Mail merge integration techniques

• US 8,661,342 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2008
• Issued: 02/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Lu, Michael J., Martinez, Edward A., Ranjan, Shashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHREWSBURY, NATHAN K
• Application Number:
  US12/140,292
• Publication Number:
  US 20090313209A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,079 Days
• Field of Search: 715/234, 715/271, 715/235, 715/236, 709/206
• US Class Current: 715/271
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Various technologies and techniques are disclosed for integrating a customer relationship management application with a mail merge operation on a client-side word processor. Mail merge settings are received from a user, including a record set to use in a mail merge operation. A new mail merge document is created. The record set is added to the mail merge document. A link is added to a template that will control the mail merge operation on a client-side word processor. The linked template gets attached to the new mail merge document when opened on the client-side word processor. Techniques for beginning a mail merge operation on a client-side word processor are described. A downloaded mail merge document is validated. The record set contained in the downloaded mail merge document is separated into one or more separate files. A mail merge wizard is started and advanced to a proper stage.

Claims

1. A method for generating a mail merge document from a customer relationship management application that can integrate with a mail merge operation on a client-side word processor comprising the steps of:

receiving one or more mail merge settings from a user including a record set to use in a mail merge operation including records to be included, a language selection, a mail merge type including a letter, envelope, label, brochure and email, and a data field selection including an account name, a number, a city, and an address for a template, wherein the user is enabled to select one of a blank document and an existing mail merge template;

downloading the template from the customer relationship management application through one of;

an existing authentication of the user and an anonymous authentication;

creating a new mail merge document;

adding helpful instructions to the new mail merge document to explain the mail merge document process, wherein the helpful instructions include instructions for starting a mail merge, enabling macros, and deleting a text file after completion of the mail merge to safeguard sensitive data;

displaying a mail merge document user interface enabling the user to select recipients for the mail merge operation from a list, specify a type of document to be used in the mail merge operation and refine a list of selected recipients by one or more of sorting, filtering, finding duplicates, finding recipients, and validating addresses;

adding the record set to the new mail merge document; and

adding a link to the template that will control the mail merge operation on a client-side word processor, the template being operable to be attached to the new mail merge document and opened on the client-side word processor.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

streaming out the new mail merge document.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

upon receiving a selection from the user to open the mail merge document, launching the client-side word processor and opening the new mail merge document.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of:

using the link in the new mail merge document to download the template containing a macro that will control the mail merge operation on the client-side word processor.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the template contains a macro.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the macro is a signed macro.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the record set is added to the new mail merge document in a comments section of the new mail merge document.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more mail merge settings received from the user include a mail merge template to use that contains wording to include in the new mail merge document.

9. A method for beginning a mail merge operation on a client-side word processor comprising the steps of:

validating a downloaded mail merge document that contains settings specified previously by a user, the mail merge document including a record set to use as a data source along with a link to a template that contains a signed macro for controlling a mail merge operation when opened within a client-side word processor, wherein the record set includes actual data values to be used by the mail merge operation;

downloading the template from a customer relationship management application through one of;

an existing authentication of the user and an anonymous authentication, wherein the template includes one of;

language from a specified template and language from a blank template;

adding at least one data source mapping to the template for mapping data fields of the data source to fields in the client-side word processor;

separating the record set contained in the downloaded mail merge document into one or more separate files;

starting a mail merge wizard and advancing the mail merge wizard to a later stage based upon settings already specified by the user;

allowing the user to specify a sharing level for the template, a categorization information, and one or more data fields associated with the mail merge document, wherein categorization information includes at least one of an associated entity, an ownership of the template, an owner name, and a language of the template;

streaming out the downloaded mail merge document for download; and

prompting the user to one of;

open and save the downloaded mail merge document and cancel the mail merge operation.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the mail merge type is determined from the settings specified by the user, and the downloaded mail merge document is adjusted based upon the mail merge type.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the record set is moved to a separate file and linked to the mail merge document as a data source for the mail merge operation.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the record set is displayed to the user for data verification.

13. A computer-readable memory device having computer-executable instructions for causing a computer to perform steps comprising:

downloading a mail merge document in response to a selection from a user;

validating the downloaded mail merge document including a customer relationship management application template;

receiving a selection from the user to upload a mail merge template for a word processor to a customer relationship management application, wherein a template selection option allows selection of at least one of a blank document and an existing mail merge template to use;

determining enabled languages within a computer of the user;

adding a template language option into the mail merge template to prompt the user to select one of the enabled languages to be used for the mail merge template, wherein the template language option is displayed when there are more than one enabled languages at the word processor executed on the user'"'"'s computing device;

prompting the user to specify additional template settings that are used by the customer relationship management application to help integrate a mail merge operation initiated in the customer relationship management application with the word processor including a language selection for the mail merge template, recipients selection for the mail merge operation from a list, a type of document specification to be used in the mail merge operation, and a list of selected recipients refinement by one or more of sorting, filtering, finding duplicates, finding recipients, and validating addresses;

displaying a data field option enabling the user to specify data fields included in the mail merge operation;

allowing the user to specify a sharing level, a categorization information, and one or more data fields associated with the mail merge template;

adding at least one data source mapping to the mail merge template for mapping data fields in the customer relationship management application to fields in the word processor;

storing the mail merge template and additional template settings in the customer relationship management application for later use; and

attaching the downloaded mail merge template to the downloaded mail merge document.

14. The computer-readable memory device of claim 13, wherein the additional template settings include sharing levels for the mail merge template.

15. The computer-readable memory device of claim 13, wherein the additional template settings include data fields for the mail merge template.

16. The computer-readable memory device of claim 13, wherein the additional template settings include categorization information for the mail merge template.

17. The computer-readable memory device of claim 13, further having computer executable instructions operable to cause a computer to perform steps comprising:

making the mail merge template available to a plurality of users for use in mail merge operations initiated in the customer relationship management application.

18. The computer-readable memory device of claim 17, wherein the plurality of users who are given access to the mail merge template is controlled by a sharing level that was assigned to the mail merge template.

19. The computer-readable memory device of claim 13, wherein the mail merge template contains wording to include in any new mail merge documents that are created based upon the mail merge template.