Merge fields are used in PPS to auto-populate relevant details into Activity Templates that can then be sent out to the client without the need for you to write them manually.
PPS provides a whole host of merge fields that can be used in a variety of activities including letters, E-mails, and SMS messages along with custom forms and their associated Word documents.
You can access the merge fields button when setting up templates via Tools > Activity Templates.
Clicking on the Merge Field button will open the merge field list.
The most commonly utilised merge fields are displayed at the top of the list. Below these, further merge fields are separated into categories. Clicking one of the categories will further expand the list with more merge field options.
Clicking on any merge field selection from the menu will copy it to your clipboard ready to paste (Ctrl + V is the Windows shortcut to paste if you are pasting the merge field into an external Word or Kingsoft document). If you are in an Activity Template then simply click on where you want to add the merge field and it will paste automatically.
Using a merge field all in lowercase will display merge field information as normal, however if there is no information for that merge field to pick up, it will not display at all in the template, compared to the normal “INFORMATION NOT FOUND” message if the field is in uppercase.
Section 1 - Appointment Merge Fields
The prefixes used for these merge fields dictate which appointment the system pulls information from.
'This Appointment' - This will source information from the selected appointment. Use this prefix for automatically generated confirmations and reminders. When sending individual emails with this merge field you will be prompted to choose the appointment to get the information from, unless the appointment was selected when you entered the Activities screen. Using E-Mail as an example, if I single-clicked an appointment on 27/10 for Mr Smith on my diary and went to Activities > Send an E-Mail and chose a template with 'This Appointment' fields then details of the 27/10 appointment would be populated.
'Next Appointment' - Will always choose the next appointment that has been booked, including the current day's date.
'Last Appointment' - Will choose the last appointment prior to today’s date.
Section 2 - Third-Party Merge Fields
The third-party merge fields are arranged according to the categories of third-parties available in your PPS system. (Categories can be renamed from within General Options, but their merge field will continue to be named by its default name)
Choose the relevant category and merge field selection to populate the details of that third party.
Section 3 - Custom forms
The custom forms merge fields allow you to include the answer to any custom form questions the client has answered. Any question you've created within a custom form will have its own unique merge field that you can use.
Section 4 - Treatment Episodes
Treatment episodes merge fields work in the same way as those for appointments. These merge fields always refer to the current open treatment episode. If you need to use the merge fields in regards to a different treatment episode you will need to open that Treatment Episode first and then select the activity template with the relevant merge fields.
Section 5 - Merge Field Prompt
If you want to use a merge field that will allow you to enter something specific at the time of creating the template you can use a merge field prompt:
<<?>>
This means that you can set up an email template with a merge field to remind you or allow you to enter something specific at the time of creating the template for a client. This could be used if there is a field that is not stored in PPS that is generated outside of PPS or at the time of sending the template and you need to enter it manually into a template.
The 'question mark' at the beginning of the merge field will be required for the prompt to show up but you can add any text behind the question mark (without any spaces) to remind you of what might need entering. For example:
<<?entertexthere>>
Please Note: This merge field can only be used for email templates being created and sent manually, this merge field will not work if the template is going to be processed by Activity Manager as the merge field requires manual entry.
Add this merge field to your email templates as either a plain text-style template or an HTML-style template.
Access your Activity Templates by going to Tools > Activity Templates and either select an existing template to modify or add a new template.
You can then add the merge field prompt as required.
This example just shows the merge field being used in a plain text-style template:
Save your template and then go to Activities > Send an Email and select the relevant client and then select the activity template that you have just created.
As soon as you select the template you will see a box pop up on the screen that will allow you to enter the required text:
Enter your text here and select 'ok' to add the text to your template.
Please Note: The prompt will allow you to enter a maximum of 40 characters only here.