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Printing Single Letters

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Printing Single Letters Overview

Writing a letter to one contact name is extremely easy, and is just a click away using the Word Action Button on any View Screen. You can include Insurance or Investment data in your letters, and you can convert your existing letters into Wordmerge format for use with Advisors Assistant.

The View Screen you are on controls what data is sent over to Word, and what data you can insert into your documents.

Sending Contact Data Only

When you click on the Word Action Button from any View Client Screen, only Contact information (name, addresses, phone numbers, birthdate, etc.) is sent over to Word.

Sending Contact And Policy or Contact And Investment Data

When you click on the Word Action Button from a View Policy Screen or View Investment Screen, both the contact data and the single policy or single investment data is sent to Word.

Which Address And Phone Number Is Sent To Word?

The address and phone number that is currently on the View Screen is the one sent to Word. You can use the arrow buttons in the address or phone number section to select a different address or phone number to send to Word.

How to Print a Single Letter

These instructions are written for Microsoft Word 2003. While other versions of Word have very similar mail merge steps, some of the icons have changed. Please call Advisors Assistant Support if you have questions about the steps below and the version of Word you are using.

1.	Click on the Word Action Button from any View Screen. The information you are viewing on the screen will be sent to Microsoft Word so you can use that information in the letter you write.

2.	Advisors Assistant will open Microsoft Word and you will see the Select Master Merge Document Screen.

3.	Click once on the file "AA Master Letter.doc" to highlight it and then click on Open. Microsoft Word will open and the contents of the AA Master Letter.doc will be displayed.

Select File | Save As from the menu options at the top of the Word Screen. Be sure to leave the “Save In” field on the default folder (which should be your WordMerge Doc folder) and give the document a new name. This will allow you to keep the integrity of your "AA Master Letter" as a template as well as make your new letter available for future use.

Notice the various entries surrounded by ‹‹ ››. These entries are called Merge Fields. These are placeholders to tell Word where to put the data from Advisors Assistant - when you merge the letter the data will be inserted into these fields. There are many possible merge fields you can use in your letters. These fields let you personalize your letters to your contact(s) to include their specific information with ease. The Master Letter shows “BODY OF LETTER GOES HERE” to indicate where you should begin typing the body of your letter.

5.	Type your letter, and wherever you want to place contact specific information click on the Insert Merge Field Icon () from the Mail Merge Toolbar in Word. The field will be inserted at the point of your cursor.

6.	You can click on the View Merged Data Icon () to preview your letter with the data merged into it.

7.	To print your letter it is best to use the Merge To Printer Icon () found on the Mail Merge Toolbar. Since you're only sending one letter you can just click OK to select ALL on the Merge To Printer Screen, then select the printer to which you're printing and click OK.

To print an envelope for this letter, do not use the "Tools | Letters & Mailings | Envelopes & Labels" option in Word. When you select this option Word does not grab all of the address fields in the mail merge letter. You'll want to set up a separate envelope document and use that document to print your envelopes (Advisors Assistant installs a #10 envelope document for you.)

How to Copy an Existing Letter into Wordmerge Format

1.	From any View Screen click on the Word Action Button.

2.	Choose the document "AA Master Letter."

3.	Select File \| Save As from the menu options at the top of the Word Screen. Be sure to leave the “Save In” field on the default folder (which should be your WordMerge Doc folder) and give the document a new name.

4.	Minimize the new "AA Letter" document and open the existing letter that you want in Advisors Assistant's Wordmerge format. Highlight the body of the letter and select Edit \| Copy from the menu options at the top of the Word Screen.

5.	Close the existing letter (just that one letter, not the entire Word program) and maximize the "AA Letter."

6.	Highlight “BODY OF LETTER GOES HERE” and go to Edit \| Paste to paste the body of your existing letter into your new "AA Letter."

7.	Make any adjustments to the letter that you would like and when you are finished Save your letter. It will now be accessible any time you click on a Word Button in Advisors Assistant.

How to include Insurance Data in a Letter

1.	From any View Client Screen click on the Insurance Tab at the bottom of the screen.

2.	Double click on the policy that you want included in the letter to your client.

3.	Click on the Word Action Button and either double click on the letter that you wish to print or highlight the letter and click Open.

4.	Since you had started out from a View Policy or View Coverage Screen, the policy data was sent over to Word and you can insert new policy data into the letter or print the letter with the fields you have set up.

How to include Account Data in a Letter

1.	From any View Client Screen click on the Investment Tab at the bottom of the screen.

2.	Double click on the account or investment that you want included in the letter to your client.

3.	Click on the Word Action Button and either double click on the letter that you wish to print or highlight the letter and click Open.

4.	Since you had started out from a View Account or View Investment Screen, the investment data was sent over to Word and you can insert new investment data into the letter or print the letter with the fields you have set up.

How to save a Letter for use with View Client With Files

When you open a document through Advisors Assistant, the document opens as a mail merge document. While you may be able to view the name information in the letter, the letter is never saved with the name information - the letter only ever has the mail merge fields.

If you wish to save a copy of the letter with the name information in it, you must first use the Word feature "Merge to New Document" to create a new document that is no longer a mail merge document. Then you can save the document and link it to the name in View Client With Files.

This process can only be used with single letters, not mass mailings.

1.	Click on the Word Action Button to open and print your letter.

2.	Before closing Word, click on the Merge To New Document Icon (). Word will open a second window with your new document. This document is no longer a mail merge document, it has merged your contact data into the letter.

3.	Save your new document to the location on your computer or network where you are saving correspondence. We do not recommend saving correspondence you'll be linking to Advisors Assistant to a C Drive, and more information about this is available in the View Client With Files Help.

4.	Exit from Word and, if you wish, save your Letter Log.

5.	From the View Client Screen click on the Files Tab. Link the document you just saved to the contact name. Additional help regarding linking files is available in the Add/Modify Files Help.