





                                   CHAPTER EIGHT
            
            
                                     Mail Merge
            
            
            
            What is Mail Merge?
            
            The  Mail  Merge  feature  of  BitFax  allows  you  to  send
            customized form  letters to  multiple destinations.  Without
            using this  feature, sending  a letter or message to several
            people would mean everyone would get the exact same message.
            Many times,  you will  want to  personalize the message with
            the person's  name, company, or other information.  The Mail
            Merge feature in BitFax allows you to do just that.
            
            For example,  instead of having Dear Sir at the beginning of
            a message,  the message  can be  personalized by saying Dear
            Mr. Brown, where Mr. Brown is taken from the Fax phone book.
            
            
            What Do You Need to Use Mail Merge?
            
            You will  need a  text (ASCII)  file containing  the message
            that you  want to  merge.   It will also contain field names
            from your database.
            
            You will  also need  the database file FAXBOOK.DBF.  It must
            have the  structure that  is defined below.  The contents of
            selected fields  will replace  the field  name in  your text
            message when they are merged together.
            
            Instructions for  preparing both of these items are given in
            this chapter.
            
            
            An Example of Mail Merge
            
            The example  below shows  how you  can take the two separate
            parts (the  database and the ASCII file) and merge them into
            the one combined part (the merged file).
            





            In this  example, you  can create  the following  text  file
            using a text editor (such as EDLIN) or a word processor.  If
            you use  a word  processor, make sure that it can save ASCII
            (text) files.  After you have created the file, save it.
            
                 %%FAX_DESCP%%
                 Attn: %%FAXNAME%%
                 
                 We are  planning to have our monthly sales meeting next
                 Friday at  10:00 a.m.   If  you cannot  attend,  please
                 notify me immediately.
                 
                 Sincerely,
                 
                 Mr. Brown
                 Sales Manager
            
            Continuing with our example, the FAXBOOK.DBF file would look
            like this.
            
            FAXNAME        FAX_DESCP           FAXTEL         FAX_GROUP
            Mr. Jones      Sales Dept.         555-1234       1
            Mr. Smith      Sales Dept.         555-5678
            Mr. Baker      Accounting Dept.    555-2468       1
            Mr. James      Accounting Dept.    555-1357
            
            In this  example, say  that you  want to  send your  message
            about the  sales  meeting  to  those  people  in  the  sales
            department.
            
            Select the  filename that  you created  earlier the same way
            that you  would normally  select a file.  Since you have two
            records for people in the sales department, you would select
            those two records.
            





            After you  merge the  database  with  the  ASCII  file,  the
            messages that are sent will look like this.
            
                 Sales Dept.
                 Attn: Mr. Jones
                 
                 We are  planning to have our monthly sales meeting next
                 Friday at  10:00 a.m.   If  you cannot  attend,  please
                 notify me immediately.
                 
                 Sincerely,
                 
                 Mr. Brown
                 Sales Manager
            
            ------------------------------------------------------------
                 Sales Dept.
                 Attn: Mr. Smith
                 
                 We are  planning to have our monthly sales meeting next
                 Friday at  10:00 a.m.   If  you cannot  attend,  please
                 notify me immediately.
                 
                 Sincerely,
                 
                 Mr. Brown
                 Sales Manager
            
            
            The ASCII File (The Message)
            
            The ASCII  file that you want to send will contain the Field
            Names from  your database  file.  When it is merged with the
            database, the  contents of  these fields  will  replace  the
            field names  in the  text.   The field names should have two
            percent signs  (%%) before  and after  them.  You should not
            have any spaces within the percent signs.
            
            The text  file must  be created  with a  text editor or word
            processor.   You cannot  use BitFax to create this file.  If
            you are  using a  word processor, you may need to convert it
            to a  text file  before it is merged.  For information about
            converting word processing files to ASCII, see Appendix D.
            
            As an  example, if the first line of the text file should be
            the company name, and your database contains a field name of
            COMPANY, then the first line of your text file should be:
            
                 %%COMPANY%%
            





            When you  merged  this  with  your  database,  it  would  be
            replaced by  the actual  contents of  the COMPANY field from
            your database.
            
            The field  names do  not have to be on a line by themselves.
            For  example,   if  you  have  a  field  name  of  LAST_NAME
            containing last names of customers, you might have a line of
            text that reads:
            
                 Dear Mr. %%LAST_NAME%%,
            
            The last  names from  your database  would replace the field
            name of LAST_NAME.
            
