Form Letters in Salsa CRM can be donation thank you letters, Acknowledgment Letters to families of tribute gifts, Silent Auction winner notifications, Receipts for Canadian customers, or Membership welcome letters or renewal notices, for example.
This article describes the second step, to edit the file to ensure compatibility, such as adding CRM data variables to your Document, which get replaced with actual data when the form letter is generated.
The first step is to create a new Document or upload an existing file into Salsa CRM.
The last step is to make sure Salsa CRM knows that the Document is to be designated as a Form Letter.
NOTE: If you simply make edits to a document, and it is already designated as a form letter, you do not need to redesignate the document. However, already printed or emailed form letters cannot be recalled.
For more information about using Google Docs to format your content, see how to change paragraph and font formatting or review Google Docs Cheat Sheet.
A Note On Google Docs Functionality
Due to Google limitations, Salsa cannot use Google Docs' in-app toolbar functionality to load a file, image, or photo from Google Drive. Instead, use the Open from Google Drive button above the Google Docs toolbar to open a Google Drive document.
To add an image, use the Upload from Computer option under the Insert menu in the Google Docs toolbar. Use the Refresh button above the Google Docs toolbar to clear any errant pop-ups.
Edit an Existing Document Stored in Salsa CRM
- Select the Manage menu.
- Select Documents.
- Select Search Documents.
- The Document Search screen will be displayed. Type the desired Description. Enter other known search parameters, such as Earliest Date, Latest Date, Include Form Letters Only, or Document Type (DOC, DOCX, or RTF types). If the entire name or spelling is not known, you may use the * as a wildcard. For example, if you are searching for a Batch whose name contains Gala, then you could type *2004* and all of the Documents that have Gala anywhere in the name will be returned.
- Select the Search button. A list of possible matches will be returned.
- Double click the desired Document to open it.
The Document Search window is able to be sorted. Select the group you wish to sort by (such as Updated date, Added By, Description, etc.) and click twice. The arrow to the right of the header title shows whether the information is sorted in an ascending (pointing up) or descending (pointing down) manner.
There is no need to save your document editing progress because Google Docs automatically saves information every time you take an action or stop typing in the document. Google Docs may take a moment or two to save, indicated by "Saving..." in the Google Docs frame near the title of the Document. It is recommended that the user wait until that process is complete before saving to the CRM.
Add Variables to Your Document
The Insert Variables button allows you to insert dynamic text elements into your form letter templates. The variables you insert in the location where your cursor rests will be substituted with the appropriate text when the letter or email is formatted. For a complete list of variables, please see the article, Variable Names for Form Thank You and Acknowledgment Letter Templates.