How to use a template (letterhead) dynamically?

[Guest]

My company changes their letterhead every few months. We have many form
letters and would prefer to not edit each one everytime the letterhead is
changed. The letterhead is from a .dot. But it looks like that .dot gets
embedded in the document once the .doc is created. I would like for it to be
dynamic - when the letterhead changes it would be reflected in a document
that uses it. These form letters are used in mail merges.Thank you in advance
for your suggestions.

 

[Charles Kenyon]

Your documents should be templates, not documents.

My recommendation would be to store your letterhead information that is
subject to change in AutoText. That AutoText should be stored in a separate
global template, not in the letterhead template. See
http://addbalance.com/word/movetotemplate.htm for step-by-step instructions
on moving / sharing / copying / backing-up customizations including
AutoText, AutoCorrect, keyboard assignments, toolbars, macros, etc.

Then create your letterhead using AutoText fields. Have an AutoNew macro
that updates these fields and then unlinks them (so they are just text or
graphics, not fields anymore) when a new document is created based on your
templates. This way, the templates are dynamic, but the documents created
and sent out will be historically accurate if saved in electronic form.

There are other ways of doing this as well. None is simple, but it can be
done.

Take a look at: How to set up letterhead or some other document where you
want one header on the first page and a different header on other pages.
http://www.addbalance.com/word/headersfooters.htm This gives step-by-step
instructions. (It also has the following links)

Some other pages to look at:

Letterhead Tips and Instructions
http://sbarnhill.mvps.org/WordFAQs/Letterhead.htm

Letterhead Textboxes and Styles tutorial
http://addbalance.com/word/download.htm#LetterheadTextboxesAndStylesTutorial

Template Basics
http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/templates.htm

How to Create a Template - Part 2 - essential reading
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Customization/CreateATemplatePart2.htm


Hope this helps,
--

Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.

 

[Guest]

I guess I need to give you more details on what I am doing and trying to
achieve.
My .docs are Mail Merge main documents. I have an automerge macro embedded
that merges the data source file with the main document and then
automatically displays only the merged New file on the user's screen. I have
many of these Mail Merge main documents to maintain. The data sources are
generated from an application which uses ActiveX to launch Word and present
the final letter to the user.

The main documents all have the same letterhead which as I've said in my
original post changes often. I was hoping I could use something in a macro
which would associate the main document with the letterhead. It cannot be
stored locally on each user's computer but with the main document in a
network drive. My hope was when the letterhead had a name or logo change - it
would be changed on a "letterhead" doc or template and 'get' into the final
New Letter after merging?

I'm sorry, but I do understand why the .docs should be templates and do not
think given the extra complexity of a mail merge and existing macros that it
would work as you've outlined.

Thank you again for your time and ideas.
K

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The usual way to accomplish this is to create a new document based on a
template (with a letterhead that can be changed according to Charles's
instructions) and then insert the letter data by pasting (a single letter)
or mail merging (multiple letters).

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Charles Kenyon]

I do the same thing. Save your main mailmerge documents as templates. Create
a new document to perform the mailmerge, based on the template. This then
would update the AutoText per the macro. Alternatively, you could have your
code that launches your merge first update the AutoText fields and then
unlink them.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.