Memo field as Form Letter

[Fred Sides]

I want to allow users to create their own form letters by utilizing a memo field in a file created just for this purpose and then allowing them to choose the appropriate text at runtime through an Xdialog record list-list box.

I need for this text to combine with a name-address file that is not related to the form letter file (like a mail merge).

Is this a reasonable construct?

I am having difficulty in passing the memo to the report in question (it is based on the name-address file). I tried using a shared or global memo variable, but it seems that either dim is not allowed or I haven't figured out how to phrase my code.

I have not seen anything similar to this on the message board.

I would very much appreciate either enlightenment in some other direction or assistance in this process.

To this point I have the Xdialog box and the report. I need to have the report see the selected memo.

Thank you very much for your time and response.

[Al Buchholz]

Re: Memo field as Form Letter

Fred

Please post what you have so we don't have to reinvent the wheel.....

[Fred Sides]

Re: Memo field as Form Letter

Attached is a streamlined version of what I'm doing. There are 2 files a-business and a-business_letter. The form acd_business contains a button for printing that has action scripting attached to invoke input to select the letter to print. There is a script to find the corresponding letter record and transfer the memo to the associated report. The attempt to get the selected letter is failing at that point--declaring a shared or global memo produces an error, and I don't know of another way of making the memo visible to the report that follows. The report has a rich text field where I am anticipating dropping the Memo to serve as the text of the letter.

Any assistance is most appreciated.

[Al Buchholz]

Re: Memo field as Form Letter

Fred

I would suggest that you have another approach to this. Something to the effect of a table with the business info, memo field and the date time that the printing occured.

That would give you a record of what you've printed and either put all of thie infomation into one table or at least into one set. Then the report is much easier to write.

[Fred Sides]

Re: Memo field as Form Letter

Thank you for your suggestion, I'll see what I can do.

[Mike Wilson]

Re: Memo field as Form Letter

Fred,
I revised something I had in the background that used MSWord as a document resource for a mail merge for letters derived in A5. I will attach. Play with it and if you have questions, holler back. These are the important points.

1. Attached is a Word template. I had to rename it to be Letterhead.doc. . This is really a .dot file. The upload does not support .dot files.

2. Create a folder on the C:drive= Letterhead, change the name of this file to Letterhead.dot and path make sure the path for the tempate is c:\Letterhead\Letterhead.dot.

Building the Letter must take place in the Letter form. Other notes are in canvas boxes on the form. Play and enjoy..

Mike W

[G Gabriel]

Re: Memo field as Form Letter

Fred:
Open your form, highlight "Fred Sidesl", print.

[Mike Wilson]

Re: Memo field as Form Letter

Gabriel,

Fred has this in his letter:

...print some sort of a letter to a bunch of people

I think I'm only seeing a one-letter-at-a-time process with your example.

Mike W

[G Gabriel]

Re: Memo field as Form Letter

Mike:
You could print it to as many people as you want. Just change the filter to reflect that.

I thought his issue is in passing the memo to the letter not on how to print to a bunch of people.

I am having difficulty in passing the memo to the report in question

[Mike Wilson]

Re: Memo field as Form Letter

Mike:
You could print it to as many people as you want. Just change the filter to reflect that.

Gabriel,

I am going to assume you mean this filter in the print button:

'Date Created: 31-Aug-2006 01:41:50 AM
'Last Updated: 31-Aug-2006 10:51:56 AM
'Created By  : Gabriel
'Updated By  : WilsonJM
record_number = current_record_number()
[COLOR="Red"]query.filter = "" [/COLOR]           [COLOR="RoyalBlue"] 'recno() = " + record_number[/COLOR]
query.order = ""

:letter.preview("Gabriel",query.filter,query.order)

Give that a change on your end and then test it and see what happens.

The only way I could make this work is a 1:M set with the Parent being the memo(letter) and the Child the addresses, and have the value of the link field for all the adresses chosen to print be dynamically changed to the unique value of the link field of the parent Memo. You can see this in the example I submitted. Your finesse might achieve a slicker process, but I couldn't come up with one.

Mike W

[G Gabriel]

Re: Memo field as Form Letter

Mike:
I haven't looked at your example. I will later when I have more time.

Here is a very simple way to do this with the current setting. There are other, a little more sophisticated ways to do the same, but in the end will accomplish the same results.
Double-click the row to choose, it will be highlighted. To "un-choose" a highlighted row, double-click it.

This is done in a bit of a haste, it could be refined later.

[Tom Cone Jr]

Re: Memo field as Form Letter

The approach illustrated here might help:

http://www.learn alpha.com/TextBlock/TextBlock.htm

-- tom

[Mike Wilson]

Re: Memo field as Form Letter

Gabriel,

Yes, I used a similar double-click method (attached). The point I am trying to make is that the memo field is not attaching to each addressee. The letters are all different because of the linkage thing I discussed above.

The attached uses a Adressess:Memo 1:1 for the Memo production. This memo uniqueid (refnum) is then attached to all the addressees for a reverse set, Memo:Adressee 1:M for the selection of the addressees, and for the 'mail merge', preview-print.

Mike W

[G Gabriel]

Re: Memo field as Form Letter

Mike:

The point I am trying to make is that the memo field is not attaching to each addressee. The letters are all different because of the linkage thing I discussed above.

I am not quite clear from Fred's questions if he wants to send the same letter to a group of addressee? If that is the case, then why would he have a separate memo attached to each addressee's record?!

If he wants to send a "form letter" to a bunch of addressees with the same memo, then he needs to:
a-create a separate table for the memos to be sent
b-Create a set with the memo as parent, addressee as child
c-Create a letter based on the set, print the letter filtered with the chosen addressees.

I thought his original question was that he could not get the memo to show in the letter!

Once again, I have not opened your zip file, but if that's what you are illuding to, then you are on the right track. I was simply trying to help him with incorporating the memo in the letter.

[Mike Wilson]

Re: Memo field as Form Letter

Gabriel,

Actually, I might have jumped to the wrong conclusion with his words "form letter" and "print some sort of a letter to a bunch of people". I'm putting that together as a 'mass mailing' thing, but looking back at his original example, it's not clear, and you might be more on track than me.

If that is the case, then why would he have a separate memo attached to each addressee's record?!

I took it to be that this is one of the reason he was having problems.

Your description is just what I set up. From your and my stuff, he should be on his way.

Mike W