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 inclde 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:
Place the insertion point in the place where you want the merged text to appear.
Display the Mailshot sub-menu from the Extra menu, and choose Insert field. A small dialogue box will appear.
Enter the number of the column whose contents you want to appear here (eg 1 for column A, 4 for column D).
Click OK. 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:
Display the Mailshot sub-menu from the Extra menu, and choose Select....
The names of all suitable open documents will appear at the top of the dialogue box which appears. Click on the one you want.
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.
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:
Display the Mailshot sub-menu from the Extra menu, and choose Select....
Click the Shuffle button.
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.
Click OK. When you print the document, there will be no blank lines within addresses based on the fields you specified.