This Menu Item takes you to a blank screen for the entry of new Letters, similar to 'Enter Letters' or 'Quotations' above, except that the Letter is written wholly independently of the person or people it is to be sent to. Therefore, use this to create Letters to be used in mailshots using the 'Mail...' options, or template Letters that will subsequently be used by the 'Enter Letters' function, or indeed any document that will be commonly used.
Assuming 4D Write is installed Document A unique code is required for each letter. You need to devise your own coding structure, perhaps referring to their use, for example CONF for confirmation letters).
Heading An appropriate heading for the Document can be entered here.
Standard Use this to indicate that the Document is to be used as a standard, or template, on which others are based.
Clearly the Standard Documents should not be edited with such abandon as normal ones because then the standard could be destroyed. Consequently, if you are in the Diary and you select a Document Code of a Standard Document and then use the 'View Document' option on the menu, you are asked: 'This is a Standard Document. Are you sure you want to view and edit it?'.
You can find all Standard letters by typing "S" or "s" in the Document field in the Diary. This presents the list of Documents automatically sorted by Code, and can optionally be sorted by Heading. As an alternative to selecting all Standard Documents with the initial "S", one can also search on eg LET, which brings up a list that shows all documents with this prefix, then click on the 'Standard Only' check box to reduce the list to just Standard Documents. A final alternative is to type "S:LETCODE". Enterprise will remove the "S:" and search for "LETCODE". "LETCODE" could, of course, be such as would find more than one document. In this case, the search is restricted to Standard Documents only.
Text
If modifying a letter created when 4D Write was not present, the letter text will appear here. Use 'Copy' and 'Paste' on the Edit Menu to move the text to the 4D Write area. Note that if the text contains any Enterprise variables or field references, these will have to be re-inserted using the appropriate function on the Word Processor's Database menu ('Insert 4D Expression…' and 'Insert Field…' respectively - see below).
You may use all the 4D Write functions to format the text from the small menus at the top of the document area: set Fonts, Sizes and so on. The document area can be expanded to occupy the full screen using the expand box in the top right, in which case the 4D Write menus occupy the normal position at the top of the screen. Return to the Enter Letters entry screen with the close box in the top left corner of the document.
You may insert field values into the text of the document using the 'Insert Field…' option on the Database menu. This lists out every single field in the database for you to scroll through and select. For example, you could write ' ... because we note that you are a «[CONTACTS]Job Title» ...', or ' ... live in «[COMPANIES]Town» ...'. If you would like to insert Enterprise variables in the text, use the 'Insert 4D Expression…' item on the Database menu. You would normally use variables such as «vDetails» (which contains the address) and «vFrom» (which contains the name of the signatory) but you could also use «vDue», for example, to insert amounts owing in a debt chasing letter. Please refer to the descriptions of the various 'Mail…' functions below for lists of available Enterprise variables. Both fields and Enterprise variables will appear in code format: use 'Show references' on the Database menu to view what fields and Enterprise variables you have used. To ensure that financial references such as «vDue» (which refers to the total owed to you) appear in the correct format (with a £ and two decimal places), select the expression and use the 'Format…' function on the Word Processor's Database menu to produce the expression «vDue;|Accounts».
See the initial sections of this chapter for further details on the functions available.
Letter-writing without 4DWrite Under normal circumstances the Mail Module of Enterprise includes the 4D Write word processing package, but if for any reason this is not available, it is still possible to write Letters within the software, albeit in a more limited way. This method will appear if the '4D Write is installed' check box in the General section of Preferences is not turned on.
The Letter entry screen is substantially similar to that which appears when 4D Write is installed, with the exception that Heading and Text fields replace the 4D Write area.
Document
A unique code is required for each letter, as for the 4D Write option above.
Font
The limit of the formatting that is available if 4D Write is not present is that the Font and Font Size of the Letter Text can be set. Enter here the font name, precisely as named in the System Folder.
Size
Enter here the font size which is to be used for the letter text.
Person
Enter here the initials of the Person originating the letter, The field will default to the initials of the current user.
Standard
Use this to indicate that the Document is to be used as a standard, or template, on which others are based.
Clearly the Standard Documents should not be edited with such abandon as normal ones because then the standard could be destroyed. Consequently, if you are in the Diary and you select a Document Code of a Standard Document and then use the 'View Document' option on the menu, you are asked: 'This is a Standard Document. Are you sure you want to view and edit it?'.
You can find all Standard letters by typing "S" or "s" in the Document field in the Diary. This presents the list of Documents automatically sorted by Code, and can optionally be sorted by Heading. As an alternative to selecting all Standard Documents with the initial "S", one can also search on eg LET, which brings up a list that shows all documents with this prefix, then click on the 'Standard Only' check box to reduce the list to just Standard Documents. A final alternative is to type "S:LETCODE". Enterprise will remove the "S:" and search for "LETCODE". "LETCODE" could, of course, be such as would find more than one document. In this case, the search is restricted to Standard Documents only.
Heading A single line heading can be included, centred, above the body of the Letter Text.
Text
Type the Letter text, without any Address, Dear ..., or Signatory names, but with the Yours sincerely followed by a Carriage Return only. You have options to set Fonts and Sizes, but not Tabs etc, or to control page breaks.
Details from the database may be inserted into the text of your letters, thereby making standard letters appear personalised. Inclusions must be made within < and > symbols without leading or trailing spaces, and can be quickly chosen from two pop-up menus of Files and Fields to the left of the letter text (these menus will insert < and > automatically).
For example, you could include <[COMPANIES]Town> within a letter saying '... because I note you live in ...'; or <[COMPANIES]Financial Year> in a similar way. For Diary mailings, you could insert <[ACTIONS]Action Name> to bring in the text describing eg a specific Seminar into a wholly standard Seminar confirmation letter.
You can also insert Enterprise variables in the text. You would normally use variables such as «vDetails» (which contains the address) and «vFrom» (which contains the name of the signatory) but you could also use «vDue», for example, to insert amounts owing in a debt chasing letter. Please refer to the descriptions of the various 'Mail…' functions below for lists of available Enterprise variables. These expressions must be in the format
On completion of the entry or modification of a letter, the system calculates whether page breaks are going to be required when you print. This may take some time if you have entered a lot of text.