16 Advanced features

This chapter covers various features of Fireworkz which are not covered elsewhere in the documentation

It includes sections on:

Using names in Fireworkz

You can use the Names facility in Fireworkz to reference the contents of number cells within text, or even within other documents. Names can be used to create variables, to refer to numbers or data within the text in a text cell, or to create links between documents.

For example, you may want to refer to the total shown in a table in the text which describes the table.

If more than one document is open you have access to all the names which have been defined for all the open documents. Names are an excellent way to control external references.

Setting up a name

To set up names, use the Names facility accessed from the Function selector.

  1. Function selector tool button Click the Function selector tool button on the toolbar and choose Names from the menu which appears.
  2. Click the New button in the Names dialogue box.
  3. A further dialogue box will appear in which you define the new name.
  4. Type in the name for your new name, such as Total. The more names that you create in a document, the more important it is that their names should be clearly descriptive.
  5. Enter the value which the name should reference. This can be a cell reference, although you could enter text or a number directly.

Naming names

Fireworkz has some rules about the names which you can give to your names. These are to prevent Fireworkz from misinterpreting names as cell references. These are the same rules as are applied to custom function names: see the Custom Functions section of this guide.

Uses for names

You can use names in some quite sophisticated ways to provide a range of additional features to your documents. Remember that a name does not have to contain a number or formula; it can contain any kind of information, entered as a string or a date.

Names as text variables

Names can be used to insert variables in text. For example, you could be writing about a product with a code name. By defining a name with the products code name, you can easily change it in all documents containing the name by changing the value of the name.

To do this:

  1. Click the Function selector tool button and choose Names.
  2. Choose New in the dialogue box which appears.
  3. Enter a name for the new name.
  4. Enter the current value. You must enter it as a string, which means enclosing the text in double quotes like this:
    "Big bang plus"
  5. You can now use the name throughout your documents by using Name from the Edit – Insert menu.

Names as numerical variables

You can use names to enter numerical variables in formulae. For example, you could create a name vat_rate, to enter the value 0.20 in any formula or cell. If the VAT rate was decreased, you could then change the definition of the name, and all your formulae using it would be updated.

Adding a name to a text cell

When you want to refer to a name within a section of text, you should follow these steps:

  1. In the text where you want to insert the data which the name represents, place the caret where you want this data to go and choose Name from the Edit – Insert menu.
  2. A list of names will appear. Choose the one you want from the list and click Insert.
  3. The data referred to by the name will be inserted into your text.
  4. If the contents of the cell referenced are subsequently updated, this insertion will also automatically be updated.

Adding a name to a number cell

When you want to add a name to a formula, you can do so using the function selector.

  1. Click on the cell into which you want to enter the name.
  2. Function selector tool button Click the Function selector button and choose Names from the menu which appears.
  3. Choose the name you want from the list.
  4. Click Insert.
    The name will be entered into the formula line.
  5. Tick tool button Click the Tick button (or press Return↵).

Using mail merge

The mail merge facility in Fireworkz creates personalised mailings from a combination of two files. One should be a document containing a list of names and addresses in a tabular/spreadsheet format, the other a text document which contains references to the fields in the address list.

When you print the mail shot document, a copy of the document will be printed for each names and address in the list. Each copy will contain details of one entry in the list.

Suitable lists for mail shots

You can use quite a wide range of document types as the basis for the address list in your mail shots. You have two options:

Fireworkz requires the names and addresses to be held in rows, with each column acting as a distinct field. For accurate mail merge, a particular column in a document must always have the same type of information, such as surname or postcode. If the type of contents of a column differ in each row, you may find it difficult to set up mail merge precisely.

It does not matter if there are blank cells in some rows. You can instruct Fireworkz to shuffle these out when the address is placed in the target document.

Setting up your letter

The easiest way to set up your mail shot is to open the document containing the name and address list at the same time as the text document is open. This gives you more feedback on what you are actually entering into your document.

Adding fields to your document

When you add fields to your document, you are telling Fireworkz that when it prints the merged document it should include the contents of that column in the selected row for that copy of the letter.

Fields are inserted by number, which is the column number. As columns are usually displayed by letter in worksheet documents, you will have to do a quick conversion before inserting the field.

To insert a field:

  1. Place the insertion point in the place where you want the merged text to appear.
  2. Choose Insert field from the Extra – Text – Mailshot menu. A small dialogue box will appear.
  3. Enter the number of the column whose contents you want to appear here (e.g. 1 for column A, 4 for column D).
  4. Click Insert. In your document you will see the text which Fireworkz found in your chosen row. If you didn't select a database and choose a row before inserting the field, the text in your text document will simply read <field1>, if you inserted field 1.

You can add as many fields as you like, or use the same field more than once in a document. If you enter two fields next to each other, remember to enter a space or appropriate punctuation between them, as Fireworkz will not do this automatically.

Choosing the database file

To tell Fireworkz which file is the one containing the names and addresses:

  1. Choose Select source from the Extra – Text – Mail merge menu.
  2. The names of all suitable open documents will appear at the top of the dialogue box which appears. Select the one you want.
  3. Once you have chosen a document, Fireworkz uses it as the source of data for the mailshot. You should now choose a row, the contents of which will be added to the document when you insert fields. It is a good idea to choose the row which contains the titles of the columns, if there is one, because this will give you the best idea of what is going on.
  4. Choose a row number and click OK.

Removing blank fields

In some cases, such as addresses, there may be blank fields in some records in the database. These will appear as blank lines in your document, unless you take the following steps:

  1. Choose Select source from the Extra – Text – Mail merge menu.
  2. Click the Shuffle button.
  3. Enter the numbers of the fields affected. For example, if you have entered fields 4 to 8 as the reply address in a letter, these are the ones you want to close up if any blank lines appear, assuming there is a postcode in field 8.
  4. Click OK.
  5. When you print the document, there will be no blank lines within addresses based on the fields you specified.

Printing a mail shot

Once you have followed these steps you are ready to print your mail merged document.

Before you can do this, you must have both the text document and the address list loaded, and a printer driver loaded.

To print the merged document, simply click the Mailshot button in the Print dialogue box.

This will print a copy of the document for each row in the selected database.

Printing a sample copy

To print a test copy for any row in the address list:

  1. Choose Select from the Mailshot sub-menu, and enter the row you want.
  2. The rows contents will be displayed in the document.
  3. Print tool button Click the Print tool button on the toolbar (or choose Print from the File menu).
  4. The sample copy will be printed.