Creating a Custom Document Template

 

Overview:

Custom Document Templates can be used for many different purposes. These can be used to send custom letters to Tenants, Landlord, Tenancies, Contractors and Sales Particulars.  These documents can be very useful for bespoke letters which are not system generated.

Firstly you will need to have Microsoft Word (2007 onwards) installed on your computer. Any document uploaded to the system must be in a Word (docx) format otherwise the system will not recognise the file and will cause an error.

Please download the standard template which is a placeholder for your letter headed paper. This will contain the header and footer merge fields for your branding to merge into the document. (This can be found at the bottom of the article)

Once you have downloaded the template file open the document and this will look like the below.

From here you are free to insert whatever text you’d like to.

To merge information from the system into your document you will require tags. These tags are available to view on Zendesk, if there are any tags you’re looking for that are not within any of the guide, please contact [e-mail] and our Documentation Team will provide you with the tags if they are available.

Building the Document

 Before you build the document you will need to set up a new template slot in your Custom Document Templates section which will hold the document.

To do this you will need to click into Office > Custom Document Templates.

Once you are in the Custom Document Templates tab you will see a list of documents

From here you will need to click ‘+Add’  

A new window will open ready for you to insert the name of the document and how you’d like it to generate.

This letter will be for a Landlord so you are going to name this ‘Letter to Landlord’.

To ensure that the document is editable please ensure the ‘Output Type’ is set to ‘Print Editable Office Docx & Postbag’

For this instance please set ‘Generate For’ to ‘Landlords’.

If you do not want particular Custom Document Templates to be available for certain branches you can restrict the document to a branch if necessary.

Your form should now look like the below.

If you are happy with the settings please click ‘Save & Close’ 

Now you have set up the slot which will hold you document you can start building the document.

We will now build a document together, this document will be linked to a Landlord.

Please follow the steps below.

Open the downloaded template > Insert the following tags for the Landlords name and address. (As this is your first time building a Custom Document Template it would be better to type each of these tags rather than copying and pasting)

“[[Landlord.Title]] [[Landlord.Forename]] [[Landlord.Surname]]

[[Landlord.Address1]]

[[Landlord.Address2]]

[[Landlord.Address3]]

[[Landlord.Address4]]

[[Landlord.Postcode]]”

Your document should now look as the above screenshot is displaying.

We are now going to add some content to the letter.

“Dear [[Landlord.Title]] [[Landlord.Forename]] [[Landlord.Surname]]

We are writing to you to inform you that we have successfully let your property.

Please contact us on [[Branch.LandPhone]] for more information.

Kind Regards,

[[StaffName]]”

Your document should now look as below:

Once you have inserted the text, save the document with a relevant name and you can then upload the document to your system to test it and see how the content is displayed.

To do this you will need to follow these steps:

Find the new slot you created in the Custom Document Templates tab.

If you are unable to locate the slot you created you can locate your slot using the search bar

When you're ready to upload your document, click the ‘Actions’ button along the slot and a small menu will appear

Please select ‘Upload Template File’

A new window will then open and you can either drag and drop the file or search for the file by clicking ‘Select Files…’

Once you have uploaded the file, please click ‘Close’ and your document will now be available from the Landlord’s Saved Documents tab on the left hand side.

To generate the document please find a Landlord from your system. Click into their Saved Documents tab. Locate the letter in the Print & Post Document Templates section.  Click ‘Actions’ along the slot > Print

When you have printed the document it will open and should look something like the below:

To amend a Custom Document Template that is already on your system please follow this link to a guide on how to do this.