Who is this article for?

Administrators who want guidance on creating Merge Documents in Assurance.

Administration Access is required.

Merge Documents (MergeDocs) can be used to create pre-filled documents at any stage of the Registers and Forms lifecycle process, based on answers to fields.

Here are some practical examples on how they can be used:

1. In contract management they can be used for creating a Schedule to attach to a contract or letter to the supplier.
2. For incident management, they could be used to create an Insurance Claim Form, a letter home to parent/guardian or as a report to the regulator.

Follow this step-by-step guide for creating a MergeDoc as part of your register template. The example that is being used here is the generation of a standard letter to a parent or guardian to inform them that their child was involved in an accident.

In this article, you will learn about:

1. Finding MergeDocs and starting the process
2. Creating your MergeDoc in Word
3. Uploading the MergeDoc
4. Editing the MergeDoc details
5. Generating a MergeDoc individually
6. Generating multiple MergeDocs in bulk

1. Finding MergeDocs and starting the process

1. From the Administration screen, select Register and Form Templates and select the Register template you would like the MergeDoc to be associated with. Select on the template and then select the MergeDocs tab.

2. Select on the + Icon to create a new MergeDoc.

The Create a New MergeDoc pop-up box will appear.

2. Creating the MergeDoc in Word

Select on the MergeTags tab (see below) and then open either the existing Word document or create a new Word document outside of Assurance. We recommend splitting your screen or opening word on another screen.

Search for the correct MergeTag and insert into the Word document by selecting on Copy next to the Field from the Register and paste into the Word document.

Use the white Search by Field Name or MergeTag box to find the correct MergeTags to copy.

Once you paste the MergeTags in your word document, the end result will look something like this:

Long text fields
Long text fields must be inserted on a new line. They should not be pasted next to each other or next to short text fields, as this can cause issues with the MergeTags. The above example shows that each long text field is correctly pasted on a new line e.g.

• {{$what_happened?}} has its own line
• {{$nature_of_first_aid_provided}} also has its own line

Long text fields should be free of formatting and HTML code especially if they have been pasted from other sources. Use the clear formatting tool in Assurance to remove formatting.

Table fields
In a MergeDoc, you have the flexibility to set up tables according to your requirements. When setting up a table, you can choose only the fields you need. The table headers you use do not have to match the field names in Assurance.

Let's consider an example using an Audit Results table.

Below is an example of how the table should appear in a MergeDoc Word template.

Below is an example of how the table will appear once it is generated in a MergeDoc.

3. Uploading the MergeDoc

1. Once your Word document has been completed, save the document on your desktop.

2. Then in Assurance, either drag and drop the MergeDoc from your desktop OR select on the Add Files button and select the document to add. You will need to be on the Upload MergeDocs tab.

3. Then, select on the Start Upload button to upload the MergeDoc into Assurance.

4. Editing the MergeDoc details

The File will be validated and be added into the MergeDocs tab in the Template.

At this stage, you can edit the name of the MergeDoc by selecting on the edit pencil next to the Title and updating the Title.

You can also associate the MergeDoc with a particular stage by selecting on the edit pencil under Stages and selecting the stage(s) that you want the document to appear in.

5. Generating a MergeDoc individually

Your next step will be to go into the Register and find the specific form where the template has a MergeDoc associated with it.

On the right-hand side of the Details tab, the document will appear under the MergeDocs section and here you can decide to generate a MergeDoc as either a DOCX or a PDF. Selecting on Merge will generate a DOCX, selecting on the arrow will give you an option of making a PDF.

Your MergeDoc will then be generated and will look like this:

Assurance will automatically save a copy of the MergeDoc in the Attachments tab of the form.

You can also link the MergeDoc to an existing attachments field in the form by selecting on the option to Link to Existing Attachment from the Attachments field drop-down menu.

6. Generating multiple MergeDocs in bulk

1. Navigate to the Registers & Form tab at the top of the screen and select the register template for which you want to generate MergeDocs.

2. On the register screen for the selected template, tick the boxes next to the forms for which you would like to generate MergeDocs. From the More Actions drop-down menu, select on the MergeDocs option.

3. In the Bulk MergeDocs pop-up box, configure the following options.

• MergeDoc Template: Select the MergeDoc template to use (it must be the same for all selected forms).
• File Format: Select the file format you want (choose either DOCX or PDF).
• Schedule: Set the schedule for generating MergeDocs (it must be scheduled outside of business hours).
• Copy to Creator: Optionally, you can also choose to send a copy of the MergeDocs to yourself via email by selecting Copy to Creator.
• Send to Entities: If the form has an associated Entity, you can choose to send a copy of the MergeDoc to the Entity's email address by selecting Send to Entities.

4. Once options are configured, select the Schedule Merge button.

5. To view scheduled or completed Bulk MergeDocs, select View MergeDocs from the More Actions drop-down menu.

6. For more details or to download generated MergeDocs, select the status button for the specific Bulk MergeDoc.