Generating a Batch of Form Letters

This Quick Start Guide is for use with the Form Letters module, which is available within several WinTen² programs, a.k.a the “host program.” A form letter’s host program is the WinTen² module (program) that manages the data used to run that form letter, such as Applicant List and Occupancy and Rent Calculation (ORC).

Generating a batch of form letters involves 3 main steps:

Access appropriate WinTen² program.

Enter form letter batch details.

Specify filter/sort criteria.

Access WT2 Program

Access the program and select the appropriate data area in which you want to generate a form letter.

From the Main Menu screen of the WT2 program, click LETTERS. The Process Form Letters screen appears

Click

on the toolbar. The Generate Form Letter Wizard is initiated.

Enter Form Letter Batch Details

Select the template group that contains the form letter template you want to use for this batch, then click START.

Check the checkbox(es) of the form letter template you want to use for this batch, then click NEXT to continue.

Note: When printing a batch of form letters, the wizard skips to Step 4 where you can filter the chosen data source to either show or eliminate specific data within it.

Specify Filter/Sort Criteria

Filtering is a method of selecting specific items from a data source that match one or more criteria. For example, you can filter a batch of income verification form letters so that only tenants with annual household incomes under $15,000 will be included in the batch.

Note: This step has two modes: standard and advanced. If it is in standard mode, the Advanced button allows you to switch to advanced mode, and vice versa. In standard mode, you can only set up one filtering criterion. In advanced mode, you can set as many criteria as you need. You can set up to three sort criteria regardless of the mode the step is in.

Select a field name to work with. This selects a single data field from the template’s data source and is the field on which the batch is filtered.

Choose an operator. This is a mathematical expression used for filtering, like “equal to” (=) or “greater than” (>), that performs a comparison between two things. This allows you to specify how you are checking individual database records against the filtering criterion. For example, if you want all records whose filtering data field is greater than a specific value, set the operator to “>” (greater than).

Enter a value; this is the data field for the value against which you are filtering.

Hint: The “between” operator allows you to set a pair of values between which the filtered field’s value must fall. Use a comma to separate these two values. For example, if you want all records with move-in dates between the first and last day of July, enter “7/1/2002, 7/31/2002” as the value.

Click NEXT to continue.

10.

Select up to three fields to be associated with the data source of your form letter batch. If you select multiple sort criteria, they take effect in order.

11.

Click NEXT to continue.

12.

Choose whether you want to print the letter now, or save it for later printing.

13.

Select the signature line for the letters from the signature description drop-down list, enter a short description for the batch, and then click NEXT.

Review and Confirm

14.

Review the settings you have chosen for the letter. If you need to change anything, click BACK to return to the appropriate step. If everything is correct, click FINISH. You have successfully generated a batch of form letters!

If you chose to print the batch now (on Step 6 of the wizard), the program immediately opens the Print Form Letter Wizard (the process for printing a batch of form letters is the same for generating an individual form letter). If you chose to print the letter later, the program returns to the Process Form Letters screen.