Cloudy's Favorite Apps: MORE from Apsona!

One of Cloudy's Favorite Apps just keeps getting better!

Apsona has long been one of Cloudy's top picks for enabling all kinds of easy data management tasks in salesforce.com. 
Now there is an add-on that allows easy merges to documents, spreadsheets, or email. Read on to see how easy it is to set up a merge for Thank You letters - in batches or one at a time!

(**note: this demo uses Salesforce + Non Profit Starter Pack with 1:1 model. Other data models and merge processes will vary in the details**)

First create a Word document with merge fields for the data you wish to pull in to your Thank You - this probably includes data from both the Donation record and the Contact record of the Donor. Upload this doc to the "Documents" tab in salesforce.com.

The merge fields needn't conform to any rules or format conventions - just call them whatever makes sense to you.

Next, create a report on the Donation Contact Roles tab in Apsona. Pull all of your merge field data into the report. Add any filter terms as needed, for example:

-Filter so that Donation "Stage=Posted/Closed Won"

-Consider creating a custom checkbox on donations that marks "Thank You Sent"; filter so that the report only shows un-thanked donations. 

If you don't see this tab, you must first create a custom tab "Configuration" under "Settings", then "Clear Cache" under settings to make it visible.

Run the report to preview the data. The list you see should be a complete list of un-thanked Donations. If everything looks good, you are ready to create your merge; click "Merge/Mail" at the top of your report.

Pro-Tip! If you want your Merge to *AUTOMATICALLY* update a field on a record, such as a "Thank You Sent" checkbox, you must include the ID field for that record in the report (ie. Donation ID).

The Merge Wizard that appears will walk you through the merge setup: Your uploaded Word template will be available to select, and you will be able to match your Word merge fields to the data columns in your report. Finally, note the options available in Step 4 of the merge: 

You can log a Task on each donation record, showing that a Thank You was generated. Even better, you can update a field on the record with a given value. 
For this process, check the custom "Thank You Sent" checkbox on the Donation record. You filtered the Merge report so that it only pulls donations where "Thank You Sent=False"; now you can run the Merge and it always creates a perfect set of the latest Thank Yous!

When it's time to create the next batch of Thank Yous, there is no need to go back to the report on Donation Contact Roles. Your new Merge can now be found and run under Settings>Merge Actions. 

One more amazing feature of Apsona Merge is the ability to very easily create a Merge Button on a record. For this example, a button right on the donation record can generate quick, one-off Thank Yous as needed. To create it, simply go to Settings>VF pages & buttons, look up your Merge, and click the "Generate code" button.

Copy this code into a new "Button" on Donations and add it to the Donation page layout. Now you can create a one-off Thank You on a Donation with a single click.

These Thank You letters look great, Cloudy!

If you would like some help evaluating this tool for your salesforce.com, please Contact Us!

Read about more of Cloudy's Favorite Apps:
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: Apsona (Part 1!)
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: DupeCatcher
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: Rollup Helper
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: FormAssembly
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: Conga Composer
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: FlipTop Social Profiles
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: Mass Edit + Mass Update + Mass Delete

Cloudy's Chalkboard: Email Template Pro Tips!

In Cloudy's last two posts, you learned how to set up salesforce.com email letterheads and templates. Once you get started with email templates, you won't want to quit! The possibilities for saving time and streamlining processes are many, but you will encounter questions and roadblocks as your imagination kicks in. Here are a couple of Cloudy's favorite Pro Tips for getting the most out of Email Templates:

Pro Tip #1: Merging information from related records

You may have noticed that unlike elsewhere in salesforce.com (such as in the advanced formula editor), the Merge Field menu does not allow you to navigate through layers of related records to grab the Merge Field you want. For instance, if you are sending a Contact-related email, you cannot insert a field from their related Account record.

Get around this by adding a formula field to the Contact record which captures the related Account field that you need for your email! You don't have to put this field on your page layout, and you may want to give it a distinctive name and description so that you and other administrators can easily remember its function.  ie. "THIS IS AN EMAIL TEMPLATE FORMULA FIELD!"

Pro Tip #2: "Sending User" Information

If you have numerous reps all using the same Template to email Contacts, you may want a way for each rep's contact information to populate in the template automatically - for instance, as a personalized "signature".

Simply select "Sending User Fields" from the "Select Field Type" picklist.  Whereas most of your template merge fields must come from the Object that the email will be related to (ie. "Contact"), the Sending User fields are an exception.