            You can  have more  than one field name in your message.  As
            an example, part of your text file might read:
            
                 %%COMPANY%%
                 Attn: %%FAXNAME%%
                 
                 We show  your Fax  phone number  as %%FAXTEL%%.
                 Please advise if this is correct.
            
            The first  line of  the file  would  be  replaced  with  the
            contents of  the field  COMPANY.  The second line would show
            that it  was being  sent to the attention of the contents of
            the FAXNAME  field.   The Fax Phone Number would be inserted
            in the body of the letter, replacing %%FAXTEL%%.
            
            Field names in dBASE, and therefore also in BitFax, are case
            sensitive.   In other  words, the  field name  of FAXNAME is
            different than  the field  name of  Faxname.  You must match
            the field  names exactly  in order  for BitFax  to merge the
            database correctly with the message.
            
            
            The Database File
            
            The ASCII  file that  you create  to contain your message is
            merged with the database file FAXBOOK.DBF.  If your database
            file was  created by  BitFax, the  file FAXBOOK.DBF  will be
            structured as shown below.
            
            Field Name          Field Type               Length
            FAXNAME             Character/Text           20
            FAX_DESCP           Character/Text           50
            FAXTEL              Character/Text           35
            FAX_GROUP           Character/Text            5
            





            BitFax will  always merge the message file with the database
            file named  FAXBOOK.DBF.   This file  must contain the field
            names as  shown  above.    They  must  also  have  the  same
            structure and length as shown above.
            
            In addition,  all the  field names must be in the same order
            as is shown above.
            
            You can,  however, add  more fields  to this  database using
            dBASE or  a utility that will create dBASE-type files.  Make
            sure that you follow all dBASE field name conventions.
            
            You  cannot  use  spaces  in  any  field  name.    The  only
            punctuation allowed  is the  underscore (  _ ).  Field names
            can contain letter and numbers, but must always start with a
            letter.
            
            
            Merging the Data With the Message
            
            To merge  the data  file with the message text, you begin by
            preparing your  text (ASCII) file, as well as your database.
            Then you  would go to the File Selection Menu.  To get there
            from the Main Menu, press [F3].
            
            
            The complete steps in order are shown below.
            
            1.   Prepare your  database, noting  your field  names  that
                 will be used in your text message.
            
            2.   Using a  text editor  or word  processor, prepare  your
                 text message,  using the field names from your database
                 as explained earlier in this chapter.
            
            3.   Start BitFax,  and press  [F3] from the Main Menu to go
                 to the File Selection Menu.
            
            4.   Highlight the filename of the text message that will be
                 sent by pressing the up or down arrow keys.
            
            5.   When the  correct filename  has been highlighted, press
                 [F9].   A diamond shaped marker will appear next to the
                 filename on  the file  list.   Do not  press [Enter] to
                 select a file as you normally would.
            
            6.   Return to the Main Menu by pressing [F10].
            
            7.   Press [F4] to go to the Destination Selection Menu.
            





            8.   Select a  record or records from the database.  Or, you
                 may  choose   to  select  a  Group  Number  instead  of
                 individual records.   For  additional information about
                 selecting records or Group Lists, refer to Chapter Six.
            
            9.   Press [F10] to return to the Main Menu.
            
            10.  Send the  Fax by  pressing [F2].  The text file will be
                 merged with,  and sent  to, each  record that  you have
                 selected.   If you have selected a Group Number instead
                 of an  individual record,  the message  will be  merged
                 with, and sent to, each record within the Group.
            
            Each Fax  message that is sent will be personalized with the
            individual information  from the  phone number  records that
            you selected.
            
            To unselect a file for merging, highlight the filename again
            while at  the File Selection Menu, and press [F9].  When you
            do this,  the diamond  shaped marker  that was  next to  the
            filename will disappear.





                                    CHAPTER NINE
            
            
                            Time Scheduled Transmissions
            
            
            
            What is Scheduling?
            
            The Scheduling feature in BitFax allows you to schedule your
            Fax transmissions  to take  place at a later time instead of
            immediately as  discussed  before.    This  gives  you  more
            convenience because you don't have to tie up your phone line
            and computer  time during  busy hours.    You  may  want  to
            schedule your  transmissions to take place at night when the
            phone rates are lower.
            
