Defining Standard Letters
Before you begin defining letters, you need to make sure you have completed all of the prerequisites, including defining your Standard Paragraphs, Letter Type Codes, and Letter Template Files.
For more information, see:
Each letter is essentially just a collection of standard paragraphs. You arrange the paragraphs in the order in which you want them to appear when the letter is prepared (either by an agent or during the batch fulfillment process).
To access the Standard Letters screen:
In Administration, select Company Setup > Fulfillment > Standard Letters.
Standard Letter Fields
The top section of the Standard Letter screen is a standard Code Definition.
Standard Letter tab
At the code level, the following additional fields are provided on the Standard Letter tab and are specific to letters:
Field | Description |
|---|---|
Standard Letter | This is the ID that was assigned when the code was created. It cannot be modified. |
Letter Type | Select a Letter Type Code to categorize this letter. For more information, see Defining Letter Type Codes. |
Letter Format | Choose the intended output format for this letter. The choices are as follows:
The Letter Format you choose also determines the editor that will be used by agents when creating and editing letters. HTML and Plain Text letters will be edited using Emplifi Agent's built-in editor. Using the built-in editor generally results in much better performance for your users. |
Standard Letter File Name | Enter the name of the Letter Template Files to be used when this letter is prepared. If the letter type is HTML text, the template file should have either an .HTM or .HTML extension. If the letter type is Plain text, the template file should have a .txt extension. |
Subject | This is used only for letters that will be sent via email. Select a standard paragraph to use to create the default email subject. |
Allow Auto-Prep | Select this option to indicate that the letter does not have to be prepared by an agent, but can instead be automatically prepared during the batch fulfillment process. If a letter is encountered during batch fulfillment that is not prepared, and does not have this option selected, an exception is generated. |
Always Review Letter in Proofing | Select the check box to mark this letter for proofing using the Letter Proofing Utility. Each letter on a case has a "Customized" flag (which may or may not be visible to the user) that indicates if the letter was customized by the agent after it was prepared. If this option is selected, the flag is set automatically when the letter is added to the case, regardless of whether or not the agent actually customizes the letter. This can be useful for letters that use lots of complex inserts that should be verified before the letter is sent out. |
Requires Issue | Select this option to require that an issue is associated with the letter when it is attached to a case. This allows you to keep track of what issue the letter was sent in response to and allows the system to properly pull in information from the issue. When this option is selected, if the Issue field on the letter is left blank or set to No Issue, a warning message displays indicating that an issue needs to be selected for the letter. Click Continue on the message and the Issue field defaults to issue 1 but can be changed. If the letter is defined for auto-prep and this option is selected, an exception is generated in Batch Fulfillment Create if the issue is not defined on the case letter. |
Default Letter Ready to Print | Select this check box if you want the Ready check box on the Letter view of the Case window to default to selected. The Ready check box indicates whether the letter is ready to be processed (for example, picked, printed, or sent). For more information, see the Letter Fields section in Letters. On Case Dismiss, if the case has a status of Closed and there are letters not marked Ready to Print, the system displays a warning and allows you to update the letter. This is a check to help prevent letters not being included in fulfillment. |
If you support customers in multiple languages, select the language ID for this letter. The language ID indicates the following when using the letter:
|
Paragraphs tab
In this section you define which paragraphs you want to appear in your letter, and in which order.
Each paragraph is assigned to a bookmark contained in the Letter Template Files. When the letter is being prepared (either by the agent or during fulfillment processing), the system will access the appropriate template file, search for the appropriate bookmarks, and insert the specified paragraph at that location. If the paragraph uses paragraph inserts, these are also replaced during the letter preparation.
To add additional paragraphs to a letter definition:
Click the New Paragraph button on the banner. A new bookmark is added in the next available sequence.
Select the ID of the Standard Paragraph to be added.
The Seq field is almost always set to one. This is used in rare circumstances where the same bookmark repeats multiple times in a letter template file, and you need to choose which instance of the bookmark to use for this paragraph.
To re-order the paragraphs:
In the Bookmark column, renumber the bookmarks.
Because the system will not let you duplicate bookmarks, you may have to temporarily assign some entries to unused numbers so that other numbers can be shuffled around.
An error message will display to inform you of the duplicate bookmark.
To delete a paragraph:
Select the paragraphs in the list that you want to delete.
Click the Delete Paragraph option from the banner.
You will be asked to confirm the deletion.
After you make any changes to paragraphs, make sure to save.
To preview the letter:
In the Preview using Case ID field, enter a Case ID.
Click the Preview button from the banner.