Correspondence Management

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Use the Administration/Correspondence Management option to configure the following:

Correspondence Management functionality lets you manage correspondence templates including letter/email templates and merge term values used in the templates.

  • Upload, version, and delete correspondences templates
  • Rollback to previous versions of templates
  • Activate and deactivate templates
  • Customize templates for specific object types (i.e. Complaints, Case, Request, etc.)
  • Download and view templates
  • Modify merge terms

Note: The instructions below can be accessed from the ArkCase Admin section.

Merge Fields Configuration

Use the Merge Fields option to update merge terms.

To view the merge fields, select the object type on the Merge Fields Configuration header.

Edit a Merge Term

Select the object type for the merge term and locate it in the list. Select the merge term value, update the text and save.

Add a New Merge Term

You can define a new merge term which you can then use in a template.

  1. Select Correspondence Management, then choose Correspondence Templates.
  2. Click the “i” icon next to any of the  Provider names.

The properties related to the template are shown.

3. Expand the object for which you wish to add a merge term, for example, Request.

The fields for that object are listed. You can use these fields for new merge terms.

4. Select Correspondence Management, then select Merge Field Configuration. 

5. Click the + icon to add a new merge term. The new Merge Field Configuration window opens.

  • Enter a Field Id. Use a single word with no spaces.  This is the merge term name that you will include in the correspondence template, and this name appears in the merge terms list.

  • Enter the Correspondence Field Value: Use a property name from the Correspondence Object Tree View shown above, for example, “modified” or “caseNumber” for case files; nested properties must be separated by dot: “queue.name”.

  • Enter an Email Field Value for use in email templates.
  • Enter a Field Description.
  • Select the Object Type from the dropdown menu.

6. Click Add Merge Field. The new merge field is shown in the list. You can add it to templates as described below.

 

Correspondence Templates

Use the correspondence templates option to add, update, or delete templates.

Modify a Correspondence Template

1. To modify an existing letter template, click the file name Title. The document downloads automatically.

2. Click on the downloaded file to open it.

3. Make the necessary changes to the document. You can change static text, graphics, and select different layout options. See instructions below to add merge terms.

Add Merge Term to a Template

  1. To add merge terms to the document, use the following pattern – ${merge term value}.  For example, to add the current date merge term to the form,  add ${currentDate} to the Word document in the desired location. See the example below.

2. To view the available merge fields for the template, click the info icon next to the value for Template Model Provider.

The Correspondence Templates Fields window opens.

3. Select the Merge Fields tab.

The list of field names and descriptions opens.

4. Add or edit the merge terms in the Word document template as needed.

5. Save the template locally.

Upload the Updated Template

  1. Click the  checkbox next to the template and click Upload on the Correspondence Templates title bar to open the upload window.

2. Click Upload Template, browse to your document, then click Open, then click Upload Template.  The document (of the same name) replaces the previous version.

Add a New Correspondence Template

1. To add a new template, create the template from an existing one and save it locally.

2. Click the Upload option to browse and find the new template.

3. Select/enter the Object Type, Template Model Provider, and Display Name and click Upload Template.

By default, the new template will be marked with  Status = Activated.  This means the template is available for use within the Request Module.  If the template is set to Deactivated, it will not be available for use.

 

Guidelines for Template Design

  • If the template has a logo, it should be part of the document header and should not be placed in the document body. Other images can be placed in the document body.
  • It is good practice to use the same style for all templates. Recommended Font Size is 10. Recommended Font is “Calibri (Body)”.
  • If another font should be used for a template, the whole template should be re-written using the new font and desired size.
  • For multipage templates, check the field “Different first page” in “Header and Footer” section, or the template will be created with logo on every page.
  • For space, it is better to use tab button instead of space (i.e., Dear (Tab) ${requesterFirstName}).
  • Merge terms could be any expression that correspond to a legitimate value from the merge term section of the Admin Module.
  • Merge terms style can be bold, normal, italic or underlined. Apply the style from the dollar sign and end with closing curly brace. Examples of this:
    • ${mergeTerms}
    • ${mergeTerms}
    • ${mergeTerms}
  • Some special signs and characters could affect the template (only unicode characters work – http://www.unicode-symbol.com/u/00A7.html).
  • Text boxes should be avoided, but if necessary it is a good idea to test how the template will be generated before adding it.

Email Templates

Use the Email Templates option to add, update, or delete email templates.

Modify an Email Template

  1. To modify an existing email template, click the file name Title.  The file downloads automatically. (Email templates are file type html. )
  2. Open the file with Notepad or Notepad++

 

3. Edit the html file as needed.  To add new merge terms to the document, use the pattern ${merge term value}.  For example, add ${taskStartDate} to the HTML code where the value should appear when the template is used (see example below).

4. When you are done making changes, save the file locally.

5. Replace the file on the list:  Click checkbox and click Upload on the Email Templates title bar to open the upload window.

6. Browse to your document, then click Open, then click Upload Template.  The email (of the same name) replaces the previous version.

For each email template you can add an Email Subject. The system will use the Email subject as the default for emails using the template.

Add a New Email Template

1. To add a new template, create the template from an existing one and save it locally.

2. Click the Upload option to browse and find the new template.

3. Select/enter the Object Type, Template Model Provider, and Display Name and click Upload Template.