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In this tutorial we will create a document for a Contact from the template 'Blank Letter - Contact Address'. This template will insert the Contact's name and address details.
Step 1: Select the Contact and Template
This can be done in several ways.
Method 1
You can click on the 'Contacts' folder in the treeview, scroll down the grid on the right to the desired Contact then right-click and select the template from the 'Document' sub-menu. The image below shows selecting the template for the contact Genine Anderson from the contact grid.
Method 2
The Contact folder on the left can be expanded to reveal the Contacts. Right-click on the contact then select the template from the 'Document' submenu.
Method 3
If the Contact details are visible (either by clicking once on the Contact in the treeview, or by double-clicking on the Contact in the grid) then the document template can be found by clicking the 'Document' and navigating the menu.
Step 2: Customising the Output
After the document template has been selected as described in step 1, the 'Document Merge' window will appear. Some templates may have 'variable' defined. These are normally things such as start date, currency type etc.
Document Title
The document will be created with the text in the 'Template' field shown in the Contact's activity list. Edit this if required so that the document is easily identified in the Contact's activity list.
Document Content
As we are using the template 'Blank Letter - Contact Address', the output needs to be customised. Depending on the content of the template this step may not be required. There are two ways the output may be customised.
Method 1 (recommended)
Click the preview button  and a window will appear with the details of the Contact merged into the template. Make the required changes and click 'Save and Close'.
Method 2
This method is more useful when performing a merge to more than one Contact as the template is modified for all Contacts in the merge. To alter the template click 'Customise'. After the changes have been made click 'Save and Close'.
Note: The changes made to the template are only applied to the current mail merge. The template is not permanently changed.
Step 3: Saving and Printing the Document
The final step is print and/or save the document. If you wish to save the document in the Contact's activity list, tick the disk icon  column next to the Contact's name. If you wish to print the document tick the printer icon  column next to the Contact's name and select the printer from the drop down. The printer properties can be set by clicking the icon  next to the printer selection.
Click 'Merge' in the bottom right of the window to create/save/print the document.
Report Manager
After the document has been created the 'Report Manager' window will appear. This lists all the documents created in the merge. In this case only one will be listed.
The report manager can be accessed at anytime from the main Forté menu by selecting Tools → Report Manager. The report manager lists the most recent merges.
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