If you decide to use mail-merge bills, QuickFill either produces dBASE or delimited text files that you can use with the mail-merge facility of your word processor to print these bills. The type of file produced is determined by the format code (MMERG1, MMERG2, MMERG3 or MMERG4) specified in your billing package definitions.
How to specify mail-merge bills
You let QuickFill know you want mail-merge bills on the billing package definition screen by selecting Mail-merge' in the 'Bill format' area and specifying a format code in the Mail-merge format code' field. You should also make sure to fill in the 'Form set code' field on the package definition screen. QuickFill uses your entry in this field to identify the mail-merge template you intend to use. Because you make this choice on the package definition screen, you can use different templates for different efforts in a billing series. Also, a series can mix mail-merge and standard bills (click here for details on billing packages ).
Where to find the mail-merge bill files
You'll see in the billing update report a list of any mail-merge bill files QuickFill produced. You can use this list as a checklist when you print the mail-merge bills.
Delimited text mail-merge bill file names are in this format: Bills_xxxxxx_nnn.txt, where xxxxxx is a publication code and nnn is a three-digit number. dBASE mail-merge bill files are named BILLnnn.dbf. For the exact location of the mail-merge files, look at the mail-merge directory on the "About QuickFill" screen. The directory for these files may be specified on the preferences definition screen.
Format of the mail-merge bill files
The data in the mail-merge bills are basically the same as that in the standard bills. The major difference is that instead of QuickFill's producing them as a regular report file and printing them using the 'Print…' menu item, they are in a special format for use with your word processor's mail-merge facility.
In the mail-merge file, QuickFill places a field separator that marks the end of each field on each bill for your word processor. QuickFill also marks the end of a bill with a record separator. The default field and record separators are a comma and a carriage return/line feed respectively. You can specify other separators on the preferences definition screen (click here for details ).
Field summary for mail-merge bills and order acknowledgements