Suggested Pre-Reading: Document Editor Introduction
Overview
The Document Editor is where you can create templates of letters that, when built with merge fields, can bring in patient-specific information into a final, personalized merged letter.
Create the Document
Open the Document Editor. Under the File Tab, use the New dropdown menu to select what type of document you are creating. For the purposes of this example, it will be a Letter. Select Save As, and the following screen will pop up, allowing you to assign a name to the new document and identify a specific location (if necessary) this document will be used for.
Document Set-Up
Under the Home menu, select the Font Style and size for the document. Any merge fields that you select will use the same style and font that is selected for the letter.
Determine how the document will be laid out. If you want an image next to some text, you will need to add a table to the document. Then enter the merge field into the table.
Adding the Merge Field
Place your curser in the document where you want the merge field to go. Select the Merge Fields tab. Using the dropdown that applies (in our example, it is General > Basic > Todays Date Words.
And the Merge Field populates where the cursor was set:
If you would like to do anything specific with the merge field itself after entering it into the document, you can perform the normal procedures to Bold or Underline the merge field itself.
Inserting Merge Fields from a Questionnaire
When in the Document, Select the Merge Field tab, and the Category of General. Under the dropdown menu provided, select Questions (the bottom option), and slide to the right and select Questionnaire Question. A box will pop up that looks like this:
Select the name of the Questionnaire you need to obtain the information from in the top field. Once you do that, all of the questions on that Questionnaire will populate in the second field.
Within the Question field, highlight the first question you want in this document. Select the applicable Text Style field, and then select Insert.
Inserting Images into a Document
It is suggested to use a table when adding multiple images to have them align properly.
When in the Document, Select the Merge Field tab, and the Category of General. In the dropdown menu select Images, and then Images in the next menu.
From here you can choose the series type and the image type to be added. Please note, the image type you select here will determine which populates in the letter. If you choose the series type titled <Before> this will merge an image from before treatment. If you choose the series type <After> this will merge an image from after treatment. <Latest> will merge the latest image of that type, and there are records specific options as well. Initial Records, Progress Records, Refinement Records, Phase I Debond Records, Debond Records, and Final Records will only pull images from that series when selected.
After you select the series type, you will want to pick the image type. Afterwards, the merge field will look like this:
This image shown above is the latest Buccal Right. It will appear this way until the letter is merged, and once it is merged it will pull the latest Buccal Right Image for the patient.
Troubleshooting Merge Field Issues
1. What if I have a Merge Field in my Document, but it is not showing in the final letter?
There are multiple areas that could cause this to happen. First, check to see if the question was answered on the Questionnaire for that patient. The letter will only show questions that have been answered on the final letter. Secondly, check to see if there are Layman's and Technical text entered in the questionnaire for answers. If you are sending a letter to a doctor, but there is no technical text listed under that questionnaire, it will also not show in the final letter. Third, if you have made any changes to the questions within the questionnaire itself, the merge fields (in the Document Editor) will need to be deleted and re-added.
2. What if I am sending a letter to a Dentist, but their address information is not showing on the letter so we can send it to them?
In the Document Editor, when creating a Letter, we always recommend you create the letter with recipient merge fields. This way it will grab the recipient information, as long as they are in the Patient's account, such as a dentist, parent, oral surgeon, etc. If you only add the merge field for the Dentist, and the recipient is not a Dentist, their address information will not show.
3. How many images can I add into a Document?
The number of images depends on their size (pixels, not how big they are on the screen). The maximum size of any document that can be saved in the Document Editor is 4 MB. You can see the sizing status bar in the lower right corner of the Document Editor. It will turn red when you are over the limit, and it will give you a warning that the document is unable to be saved. If you see this warning, remove as many images as necessary to get the document under the 4 MB size. Then save the document
4. What if images are not cropped when merged?
If an image is merged with a document before it has been edited (cropped, flipped, shifted, etc.) subsequent merges will continue to use the original image. This can be corrected by exporting the images to a local computer, deleting the images from the patient, importing them again and performing edits before merging with a document. To prevent this, do not merge images into document until they have been edited.
Conclusion
This article briefly covered how to insert a merge field into a document. No matter which dropdown menu you select them from, the process is always the same. There is no limit to the number of merge fields which can be incorporated into a document.
As always, if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to reach out to Cloud 9 Support by emailing us at cloud9support@planetdds.com, or chatting us online using the chat bubble on the lower right at https://cloud9support.planetdds.com/hc/en-us, or giving us a call during our business hours of 8:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST at the 1.800.394.6050 option 2.