Setting Up Standard Mail Merge Templates with the Add-In

Setting Up Standard Mail Merge Templates with the Add-In

InfoThis article is part of the Mail Merge section.

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Mail Merge
 

Introduction


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To use Mail Merge as outlined in this article, you must first install the Mail Merge Add-in provided by CPL. You can find the add-in in the RPM_Distributions folder on your CPL drive.

In this section, you'll learn how to use mail merge fields to create a personalised communication, similar to the example shown below:



In the example, any text inside square brackets is a merge field.

Adding Mail Merge Fields


Mail merge fields tell Word where to collect specific information from CPL for each recipient. They define what data needs to be inserted, where it’s coming from and where it should appear in your document. 

This customisation allows Word to tailor each communication for individual clients or contractors.

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Consider which parts of your document will differ for each recipient, such as addresses, balances or other personalised details. Place the corresponding merge fields in these sections.

Steps to Insert Mail Merge Fields:

  1. Open a new Word document. Or, if you want to use standard headers and footers, open the blank template you created earlier.

  2. Click the Add-ins tab in Word’s menu ribbon:

  1. Select Add Merge Fields on the left of your screen. This will open the Add CPL Mail Merge Fields window:



  2. Click Log In To CPL to access the database and load the list of available fields.
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    This window will stay on top, allowing you to move it around the screen or close it if needed. You can always reopen it by selecting Add-ins > Add Merge Fields from the menu ribbon.
    1. The Login screen will appear, pre-filled with the last username and database you used. Log in as usual.

    2. After logging in, the window will update, and the Log In To CPL button will change to Change Database. You can click this to log in to a different database if needed.

    3. Select a Mail Merge view from the list, each designed for different document types:

    1. Below are descriptions for each view::

      1. Buyer Seller: For buyer and seller communication.

      2. Client Details: For general client communication.

      3. Client Insurance: For insurance-related communications.

      4. Client Notices: For debt management communication.

      5. Dev Contact Details: For development-wide communication.

      6. Estimate Request: For contractor estimates.

      7. P L Details: For purchase ledger communication (typically with your contractors).

      8. Proposed Works: For proposed works communication.

    2. To view the mail merge fields in the selected view, click the + sign next to the view. This will expand the view and display all the available fields within it.

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    You can only select fields from one view per Word template, so choose the one appropriate for your document.

    1. Place your cursor where you want to insert a merge field in your document:



    1. In the Add CPL Mail Merge Fields window, double-click the desired merge field to insert it at your cursor location:



    2. Example result:



    3. To insert more fields, move to the next position in your document and repeat the process:


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    If a field name doesn’t fully display due to a space in the name, click on the field in your document and press Alt + F9 to view the full name.

    Finalising Your Template


    1. After adding all necessary fields, close the Add CPL Mail Merge Fields window.

    2. Save your document template on your computer or network.

    3. To make it available to all CPL users, add it to the directory in CPL.  For steps on how to do this, refer to [this article].

    With this, you've successfully created a mail merge template!

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