            When your  computer reaches  the selected date and time, the
            Fax transmission  will  take  place.    You  can  even  have
            different files sent to different destinations, at different
            times, increasing  the flexibility of this feature.  All the
            capabilities  discussed   in  the   previous  chapters   are
            available with  time scheduled  transmissions, such  as mail
            merge and sending multiple files to multiple destinations.
            
            This feature  can also  be used for batch processing of your
            Fax transmissions.   Normally,  you would select files to be
            sent and  a group of people to send them to.  You would have
            to wait  until the  transmission is  complete before sending
            another group  of files  to another  group of  people.  With
            scheduling, a  batch of transmissions can be set up ahead of
            time.  This way, you don't have to wait for each batch to be
            sent.
            
            You can select any date or time for the transmission to take
            place, as  long as it is at least 3 minutes past the current
            time.   Make sure  that your system is turned on at the time
            the transmission  is scheduled  to take  place.   You do not
            have to  have BitFax running at the scheduled time.  You can
            be running  a spreadsheet program, any other program, or you
            can leave the computer at the DOS prompt.
            
            You can  select a  single filename  or multiple filenames to
            send, or  you  can  use  the  Mail  Merge  feature  to  send
            customized messages.
            
            For  the  destination,  you  can  select  a  single  record,
            multiple records, or even a Group List.  Or, you may want to
            schedule any combination of the above options.
            
            





            Before You Begin Scheduling
            
            You  must   have  the  program  BITSCHED  resident  in  your
            computer.   The best way to do this is to put the program in
            your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
            
            If you  already have  a file  in your  root directory called
            AUTOEXEC.BAT, you  can modify  it so that the following line
            is inserted.
            
                 BITSCHED
            
            To do  this, you must use a text editor (such as EDLIN) or a
            word processor that will save ASCII files.  You then need to
            reboot your system for the AUTOEXEC.BAT file to run.
            
            Or, you  may want  to run the program only when you need it.
            To do  so, type  the following line at the DOS prompt before
            running BitFax.
            
                 BITSCHED       [Enter]
            
            You will  be returned  to the DOS prompt, and the scheduling
            program will stay resident in the computer's memory.
            
            Make sure  that the  DOS  clock  in  your  computer  is  set
            correctly for  the date  and time.   BitFax  schedules  it's
            transmissions according to the DOS clock.
            
            To check  the date,  type the following command from the DOS
            prompt:
            
                 DATE      [Enter]
            
            DOS will  respond with the date that your computer thinks it
            is, and  will ask  you for the correct date.  If the date is
            correct, simply  press [Enter].   If  the date is incorrect,
            type in  the correct date, and then press [Enter].  The date
            format you  must use  is mm-dd-yy, where mm is the month, dd
            is the day, and yy is the year.
            
            To check  the time, type in the following command at the DOS
            prompt:
            
                 TIME      [Enter]
            
            DOS will  respond with  the time  that it thinks that it is,
            and will  ask you  for the  correct time, just like the DATE
            command shown  above.   The time  will be shown in a 24-hour
            format of  hh:mm, where  hh is  the  hour,  and  mm  is  the
            minutes.





            
            As with  the date  command, simply press [Enter] if the time
            shown is  correct.   If the  time is  incorrect, type in the
            correct time  in the  format shown  above,  and  then  press
            [Enter].
            
            
            Selecting a File and Destination
            
            To set  up a  scheduled transmission,  you need  to select a
            file and  destination.   Follow the  steps below  to  select
            these items.
            
            1.   Start BitFax.
            
            2.   From the  Main Menu,  press [F3]  to  go  to  the  File
                 Selection Menu.
            
            3.   Using the up or down arrow keys, highlight the filename
                 of the file that you want to send.
            
            4.   Press [Enter]  to select  the file,  or [F9] if you are
                 using the Mail Merge feature.
            
            5.   Press [F10] to return to the Main Menu.
            
            6.   Press [F4] to go to the Destination Selection Menu.
            
            7.   Highlight the  record that you want to send a Fax to by
                 pressing the up or down arrow keys.
            
            8.   Press [Enter]  to select  the record.  Or, you may want
                 to select a distribution list instead of a record.
            
            9.   Press [F10] to return to the Main Menu.
            
            
            The Scheduling
            
            To set  up time  scheduled transmissions,  follow the  steps
            below.
            
            1.   Make sure  that you  have BITSCHED running as discussed
                 earlier in this chapter.  Also make sure that your time
                 and date are set correctly in your computer.
            
