Summary

Forms refer to Microsoft Word documents that, through the use of merge fields, allow users to pull data from the application and customize how that data is displayed on the forms. This topic will provides complete step-by-step instructions for this functionality in Cirrus.

Step by Step

1     View the existing Forms.

• Open the Word Merge Form Selection window (Module> Maintenance> Forms).
• The Word Merge Form Selection window will display all of the forms created in the application.
  • Click a column header to sort the forms by that column or drag a column header to the top of the data grid to group the forms by that column.
• Click the Excel or CSV Export button if you would like to create an export file of the information that displays in the window.
• Highlight a form and click the Delete button to delete the selected form.
• Highlight a form and click the Edit button to open and edit an existing form.
• Click the Create button to create a new Form Template. This will open the Word Merge Form Maintenance window.

2     Create a new Form.

• Enter a unique Form Name for the form. The field can be up to 32 characters long. Once the form has been saved, you will not be able to edit this field.
• Use the System field to select the module the form will be used in. This will default to the module the Form Maintenance window was launched from.
• Use the Process field to specify which process in the selected module the form will be used in.
• Enter an optional form Description.
• After you have entered the form details, click the Download Data Source button to download data source .txt file for the current module to the Downloads folder on your local computer.

3     Create a new Form using Word mail merge.

• Create a new document in Microsoft Word and open the Mailings tab.
• Under the Select Recipients drop-down menu, select Use an Existing List to open the Select Data Source window.
• Browse to the data source .txt file that you downloaded from the Form Maintenance window in Cirrus.
  • Downloaded files are saved in the Downloads folder by default, but a different download location may have been specified by your organization.
  • The data source file name will be formatted as XXDataSource.txt, where the XX is replaced with the module the file was generated from. For example, a data source file generated in UB will be named UBDataSource.txt.
  • If you encounter an unrecognized data source error when attempting to select the downloaded .txt file, right-click on the .txt file, select Properties, and check the Unblock toggle at the bottom of the General tab. This will allow Word to load the data source file as expected.
• Once the Word document is open and the data source has been established, you can create your form.
• Click the Insert Merge Field drop-down menu to select the data fields you want displayed on the form.
  • For instance, the merge field Account_cust_no is the customer number. By inserting this merge field into the Word document, and then attaching the form to a UB process, the form will display the data found in the customer number field of the UB account included in the process.
  • Images, charts, tables, etc. can also be inserted into the Word document.
• One the form is complete, save the Word document to your computer and proceed to the next step.

4     Upload and Save the Form.

• Click the SELECT FILE button on the Form Maintenance window, browse to the Word form created above, and click Open.
• The area below the SELECT FILE button will display the uploaded Word form.
  • Only one Word form can be attached on the Form Maintenance window. Click the Delete button next to the Word form to remove it.
• Click the Save button on the Form Maintenance window.
• The new form will now be available when creating form letters in the specified system and process.