Export to Forms

Advanced Export:
Forms, Labels and Mail Merge

Level 4 and Above

You can fill in forms, create labels, and generate mail merge letters by using AnyOrder's Advanced Export in combination with Microsoft Word or other word processing programs.

An example of how form filling works is the Bill of Lading Form which has been included in the AnyOrder software package. (More information on the Bill of Lading Form is found below.)

It takes a bit of preparation time to get things for mail merging, but once you get the preliminaries out of the way, the process itself is quick and easy.

Additionally, you'll find that you have complete flexibility. You can design your own forms and create your own letters. It's even possible to use mail merge functions to send out emails to all or a selected group of your customers.

Getting Set-up

The following describes the steps involved in the mail merge process. For simplicity, we'll assume that you are using Microsoft Word to create your document, but you can use other word processors as well. (By the way, when we use the term "document," we mean a form, a letter or a label format.)

1. First create the document (form, letter or label format) in Microsoft Word. In this first step, you just want to create the document. Don't worry about adding the merge fields yet. You'll do that after you run an export. When everything is formatted the way you want it, save the document.

2. Start AnyOrder and go to Advanced Export (FILE and ADVANCED EXPORT). Create an export profile with the fields you want to merge into the Word document. If you haven't created a profile before, you'll want to read over the help information starting here: Export (First Dialog Box). Here's are two points to keep in mind:

A. Before starting to build your profile, select "Text - Comma Delimited" for the "Type of File." That's the type of file format that you'll be importing into Microsoft Word.

B. When you are finished creating the profile, save it. Then click on "Other Options." When you look at the Other Options dialog box, you'll see "Word Processor Start-up Document." In this blank, enter the name of the Word document (which you created in step #1 above).

3. After you've completed the profile and saved it, return to the first dialog box.

A. Give the export file a name.

B. For the export directory, select: C:\AnyOrder\My_File.

C. Place a checkmark beside: "First Record: List Field Names."

D. Select one of your invoices that has data you want to merge into the Microsoft Word document. Then click on "Start Export Process." This will create an export file which you'll use to set up the merge fields in Microsoft Word.

4. Start up Microsoft Word again. If you haven't used the mail merge functions in Microsoft Word, you'll want to read through the documentation that comes with Word. Using the newly created export file (created in # 3 above), add the merge fields to the appropriate locations in your document. Save your work.

5. Make a second copy of your Microsoft Word document and save it to a disk. When AnyOrder does a back-up, it only backs up data files. It doesn't back-up mail merge documents. If you have a hard disk failure or if you uninstall the program, you'll lose these files. Give yourself some insurance by making a second copy of document for safe keeping.

6. The hard part is over. To run the process, start on the first dialog box in Advanced Export. Place a checkmark in "Immediately start-up Word Program…" Then click on "Start Export Process." (Note: if this the first time you used the "Immediately start-up Word Program," you'll need to indicate a path to Microsoft Word. Once you indicate the path, you'll need to click on "Start Export" again to re-start the process.)

(Note: newer versions of Microsoft Word will trigger the following message: "Opening this document will run the following SQL command …" Just click on "Yes." You can remove this message by following these directions: MS Word Hints.)

AnyOrder will create the export file. Then it will automatically start Word, load the merge document (that you indicated in Other Options). The form, letter or label will appear with all the data in place.

Important Note: Microsoft Word's merge functions are notoriously finicky and you may not see your current data when the program first opens. In fact, you may see the data from your last export. Because of this, it's always a good idea to do a quick check. In newer Word programs make sure the "Mailings" ribbon is showing. In older Word programs: select Tools >> Letters and Mailings >> Show Mail Merge Tool Bar. Then for newer Word program, click the "Preview Results" button off and on. Or for older Word program, click the "View Merge Data" icon off and on. That refreshes the screen so that you'll see your new data.

Bill of Lading Form

AnyOrder comes with a Bill of Lading Form. The Bill of Lading was created in Microsoft Word. (Our many thanks to Vicky Rush of Rush Industries for creating and providing the form for use in AnyOrder.)

If you have a copy of Word on your computer, it's worthwhile to see how the export process works. Even if you don't use Bill of Lading forms in your business, it provides an excellent demonstration of how AnyOrder can be used to auto-fill business forms.

To use it, you'll need to create an invoice and fill out AnyOrder's Shipment Form. Then run the export. The first time you run it, AnyOrder will ask for the path to Microsoft Word. Click on "Browse" and select the path.

After indicating the path, you need to run the export once again. During the process, AnyOrder will create a small export file, start Microsoft Word, and load in the Bill of Lading form. Once Microsoft Word starts, it does a mail merge and auto-fills the form.