It is “THAT” time of year again, when firms decide if they will be sending holiday cards and to whom. This naturally brings up the question “Can we create labels using information we currently have in PracticeMaster?” The answer is YES!
To accomplish this, we will use a PracticeMaster Report and a Microsoft Word merge document. The following example is uses PracticeMaster version 15.3 and Microsoft Word version 2007. We will be creating labels to send Holiday Cards to the firm’s clients using the Client Files information in PracticeMaster.
Step 1.: Edit one of PracticeMaster’s “built-in” reports.
In PracticeMaster click on Reports|Report Writer.
Select the “Label1X4” report and click “modify” at the bottom of the list.
Click on the “Main” tab and change the “Output Type” to “Export As: Microsoft Word Mail Merge.” This option changes this report from a “Non-Column Mode” to a “Column Mode.” (Trust me, this IS what you want.)
Click on “Image Layout” tab. The Image Layout will look very strange, not at all like a Word Document.
We will delete the “Ascending Sort on CMClient:Zip” sort order. (It is the second “blue bar.”) Click once on this “bar” right-mouse-click and choose “delete. That leaves the “CMClient:Name” sort and “Ascending Sort on Global.” Save and close this report.
Step 2.: Run the Report.
When you exit the design view of the report, you will return to the report list. The Client Labels report will still be selected.
Click the “Print” button at the bottom of the list. You do not need to select the “Beginning Client ID” or the “Ending Client ID.” The report will capture the information for all the clients in PracticeMaster.
Click “Print.” You will print the resulting “report” to a File. Click on “File (pdf, html, or txt)” Click “OK”
At this point PracticeMaster wants you to select a save location and give the resulting document/report a name. I usually save the documents either on my desktop or in “My Documents.” Also, MAKE SURE you have chosen the “Save as Type” format. We want “txt.” Our test document name is “Client Label Info.txt”
Whew! The hard part is done!
Step 3.: Create the Merge document in Microsoft Word.
From a blank document in Word, Click on “Mailings|Start a Mail Merge|Labels”. Choose the appropriate label size. I’m using Avery Labels number 5066. Click “OK” and then again “OK.” You will now see a blank label sheet.
Note: if you do not see anything, check to see that your “table grid lines” are visible. (Click on the Table Layout ribbon. You find “View Grid Lines” on the far left.)
Still on the Mailings ribbon, click on “Select Recipients|Use Existing List.” You need to navigate to the saved “txt” file we created using PracticeMaster reports.
The first prompt is asking you to “Confirm Data Source” click “OK.” The next prompt is asking how is the data distinguished? You need to click “comma” because this is a “comma separated value” file.
You will now see something like "Next Record" in all labels except the very first label.
Finally we will add the remaining fields.
Position the insertion point (formerly called “the curser”) in the first label. Click on “Insert Merge Field.” You’ll see it at about the middle of the ribbon. When you click on the drop down box for this option, you’ll see the fields “Name” “Add1” “Add2” etc. Click on each item in turn so that it now appears in your label.
Note: Remember to add the spaces between “City” and “State” and “Zip” as the merge process will not do this for you.
This same process needs to be done for each field on this page. I use a cut and paste method. The important thing to remember here is the "Next Record" fields need to be in each label in this merge document. That is the “code” that tells Word Mail Merge to move to the next record in your data file. You only need to do this for ONE page.
Save your work.
Step 4.: Perform the Merge
If you want to check your work before performing the merge, click on the “Preview Results” icon on the Mailings Ribbon.
To Perform the Merge, click on “Finish & Merge|Edit Individual Documents.” This option performs the merge and opens the resulting label documents.
This may seem like a lot of work and it is the first time around because you are editing the report and creating the merge label document. Once that is done the next time you create labels, it is a snap!
Baker+Cadence|Solutions has been busy lately creating custom reports for clients who want to use Related Parties records and they want the ability to filter the records to create labels for specific “categories.” If you would like someone from Baker+Cadence|Solutions to help you with custom reports or for more information on document generation, give us a call at 888-444-4250.
Happy Holidays!
