To open the Setup Merge Documents form, click Setup in the shortcut or drop-down menu, then click Documents, then click Merge Documents.
The Setup Merge Documents form allows you to create or modify any number of merge documents for use in your construction contracting business, including contracts, mail merge letters, or other merge documents. Merge documents automatically merge company, customer, and job information, as well as boilerplate text into the documents when they are printed. This allows you to create custom versions of each contract or document for each customer and job.
The Merge Document entry form has the following prompts:
| Document: |
| Select the name of a document to edit from the drop-down list, or type a new name to create a new document. |
Smart Contractor comes with a number sample merge documents, including:
| Add button |
Click Add (or select the "(Add New)" option in the drop down list) to create a new merge document. When you add a new document, the prompt for Document will be blank. Enter the name of the new document there. |
| Type: |
The Type prompt determines which merge fields will be available in the Merge Field List (below). Not all merge data is available to all merge documents because some merge data requires you to select a particular record (Quote Request, Purchase Order, Invoice, etc.) before the merge document can be generated. |
| Status |
| Normal status is "Active". You can set the status to "Inactive" to retain a document in the database, but prevent it from being used. Set the status to "Deleted" to delete the document. |
| Merge Field List |
On the right of the screen there is a list of merge fields, and boilerplate texts, that can be inserted anywhere in the document. To create a merge document, type text in the word processor window, and insert merge fields from the merge field list into your document. To insert a merge field into the document:
Merge fields that are prefixed by "<<(BP)" merge boilerplate text. You can create boilerplate text in the Setup Boilerplate Text form. |
| Merge Field Descriptions |
The information merged by most merge fields is self explanatory. For example, the "<<Company Address>>" merge field merges the company address (that you enter in the company information setup form). Some merge fields deserve some discussion. The following is an explanation of the information merged by selected merge fields: |
| <<Allowance Schedule>> |
Merges the contents of the Allowance Schedule report. Note: The Allowance Schedule listing always displays item costs regardless of the setting of the On Contract: option in the Edit Job form. |
| <<Change Order>> |
Merges the contents of a single change order that you specify in the prompt for Change Order when the "Change Order" document is printed. Note: The <<Change Order>> merge field will merge a single change order only when it is used in the "Change Order" document that comes with Smart Contractor. When used in any other document, <<Change Order>> will merge a listing of all change orders, as does <<Change Order List>>. |
| <<Change Order List>> |
Merges a listing of all change orders as they appear in the Change Order listing report. |
| <<Company Letterhead>> |
| Inserts a letterhead formatted according to options set in the Setup Printed Forms entry. |
| <<Deposit Amount>> |
| Merges from the Deposit Amount entry in the Job Information entry form. |
| <<Draw Request By Job Phase>> |
Merges the contents of the Draw Request report by Job Phase. |
| <<Draw Request By Structure>> |
Merges the contents of the Draw Request report by Item Structure. |
| <<Draw Request By CSI Div>> |
Merges the contents of the Draw Request report by CSI Division. |
| <<Draw Request Summary>> |
Merges a one page summary of the draw request (invoice). This is typically used in conjunction with the Draw Request By Job Phase, or Draw Request By Item Structure listings as a summary of the draw request data. |
| <<Draw Schedule>> |
Merges the contents of the Draw Schedule. |
| <<Invoice>> |
Merges the contents of a single Invoice that you specify in the prompt for Invoice when the "Draw Request" document is printed. Note: The <<Invoice>> merge field will merge a single invoice only when it is used in the "Draw Request" document that comes with Smart Contractor. When used in any other document, <<Invoice>> will merge a listing of all invoices, as does <<Invoice List>>. |
| <<Invoice List>> |
| Merges the contents of the Invoices Listing. |
| <<Item List By Structure>> |
Merges a listing of the items in the job by "item structure". This is the way items appear in the list on the left side of the screen in the Edit Job Estimate form. Note: All items are included in this list, including those with a zero count entered in the prompt for Item Count in the Edit Job Estimate form do not appear. |
| <<Item List By Type>> |
Merges a listing of the items in the job grouped by Job Phase. Job Phases are sequenced by the CPM schedule model currently selected in the Schedule Setup form. Note: Items with no cost entered in the Edit Job Estimate form do not appear. |
| <<Job Description/Full>> |
| Merges from the Full Description entry in the Job Information entry form. |
| <<Job Description/Short>> |
| Merges from the Short Description entry in the Job Information entry form. |
| <<Job Duration>> |
| Merges the total number of days required to complete the job as computed by the program's CPM scheduling logic. |
| <<Job Permit Number>> |
| Merges from the Permit Number entry in the Job Information entry form. |
| <<Job Progress>> |
| Merges a listing of the job items that have been started, or completed. |
| <<Job Recap>> |
| Merges a listing of the Job Recap report. |
| <<Job Schedule>> |
| Merges the job schedule listing. |
| <<Job Site Photos>> |
| Merges a listing of the job site photos report. |
| <<Job Start Date>> |
| Merges from the Job Start Date entry in the Job Information entry form. |
| <<Job Total (Text)>> |
| Merges the spelled out words of the calculated job total. If <<Job Total>> = $123.45 then <<Job Total (Text)>> will merge "One Hundred Twenty Three Dollars and Forty Five Cents". |
| <<Job Total>> |
| Merges the calculated job total based on entries in the Edit Job Estimate form. |
| <<Job Type>> |
| Merges from the Job Type entry in the Job Information entry form. |
| <<Job Work Schedule>> |
| Merges a listing of the Job Schedule. |
| <<New Page>> |
| Inserts a page break. Any following text will be printed on a new page. |
| <<Allowance Variance>> |
Merges the contents of the Allowance Variance report. Note: The Allowance Variance listing always displays item costs regardless of the setting of the On Contract: option in the Edit Job form. |
| <<Payment Terms>> |
| Merges from the Payment Terms entry in the Job Information entry form. |
| <<Product Quote List>> |
| Merges a listing of items assigned to a Vendor in the Edit Job Estimate form. |
| <<Special Terms>> |
| Merges from the Special Terms entry in the Job Information entry form. |
| <<Subcontract Quote List>> |
| Merges a listing of items assigned to a Subcontractor in the Job Estimate entry form. |
| <<Today's Date>> |
| Merges todays' date. |
Word Processor Commands
The merge document editor is a word processor. It works very similar to the "WordPad" editor that comes with Windows. Please see the Word Processor topic for a complete discussion of how to operate the merge document word processor.
Command Buttons
| OK button |
| When you have finished editing the document, Click OK to save it. |
| Cancel button |
| Click Cancel to close the document without saving changes. |
| Left and Right arrow buttons |
| The left and right arrow buttons allow you to skip from one document to another (alphabetically, by name). |
Inserting Graphics
You can insert graphic images into your merge documents. To do this, follow these steps:
| Position Cursor |
| Click in the word processor window to place the cursor where you want the image to appear. |
| Click Image Button |
| Click the Insert Image button. This is the 9th button from the left that has the circle, triangle, square picture on it. This will open the graphic image file browse dialog window. |
| Select image file |
| Browse to and select the image file. Click Open. This will insert the image in the document. |
Note: It is not necessary to insert your company logo or letterhead into your merge documents. This can be done automatically by inserting the "<<Company Letterhead>>" merge field anywhere in the document. When the "<<Company Letterhead>>" merge field appears in the document, Smart Contractor automatically prints your letterhead, according to how you specify it in the Printed Forms Setup form.
Note: If you make changes to one of the The Smart Contractor sample documents, and you would like to restore the original version of the document, you can do that using the Restore Merge Documents menu option.