Conditional Merge Fields - $FUNCTION Fields

There are now a few more Merge Fields available, called Conditional Merge Fields, which can be added to a Document or Journal Template.

To help with choosing these fields a new $FUNCTION section has been added to the Catalogue seen at the left hand side of the template Editors screen.

These $FUNCTION fields can be inserted in the normal way (i.e. Double-click) on the field.

Contents   (Click an Item to Jump to that section)

Insert Code
Insert Code Description
Insert Coded Text
Insert Text #Section
Insert Document
Insert Image
Insert Snippet

Insert Code:
This can be used to force the system to display the CODE rather than the description.
e.g.  If a candidate had a current role of [SEC] - Secretary then;

[[ENID_POSITION$]]	will display Secretary in the template.
[[ENID_POSITION$, $CODE]]	will display SEC in the template.

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Insert Code Description:

This can be used to force the system to display the description of a CODE rather than the CODE itself.
e.g.  If a candidate had a current role of [SEC] - Secretary then;

[[ENID_POSITION$]]	will display Secretary in the template.
[[ENID_POSITION$, $DESC]]	will also display Secretary in the template.

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Insert Coded Text:
This will allow the user to display all the text that has been associated with a code.
e.g.  If a candidate had a current role of [SEC] - Secretary then;[[ENID_POSITION$]]                     will display Secretary in the template.

[[ENID_POSITION$, $TEXT]]

will display ALL the text which has been associated with that code rather than the code itself.

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Insert Text #Section:
This will allow the user to display a specific stanza of text which has been associated with a code.

e.g.  The text associated with the ROLE CODE of ADM (Admin) might be
#JOBDESC
Secretaries are expected to be smart & presentable.
You must have a pleasant friendly & professional manner.
#CERTIFICATES
All secretaries need
GCSE/O-Level English
GCSE/O-Level mathematics
Basic Typing Skills
Basic Excel
#HSE
Annual RSI testing is required
Free eye tests annually will be provided.

Inserting the field

[[ENID_POSITION$, $TEXT=HSE]]

will insert the text from the #HSE section of the text, rather than all of the text.

As you can see, adding a $FUNCTION to a merge field allows you to pull-in specific text, or modify how the field is displayed within a template. This is a very powerful facility but can become quite complex as you build these conditional template merge fields using these functions.

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Insert Document:
This will allow the user to specify the path to a document which they wish to insert in the template.

NB: This field should only be used with template documents - it is not valid with JOURNAL Templates.

e.g. If a user had stored a small section of a document then; [[$DOCUMENT=*Type Path to document here*]] might become
[[$DOCUMENT=\\your_server\Influence_Docs\Templates\Policy_statement.doc]] 

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Insert Image:
This will allow the user to specify the path to an image (*.png, *.jpg) which they wish to insert in the template.

NB: This field should only be used with template documents - it is not valid with JOURNAL Templates

      e.g. If a user had stored an image on the server then; [[$IMAGE=*Type Path to document here*]]
might become
[[$IMAGE=\\your_server\Influence_Docs\Images\diagram.jpg]] 

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Insert Snippet:
This will allow you to inset the text associated with a code snippet. (Template Snippets [440] ) e.g. If you had added the code GRPL (Green Policy) to code table 440, and assigned some text to this code, then;

[[$SNIPPET=GRPL]]

will insert the text associated with this code into your template or document.

  

NB: The 'text' associated with the code GRPL can be simple text or can actually contain merge fields as part of the text snippet itself.

Tip: At the bottom of the Journal Template Editor screen is a blue [Snippets] button, which will take you directly into the snippets table where you can add codes or text,

Additional Reading
To find out more about using Conditional Merge fields with, click HERE.

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