Creating documents with Document Merge
Security and navigation
SECURITY All users with access to the entity
NAVIGATION Organization page > Tools > Document Merge
NAVIGATION Contact page > Tools > Document Merge
NAVIGATION Project Summary page > Launch > Document Merge
About document merge
The Document Merge feature can be used to pull information from Autotask into pre-existing templates to create sales letters, proposals, cover pages, contracts and follow-up communications. Document merge templates provide the layout and dynamic variables that can be replaced with data from Autotask. Once merged, you are able to modify the document, personalizing it as needed. When you are satisfied with the results, you can then generate a PDF file. The PDF file can be saved outside of Autotask, printed and distributed.
Additional document templates must be created by a system administrator. For more information, refer to Document Merge Templates .
About variables
Variables are the placeholders for Autotask data fields in your document template.
Most Autotask system fields have variables pre-configured and ready to use. For a list of these variables, refer to Using variables in the HTML editor.
How to create a merged document
To access Document Merge, go to the Organization, Contact, or Project Summary page. Click Tools or Launch > Document Merge. This will open the Document Merge page.
IMPORTANT Documents are not saved in Autotask. To save the document, you must select Generate PDF, and then save the resulting PDF file outside of Autotask. If you wish to keep it in Autotask, you can save it as an attachment to the related entity.
Step 1: Choose a template
- To open the page, use the path(s) in the Security and navigation section above.
- From the dropdown, select a template. Once selected, the content of the template will appear in the editor at the bottom of the page.
Additional document templates must be created by a system administrator. For more information, refer to Document Merge Templates .
Step 2: Merge Information
In this section, you will select the items related to this merge. This will allow Autotask to replace dynamic variables in your template with the correct values.
The values will be preselected for you if the document merge is selected from that entity. For example, if document merge is accessed from a project, information related to that project will be preselected in the Merge Information section. Type in a new value, or click the selector icon.
IMPORTANT If a field is disabled, it means the selected template does not contain any variables related to that field.
The following entities can be used in the merge.
- Contact
- Contract
- Device
- Opportunity
- Organization
- Organization location
- Project
- Quote
- Resource
- Sales Orders
- Task
- Ticket
NOTE If a ticket or task is selected, the organization contact from the ticket or task will be used in contact variables in the template, regardless of selections made in the Contact field. If there is no organization contact on the ticket or task, no contact data will be merged, even if a value is entered in the contact field in this section.
Step 3: Generate Document
In this section, you can modify your document and generate the final version as a PDF document.
Complete the following steps:
- Modify the document as needed to prepare it for the merge. This section uses the HTML editor, allowing you to modify and format text, including the use of fonts, colors, alignment, indentations, bulleted and numbered lists; insert images or variables; and undo or redo your work. For information on working in the HTML editor, refer to The HTML editor.
- Select Merge Variables. This will replace the dynamic variables in the template with the values from Autotask, using the selections made in the Merge Information step above. You should not click this option until you are certain the selections in the above step are complete. Once the merge occurs, it cannot be undone. You can, however, insert additional variables into the document and perform the merge again on those variables.
- Select Generate PDF. This will create a PDF document. Once created, the PDF document can be saved, printed and distributed. If you are not satisfied with the results, you can make changes in the HTML editor and click Generate PDF again.
- Once you are satisfied with the PDF document you've created, you can print, distribute and save it outside of Autotask. It is not automatically saved in Autotask. To keep a copy of the document in Autotask, save it as an attachment to a related entity.