This merge field will allow the recipient to easily call the rep who sent the email.

**IF YOUR "SENDING USER" MERGE FIELDS ARE NOT POPULATING CORRECTLY: check that the correct user information is entered on the User record!

Pro Tip #3: Dynamic URLs

You can add a basic URL link by:
1: Type the text as you would like it to appear and highlight it.
2: Click the LINK icon on the tool bar.
3: Enter the web url in the box that appears.

But what if you don't want to link to a STATIC website, and instead you want to send a dynamic/individualized URL based on the record you are sending from?

Simply create a URL field on the primary object, and populate it with your individualized URL links. Then on your template, follow the same steps as above but paste the MERGE FIELD for your new URL field in the text box.

You now have a dynamic URL link that will change based on the record it is sent from!

These are just a few of Cloudy's favorite email template tips.  If you have more questions about advanced functionality with salesforce.com email templates, Contact Us!

Related Posts:

Cloudy's Chalkboard: How to Create an Email Letterhead

Cloudy's Chalkboard: How to Create an Email Template

Cloudy's Chalkboard: How to Create an Email Template

Hopefully you are already using the emailing capabilities of salesforce.com to not only streamline and automate your email processes, but to capture relevant records of all your client communications!

Last time, Cloudy illustrated the steps to create an email letterhead. A themed letterhead with your logo will give your emails a consistent, branded look and feel. Today we will create an email template.  

With email templates you get simplicity and quality control:

• Standardize the email messages used by your team.
• Keep all messaging in line with your brand.
• Enhance speed and productivity.
• Personalize with easy merge fields.

Step 1: Create a new email template Go to Setup>Communication Templates>Email Templates.

• If you do not have any custom template folders set up, this is a good time to create one! Just click the "Create New Folder" link next to the Folders menu and give your new folder a distinctive name, such as "Your Company Name Email Templates".
• Click the "New Template" button.
• Select "HTML (Using Letterhead)" 

Step 2: Name your template

• Confirm the correct destination folder is selected.
• Check the "Available For Use" check box.
• Name your template - be descriptive!
• Select the Letterhead you created last time from the menu
• Choose an email layout; for your first template, try the "Free Form Letter" and check out the other options at another time.
• Enter a detailed description of the content and intended use of this template.
• Click "Next".

Step 3: Compose your email template Read the tips at the top of this salesforce.com page!

• Start by typing the text as you would like it to appear. Note where you would like to insert merge fields; for instance "Dear FIRST NAME,"...
• When the basic text is in place, you are ready to insert merge fields! In the "Available Merge Fields" tool bar, select the OBJECT that this email will be sent from or related to. CONTACT is the most common choice, but Leads and Opportunities are also common. The Object you choose should be the one that contains the information you want to use as merge fields.
• After selecting the object, find the field you want from the second picklist. ie. "First Name"
• The Merge Field "code" will appear highlighted in the third field of the tool bar. Copy and paste it into the correct position in your template.

• When you are ready to test the template, click next, copy your content into the Text-only editor, and click "Save." Now you will see a button to "Send test and verify Merge fields."  If the test goes well, your template is complete!

Tune in next week for Cloudy's Email Template Pro Tips!

If you would like Cloudy's help with salesforce.com templates or anything else, please CONTACT US!

Cloudy's Favorite Apps: Conga Composer

Conga Composer from AppExtremes is one of the most popular apps on the Salesforce.com AppExchange, and with good reason.  Conga allows you to produce formatted reports, emails, mailings and presentation documents with the click of a button.  Many users find tasks that used to take many hours can be reduced to a single step!  Conga Composer also extends the merging capabilities of Salesforce.com by allowing you to easily pull data from multiple objects into one final document.

If you have any business processes that involve lengthy sessions of copying and pasting data from one place to another, or if you wish you had better mail merge options, give Conga a try.  They offer a free 30 day trial and excellent ongoing customer support.

We would love to talk to you about your business, and help you to evaluate whether Conga might help your business.  If you think you might be interested in talking to a Salesforce.com consultant but are not sure what to expect, click here for more information.


Read Cloudy's reviews of other popular Apps:
Form Assembly
FlipTop Social Profiles


Cloudy Cumulus is part of Redpath Consulting Group, based in Minneapolis, MN (c) 2012