How can I create a letter using my data from 360Members?

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You may want to make a letter at some point that you can print out that has each person or household's information filled out on their copy of the letter, such as their name, and address. You can do this in 360Members by following the steps below:

1. Determine what type of information you want to use for your letter and select the appropriate people view: This means figuring out which fields of information you need from 360Members. For example, if you're trying to write a letter that references a giving unit's envelope number, the Givers view would probably be the best view to use. 

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2. Select the people and fields you want to use in your letter: Select the smart group you want to use in the top right corner of the page, and then select columns in the top right corner of the people grid and check only the columns that you want to use in your letter. For the example above, we'll need the giving unit's name, address, current envelope number and next envelope number, and we would select a smart group that only includes people who currently have an envelope

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3. Download your information: At the top right corner of the page, click the download button, and select the CSV option. This will bring up a window where you can select what you'd like to call this file, and where you'd like to save it. Make sure to save this file to a location where you can easily find it.

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4. Review your data: After you've saved the file, find the file you just saved and double click on it to open it. Each column in this table will be available for you to use in your letter. You can delete any columns you won't need by clicking on the letter of the column, and then right clicking on the highlighted section and selecting delete. When you're finished, click the save icon at the top of the window to save your changes. In our example, we'll delete the Giver ID, Person1ID and Person2ID columns

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5. Import your data into Microsoft Word: Next, open your letter that you've saved in Microsoft Word. You'll want to have the letter written, and leave blanks for where you want to insert data from 360Members. In Microsoft Word, along the top of the window, select the option that says "Mailings" and then, click the option that says Select Recipients and then Use an Existing List. Then, navigate to where you saved your data file from 360Members and double click on it, and click OK through the next window.

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6. Insert your data: At this point, you'll start inserting your fields in the blanks you've left in the letter. To do this, click in the spot in the letter you want to place a field. Then, along the top of Word, click on the downward arrow on "Insert Merge Field". Select the field you want to insert into that spot. Go through the rest of the letter and finish inserting your fields.

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7. Preview and print your letters: To see the end result of what you've inserted, click the "Preview Results" option at the top of Word. This will show you what your letter will look like with data inserted into it. If you're satisfied with how it looks, click "Finish and Merge" and then print documents, and a letter will print for each record in the data. 

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