How to Use Merge Fields in Gorilla® Letters

How to Use Merge Fields in Gorilla® Letters

QUESTIONS THAT APPLY TO THIS TOPIC

  • How do I insert a Merge Field?
  • How do I delete a Merge Field?
  • Where do I input the data for Custom Merge fields?

ANSWER

Important: If you make any changes to Merge Fields in a letter, be sure to “Save and Exit to Gorilla” and click “OK” on the Define Message Screen. If you do not, the information will not be recorded in the Gorilla database, and will cause problems later on.

First of all, there are two types of Merge Fields, Standard and Custom. In most respects, they function the same way, but there are some key differences.

Inserting Merge Fields

Standard Merge Fields

  1. These Merge Fields merge information directly from the database for each Contact Group.
  2. To insert a merge field into a letter place the cursor in the location
  3. Select the Insert menu and choose “Insert Standard Merge Field.”
    • If you are a MS Word 2007 user, Insert Standard Merge Field is located under the Add-ins tab.
  4. A small window will appear with a list of all the available options.
  5. Choose one and click “OK”
  6. If done correctly you should see <<yourchoice>> with a gray background.
    Important: Adding the same merge field to both the single and plural versions of the letter will prevent problems later on. At this point the letter is ready to be sent. No further setup is necessary.

Custom Merge Fields

Custom Merge Fields require input from the user each time the letter is setup. They are completely customizable within certain limits.

  1. The name must have between 3 and 20 characters.
  2. The name can only have numbers (0-9) and upper or lowercase letters (A-Z) (No spaces, underscores, symbols, etc.)  
    1. To insert a Custom Merge Field into a letter, place the cursor in the location that you want to insert it.
    2. Select the Insert menu and choose “Insert Custom Merge Field”
      • If you are a MS Word 2007 user Insert Custom Merge Field is located under the Add-ins tab.
    3. A small window will appear. You can type in the name you would like for the merge field (keeping in mind the limitations for naming), or you can choose any merge field from the drop-down list.
    4. When finished, click OK.
    5. If done correctly you should see <<yourmergefieldname>> with a gray background.
      Important: Adding the same merge field to both the single and plural versions of the letter will prevent problems later on.

At this point, the letter is ready to send; however, while setting up the letter in the Send Message Wizard, you will need to input what will be merged into the fields on the Signatory Details page under the values column.

Deleting Merge Fields

  1. Open the letter that contains the merge field.
  2. Find the merge field (It should be easy to find, as merge fields normally have gray backgrounds).
    • Do not use F11 to search through available merge fields - Deleting after using this manner can leave code behind and confuse Gorilla
  3. Highlight the entire gray section and press the Delete key.
  4. You can then edit the letter as you see fit, including adding another merge field in its place.

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