located in the footer of a template do not merge.

2. Letter Merge Default Behaviour

These settings control:

  1. Whether or not the document will open in Word immediately after the merge has completed; and
  2. The default save location in an matter. Note that this can be changed at the time of merge.

 

3. Rounding of Fees and Charges

This setting controls whether any fees and charges information is rounded to the nearest dollar or not.

4. Text to Insert when a Merge Field is Blank

A merge field can only be filled out at the time of merging a document if there is relevant content stored in the matter in Migration Manager. To avoid the user missing that a field did not fill out due to lack of data, this setting determines what happens if there is no data. The system can be set to either insert the merge field name or text of the users own choosing.

5. Document Email

This setting controls what happens when you send a document from the Documents tab of matter. If the first tick box is ticked, the document file name forms part of the subject line of the email. The second tick box will limit the subject to being that part of the file name up until the first period.

6. Template Downloader

Use the buttons in this section to download the latest templates. The first button will download small number of basic templates that are available to all users of Migration Manager. The second button is only available to those who subscribe to  Migration Manager's Templates Package.

7. Save

Once all adjustments have been made, click Save & Exit.