Merging with templates

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F2 Merge Codes makes it possible to automatically merge data from F2 with templates for Microsoft Word. Create templates directly from the main window on the “Settings” tab by clicking on the Document templates menu item.

Figure 1. Accessing document templates from the main window

The “Document templates” dialogue offers an overview of existing templates available in F2 and the option of creating new templates.

Create a new template by writing its content in an editor outside F2 and then importing the document via the "Document templates" dialogue. F2 Merge Codes supports the following types of files: DOTX, DOTM, DOCX, and DOCM.

Figure 2. The “Document templates” dialogue

Click New document template in the dialogue ribbon to add a new template. Any user can add templates to their personal and their unit’s folders, while users with the “Template administrator” privilege can add templates that the entire organisation can access and use.

Show merge fields

You can get an overview of merge fields from the "Document templates" dialogue.

Click on Show merge fields to open a search window. Select the record whose merge fields you would like to view, and double-click on it or click on OK. The window "Merge fields on [record title]" then opens, displaying all available merge fields for a record, its case, and its attached documents.

Figure 3. The "Merge fields on [record title]" window

You have the following options in the window:

Copy (1) the merge code you have selected in the overview, or refresh the overview (2) with the latest changes to the record and its associated case.
Search for a merge field (3).
Filter merge fields (4) to only see one type in the overview, for example the case merge fields.

New document from template

Templates with merge codes work much the same way as regular templates. Attach the template to a record by clicking on New document from template in the record window ribbon. When the document template is attached, F2 immediately replaces all merge codes with the corresponding information retrieved from the specific record and its participants.

Figure 4. “New documents from template” in the record window

Data from records and cases are merged immediately when a document from a template is attached. It is therefore important to ensure that all relevant information is already saved on the record and the case before attaching the template. Later changes to the metadata will not be merged with the generated document.

F2 will display a warning dialogue if a template containing merge fields is attached to a record with unsaved metadata (e.g. “Record participants”). This dialogue prompts the user to save any changes to the record before attaching the template.

The reason for the warning is that the database has not been updated with the latest information from the record. The database is only updated whenever a record or a case is saved. F2 displays a similar warning when a user attempts to attach a template to a record while editing it, as any unsaved changes will not be merged with the template.

Disable template merging

The merging of data with document templates can be disabled for specific templates in F2. This is useful if the merging fails, but it is necessary to create the document regardless. Click on Document templates in the ribbon of the “Settings” tab to open the "Document templates" dialogue. Select the relevant template and click on Properties in the dialogue ribbon to open the “Document properties” dialogue. From here, the merge engine can be changed to “None” as shown in the example below.

Figure 5. Template properties in the “Document properties” dialogue

Example of merging data for a letter

The following example demonstrates how merge codes can be used in a standard letter with a single recipient. The template for the letter contains a number of merge codes listed in the table below.

The “Merge field” column contains the names of the fields in the database (metadata), and the “Description” column describes the content of the corresponding metadata field.

Merge field	Description
dossier_party_1_name	Recipient’s name
dossier_party_1_address1	First line of recipient’s address
dossier_party_1_postalcode	Recipient’s postcode
dossier_party_1_city	Recipient’s city
dossier_sendername	Case manager’s name
case_f2casenumber	Case number

Merge field

Description

dossier_party_1_name

Recipient’s name

dossier_party_1_address1

First line of recipient’s address

dossier_party_1_postalcode

Recipient’s postcode

dossier_party_1_city

Recipient’s city

dossier_sendername

Case manager’s name

case_f2casenumber

Case number

The corresponding merge codes are created by adding “$” before and after the merge fields' names. Below is an example of a letter template with a single recipient (record participant):

Figure 6. Letter template with merge codes for a single recipient

A letter template added to a record with the four following metadata fields will produce a letter like in the figure below:

Case manager = Ann Sekner
Case number = 2020 - 19
Participant = Anne Andersen
Participant’s address = 24 Parkstreet, 1234 Cityburg

Figure 7. Single recipient letter generated from letter template with merge codes