 |
|
Greetings from the FormSprint help desk!
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Righs, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." - The Declaration of Independence
This issue of our newsletter deals with some of the ways that FormSprint can provide some freedom in designing and sending forms. We hope that you might just find an idea that will help you in your job and maybe even free up some of your time. Next week we will be celebrating the 4th of July. I thought it might be appropriate to re-read those inspiring words from the Declaration of Independence and to consider our rights and obligations as free citizens as we enjoy our picnics and parades and fireworks. In looking for pictures to use, I got to thinking about summer vacations and how lucky we are in this country to have the freedom to go on a vacation - to pursue Happiness. And, of course, it isn't luck, it's the result of the sacrifice of so many brave men and women who believed in our "unalienable rights." So enjoy my summer vacation pictures and Happy 4th of July!
|
|
HTML In Email 
FormSprint Power Email makes it easy to control the message in the body of the email through the template. Variables can even be added. For instance, let's say we are emailing statements to our customers monthly. The template can be defined to say:
Dear Customer, Your statement is attached. Please call 202-456-1414 if you have questions.
You can even personalize the greeting:
Dear Bryant, Your statement is attached. Please call 202-456-1414 if you have questions.
But wouldn't it be nice to dress up the message with html. It could be as simple as adding some different fonts and maybe a couple of graphics, including your logo. The same html could be used every month or it could be changed, say, to reflect the season, specials your company is offering, or to announce a new service. Links could take the recipient to your website for additional information.
The process is simple. First, you need the html. If you aren't familiar with html, maybe someone in marketing is, or contact some high school computer buff. Put the html in a file under the root in the IFS and use F6=Import from the FormSprint Email Template Editor. Once the template is created, add the From Name and From Email . You can also change the Email Subject from the editor, but any changes to the html will have to be done to the original file.
It's another way of communicating with your customer or simply dressing up an otherwise drab text email.
|
Reports On Your Smart Phone  Want a report sent to your smart phone? Set up a FormSprint form to pull data out of a spool file and write it to the body of the message, then email it to yourself. No attachment is necessary. The data from the spool file is contained in the body of the email so it can be easily read on your smart phone. To eliminate the "form" PDF attachment, use NONE.PDF as the file name in the Dynamic Distribution function, e.g., FN(DD,NONE.PDF:O,EMAIL,PAGE,name@domain.com,N).
|
Adding Missing Data
 Have you been thinking that you would really like to start emailing those forms, but those spool files, designed years ago just don't include information like email addresses? And to modify your programs to include the email address and any other pertinent email information is just not going to happen. The FormSprint Data Mining function can give you a new sense of freedom...freedom from the old rigid spool file and freedom from the expensive programmer you would have had to hire to modify your application software. As long as your spool file contains the key information necessary (customer number, account number, salesman's number etc.) and you have a keyed data file, the data mining function will permit you to extract fields from your database files that can then be used to 1) determine if the customer wants email, 2) pass the email address, 3) pass a TONAME, and more... If your files have multiple keys, these can be concatenated using buffers, and you can even chain from one file to another to drill into the data to get to the right fields. And of course, this function can be used in all kinds of ways, not just for emailing. To make the process a bit easier, we've included a new program module (and related form)
that gives you a nice readable "map" of your database files with format, length and field names - PRINTFFD.
|
Email Files
 Power Email can also send other files besides FormSprint-produced PDF or CSV files. The file can reside in a directory under the IFS or in a shared folder. Use a merge parameter not defined in the template you use. For example, first load the path and file name to a buffer (e.g., //home/rakhome/QSYSPRT loaded to buffer 5). Then read that buffer with FN(EM,10) the special function field. There is nothing significant about 10. Just use a merge parameter not used in the template, but below 24. As mentioned above, using NONE.PDF will suppress the PDF attachment. However, both can be attached to the email.
|
Merge Parameters 
When using the numbered merge parameters, it is necessary to first load the data to a buffer. In the example where we attached a file other than a FormSprint-created PDF or CSV file, we first loaded the file name and path to a buffer, then read the buffer with a merge parameter (FN(EM,n). With Power Email predefined merge parameters such a TEMPLATE, SUBJECT and cc email address, the value can be specified in the function starting with FormSprint version 201101. It isn't necessary to load the value to a buffer, then read the buffer. For instance, to specify a template called INVOICE, enter FN(EM,TEMPLATE,INVOICE) to format the merge parameter.
|
|
|
|
Summer in Vermont
|
|