            2.   Follow the  steps as discussed previously for selecting
                 the destination and filenames to be sent.
            





            3.   After you have returned to the Main Menu, press [F5] to
                 schedule.   (Previously, you would have pressed [F2] to
                 send).
            
            4.   Fill in  the date  and time  that you want the selected
                 files to be sent.
            
            5.   Press [F10] to return to the Main Menu.
            
            6.   If you  want to  send another  file  to  another  phone
                 number, repeat steps 3 to 5.
            
            7.   You can  now press [F10] again to exit BitFax.  At this
                 point, you  can begin  using  another  program.    Just
                 remember to  leave your  computer turned on so that the
                 scheduled Fax can be sent.
            
            
            Viewing the Schedule
            
            You can  also look  at the scheduled entries, and view their
            individual status.  Each entry that you schedule will appear
            on the Schedule Log, with a status message next to it.
            
            This is  different  from  the  Status  Log.    However,  any
            scheduled entries that have already taken place will also be
            shown on the Status Log.
            
            To view  the schedule, press [F5] from the Main Menu.  Then,
            from the  scheduling window, press [F2] to View.  There will
            be five  items shown  for each scheduled entry:  Date, Time,
            File Name, Destination, and Status.
            
            The  Date   and  Time   are  when  you  have  scheduled  the
            transmission to  take place.   The File Name and Destination
            are those that you have selected.
            
            The status  is what  has happened  or is going to happen for
            that entry.   You will be shown one of four status messages.
            These are explained below.
            
            On Schedule
                 This status  message indicates that the transmission is
                 scheduled to take place, and the time and date you have
                 selected are  still  in  the  future.    No  action  is
                 necessary.
            
            Deleted
                 This message indicates that you have marked a scheduled
                 entry to  be deleted.   It  will not be sent unless you
                 undelete it.





            
            Sent - OK
                 This message  indicates that  the scheduled  entry  was
                 sent, and  the transmission  was completed  without any
                 errors.
            
            Sent - Err
                 This status  message indicates that the scheduled entry
                 was completed,  but with  errors.    Check  the  BitFax
                 Status Log  to determine  whether or not the Fax should
                 be sent again.
            
            
            Modifying the Schedule
            
            BitFax also  allows you  to  delete  any  entries  that  are
            scheduled to  take place.   It  also  allows  you  to  clear
            entries that have already been sent.
            
            Deleting an entry on the Schedule Log is similar to deleting
            a record  from the  Phone Number database.  You will mark an
            entry to  be deleted, and an asterisk ( * ) will appear next
            to it.  Those entries will an asterisk next to them will not
            be sent.
            
            If you want to change information for a scheduled entry, you
            must delete that entry, then schedule the entry correctly.
            
            To delete  an entry  from the schedule log, follow the steps
            below.
            
            1.   From the  BitFax Main  Menu, press  [F5] to  go to  the
                 Schedule Window.
            
            2.   Press [F2] to view the Schedule Log.
            
            3.   Highlight the  entry you want to delete by pressing the
                 up or down arrow key.
            
            4.   Press [F7]  to delete  the entry.    An  asterisk  will
                 appear to  the left  of the  entry.  The status message
                 for this entry will change to "Deleted."
            





            You may  also want to undelete an entry that you have marked
            to be deleted.  Follow the steps below to do so.
            
            1.   From the  Schedule Log, highlight the deleted entry you
                 want to undelete by pressing the up or down arrow keys.
            
            2.   When the  entry is  highlighted, press [F7] to undelete
                 the entry.    The  asterisk  next  to  the  entry  will
                 disappear.   If the  scheduled time  is  still  in  the
                 future, the transmission will take place as usual.
            
            Instead of  simply marking  an entry  to be deleted, you may
            want to  clear the  entry completely  from the Schedule Log.
            For example,  if you  have entries  that were  sent  without
            error, you  may not  need to  keep this  information in  the
            Schedule Log after some time has passed.
            
            To clear  an entry  completely from the Schedule Log, follow
            the steps below.
            
            1.   From the  Schedule Log, highlight the entry you want to
                 from the  schedule by  pressing the  up or  down  arrow
                 keys.
            
            2.   When the  entry is highlighted, press [F8] to clear the
                 entry from the schedule.
            
            3.   Repeat the  above steps to clear other entries from the
                 schedule, or press [F10] to return to the Main Menu.
            
            
            