Mail merge allows you to create a template that automatically inserts the correct contact information into your email.
However, you will need to provide specific keywords, or merge fields, so Method will know what data to insert.
For example, in the above image, you will notice six merge fields highlighted in yellow:
Company.CompanyName
Contacts.FirstName
Contacts.LastName
Contacts.Name
Contacts.Title
Contacts.Phone
When the template is used in an email, the merge fields will automatically be populated with the proper information as shown in the highlighted fields in green below:
This will apply to both the subject and the body of an email.
Merge Fields Syntax
While Mail Merge fields are powerful, it does require you to be familiar with how data is stored within Method.
Data is stored in a structure called tables. And if you wish to get information from that table, you need to know the tables name, and the field which holds the specific data.
For example, here is an example merge field:
Contacts.Firstname
In the above merge field, you see Contacts, followed by a period, and then Firstname.
Contacts: This is the name of the table you wish to retrieve information from.
Firstname: This is the field within that table you wish to retrieve.
Obviously, the data retrieved will be the first name of a Contact. Thus, the syntax to use within an email is:
[Tablename].[Fieldname]
This will require you to know the names of tables and fields, and we will discuss that further down.
You may be wondering, however, how will the email know which Contact to use? That is dependent on the email To field. Depending on whom you send it to, the merge field will update to reflect that.
What are Available Merge Fields?
There are only a few tables which are automatically set up for you to merge with:
Customer: Customer data
Contacts: Contact data
Vendor: Vendor data
Users: Data pertaining to the Method User currently signed in
Company: Data specific to your company
If you are familiar with tables, you will be able to find which fields to use. If you are not familiar with tables, then here are a few examples.
Customer.Name: Name of the customer as it appears in QuickBooks.
Customer.CompanyName: The customer's company.
Customer.FirstName: First name of the customer
Customer.LastName: Last name of the customer
Contacts.Name: Name of the contact.
Contacts.Email: Email of the contact.
Users.EmailSignature: Signature of user signed into Method:CRM.
Company.CompanyName: The name of your company.
There are a few other special fields you can use, not necessarily a merge field, but helpful nonetheless.
http://urlforportal/ - This will be replaced with the portal link of the contact it is sent to.
http://urlforstaff/ - This will be replaced with the login link for the Method User the email is sent to.
NOTE: If you wish to use Merge Fields in your customizations, this is accomplished by using the Replace Merge Fields function from the Character Functions action.