Hi Folks,

Does anyone know if it is possible to merge order information into an e-mail or letter template?

Seems like it would be a fairly common practice to want to send out e-mails that refer back to the details of a recent order. Perhaps I'm overlooking something really obvious.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

-Chris Austin
MasteringCamtasia.com
Distance Learning Lab, LLC

I'm pretty sure that you CAN'T merge in order information right now. Most of the merge fields center around the context of a Contact.

This would be a great feature request.

Yes, that seems to be the answer that I keep hearing.

I'm sure you're correct about the fact that it's not as simple as just using a merge code.

I wonder, though, if anyone has any ideas as to how to get an equivalent result. Although I haven't totally wrapped my brain around fulfillment reports, they do seem to be something that provides order details. I wonder if I could somehow get the information from that in a more automated way.

Any ideas anyone?

-Chris

Generally, Fulfillment Reports are only used to send a list to your Fulfillment House so they know what to ship where, but you might be able to work something out along the lines of personalized receipts for your customers.

What you would do is set one up to email (or FTP) you a CSV file with all the information related to sales pertaining to certain products / subscriptions in a given timeframe (configurable). With that you could easily do a mail merge in Word to send out letters, or whatever else. The only problem is that it wouldn't be automated, the process would have to be manual.

You can set up Fulfillment Reports in Misc Settings:
Setup -> Misc Settings -> Order Settings -> Fulfillment Reports

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On a side note, there are currently a few Merge Contexts - in addition to the standard Contact Merge Context - that many might not know about. I'd like to point those out:

1. Opportunity
2. Credit Card
3. Service Ticket (if you have the module)

These are available to emails sent by triggers and when sending a Broadcast from a search or report related to them. To access them, edit a trigger or an email for a Broadcast, and note the dropdown next to "Merge Type". If it says something other than "Contact" (or allows you to change it to something other than "Contact") you have access to a special Merge Context! Click the Open Merge Window and note the extra tab (Contact and Misc will still be there).

You can access Triggers in Misc Settings:
Setup -> Misc Settings ->
1. Sales Settings -> Triggers
2. Order Settings -> Triggers
3. Help Desk Settings -> Triggers
4. Template Settings -> Triggers (these are for email bounces; they only have access to the standard Contact Merge Context)