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Newsletter Mailing/Export to MSWord2007 Instructions for Newsletters or Labels



Summary:

This report will detail how to setup a newsletter or labels for mass patient mailings. This Report Generator scan will produce a list of all Active (account holder only) patients, their names and addresses and instructions on how to export the information and merge into Microsoft word to create a newsletter or address labels.
Active Patients in this report are considered to be those patients who have a positive recall interval, have Active YES status in their personal tab and are flagged as Account Holder Yes.
 
These instructions refer specifically to Microsoft Word version 2007.

 

Step I - Setup Report Generator List:
  1. Open ABELDent at the computer on which Microsoft word resides.
  2. Select Reports, then Generator from the menu.
  3. At menu, select Table Selection, click OK.
  4. Select tables: 
Patients R
  1. Click OK.
  2. At menu, select Field Layout, click OK.
  3. At Patients file Field Parameters enter the following field values; leave all others fields at their default:
Description
Select
Sort
Save
Patient ID
#
0
Y
Last Name
#
1
Y
First Name
#
0
Y
Dentist
R
0
#
Address
#
0
Y
City Name
#
0
Y
Postal Code
#
0
Y
Charge to
R
0
#
Appt. Interval
R
0
Y
Mr/Mrs/Ms
#
0
Y
Inactive
R
0
#
Address Line 2
#
0
Y
  1. Click OK.
  2. At menu, select Criteria Entry, click OK.
  3. At Selection of Records setup as shown:
Description
Including
-From-
Including
-To-
 Notes
Dentist
X
X
 Enter ID required
Charge to
00000
00000
 Enter as shown
Appt. Interval
0
99
 Enter as shown
Inactive
#
 
 Leave this checkbox empty
  1. Leave all other fields at their default.
  2. Click OK.
  3. At menu, select Generate Report, click OK.
  4. After record scanning is complete the Report Generation dialog screen will display.
  5. At the BREAKS section at LAST NAME enter an L.
  6. Leave all other fields at their default.
  7. Click OK.
  8. At Print Report, select PREVIEW to view the list on screen. It is recommended that you DO NOT PRINT out this list; as it is typically very long.
  9. At menu, select Save As.
  10. Enter a File Name of Newsletter, then click SAVE
  11. At menu, select EXPORT RESULTS click OK
  1. At Create Merge File Window, enter a Merge format of M
  2. At Output File, enter a name such as: newsletter.doc (NOTE: the name newsletter can be edited to whatever name you prefer, but the .doc extension must be used)
  3. Click OK
  4. Click YES at Touch Y to create merge file.
  5. This will return you to the Report Generator Menu
  6. Click Cancel and No
 Step II Option 1- Export and Merge List with Microsoft Word LETTERS
  1. Minimize or close the ABELDent program.
  2. Open Microsoft Word.
  3. From the ribbon, select the Mailings tab and choose select Start Mail Merge.
  4. Select the option of $Letters
  5. From the ribbon, choose Select Recipients then $Use an Existing List
  6. At this point you must navigate to the location of your ABELDent directory on your computer. Generally this will be found on either your C or D Drive in My Computer. You will be locating the exported report generator document, which in this example was called newsletter.doc. Double click on the file.
  7. Begin writing the letter template.
  8. From the ribbon, use the option of Insert Merge Field to position personalized patient information into the appropriate position on the letter. The example will show the positioning of the template for a patients address setup and Dear Mr. Smith:
<<First_Name>> <<Last_Name>>
<<Address>> <<Address_Line_2>>
<<City_Name>> <<Postal_Code>>
 
Dear <<Mr_Mrs_Ms>> <<Last_Name>>,
 
 
Ensure that you are leaving appropriate spacing between merge field entries and correct punctuation. For example, leave 1 -2 spaces between <<First_Name>>—— <<Last_Name>> and a comma after <<Last_Name>>,
  1. Font style and size can also be altered.
  2. Once the letter template is complete, from the ribbon, select Preview Results. This will show a preview of the finished merged result.
  3. From the ribbon, select Finish and Merge and choose Print Documents.
Step II Option 2 - Export and Merge List with Microsoft Word - LABELS:
  1. Minimize or close the ABELDent program. 
  2. Open Microsoft Word.
  3. From the ribbon, select the Mailings tab and choose select Start Mail Merge.
  4. Select the option of $Lables
  5. The Label Options selection window will appear. Locate the label manufacturer and product number from the choices provided, or select New Label to setup a custom label of your own.
  6. Click OK. The screen will display an outlined template representing the sheet of labels you have selected.
  7. From the ribbon, choose Select Recipients then $Use an Existing List
  8. At this point you must navigate to the location of your ABELDent directory on your computer. Generally this will be found on either your C or D Drive in My Computer. You will be locating the exported report generator document, which in this example was called newsletter.doc. Double click on the file.
  9. The cursor will be positioned in the top left label. Setup this label template only.
  10. From the ribbon, use the option of Insert Merge Field to position personalized patient information into the appropriate position on the label. The example will show the positioning of the template for the label setup:
+Mr_Mrs_Ms; +First_Name; +Last_Name;
+Address; +Address_Line_2;
+City_Name; +Postal_Code;
 
 
  1. Font style and size can also be altered being careful to select an appropriate font size for the label style you are using.
  2. Once the label template is complete, from the ribbon, select Update Labels. All labels will be updated with the template rule.
  3. From the ribbon, select Preview Results. This will show a preview of the finished merged result.
  4. From the ribbon, select Finish and Merge and choose Print Documents.

 


Product (s): ABELDent
Category: Report Generator
Classification: Public
Date Created: July 2009
Created by: KaM

Keywords: Newsletter, Mailing, Export, Microsoft, Word, 2007, Instructions, instruction, Newsletters, Labels, label