Mail Merge

• Creating a Label Template in Word

• Sum Columns in Gift List Merge Letter

Year-End Tasks

• Year-End-Processing

• Donor Listings (Size Category List)

Common Problems

• Exceed! Help Not Opening

• Email Issues?

• Data Integrity

• Office 2010: Trusted Locations

Report Output:

• Mastering Report Output Excel, PDF

Security:

• User Rights

Program Documentation:

• Exceed! Help vs. Proceedures Manual

Master Biographical:

• Attaching PDFs to Actions (Exceed! Premier only)

Creating a Label Template in Word Top of page

Do you want more flexibility when printing labels? If you need to easily edit a name, address or simply change the font consider creating a mail merge label template in Word. Below is a quick tutorial on how to create a label template as a Mail Merge item on the Mail Merge Choices screen. Each version of Word is slightly different, so you may have to tweak the instructions below accordingly.

Within Exceed! go to Setup -->Application Set up --> Letters -->Mail Merge, click Add.

Word will open with a sample letter template. Do Ctrl + A and delete the sample info. Next, go to Tools -->Letters and Mailings -->Mail Merge. 

The Mail Merge panel should open up on the right of the Word template.  Go to Step 1.  Select Labels as the Document Type. 

Click Next to Step 2. Under Change Document Layout, choose the Label Options.  Here you can choose from a variety of templates. The standard is 5160 Avery standard 3 Across, but you can choose which ever template best fits your need. 

On the Word document, choose the Insert Merge Fields (it’s the icon to the left of Insert Word Field).  Double-click to insert the appropriate merge fields, i.e. Name, Company, etc.  If necessary edit the merge fields into proper address format.  

Click Next to go to Step 4. Click the Update All Labels button under Replicate Labels.  This will replicate the label format you created in step 2 but it will add the <<Next Record>> switch which will pull the next record in the extraction during the mail merge process.

At this point go to File and Save as and name your document.  Now minimize the labels and click on the OK button in Exceed!. Your new label template is ready to use.

To access this template go to Tasks --> Mailings --> Letters and Labels --> Mail Merge and select your labels label template.

Sum Columns in Gift List Merge Letter Top of page

Exceed doesn’t have a “grand total” merge field that you can add to a mail merge.  But you can use Word to create a really slick looking letter that will sum the amounts from within a table (just like Excel).  The below will take a few minutes to setup, but once you have the template in place, it will look great.

Setup -->App Setup --> Letters --> Gift List Merge, Add New.

The trick is twofold, creating tables for the Amount and Dates (maybe comments too) and then inserting an equation that will =Sum(ABOVE).

You’ll need to delete the entire Date, Amount, Value, Fund and Comment columns.

Now you need to insert tables.  Click on Insert Table Insert Table.

You’ll get the Insert Table screen where you can assign Columns and Rows, for this example I am just going to insert Date and Amount fields, autosuming the Amount fields.  So I am building a table with 2 Columns and 18 Rows, click OK once done.  (Please note that you can also add the VALUE merge fields, so feel free to add them as well.)

Then Mailings-->Insert Merge Fields and fill in the Date and Amount Merge fields.  The maximum amount of Date and Amount merge fields you can bring over in a word doc is 16, so for this example I built the table to max out the number of merge fields that you can bring over in Word.  If your organization doesn’t receive that many gifts from one entity, then scale your rows accordingly.  I will usually add two additional rows to type in a column heading and then the Total.

Now for the second part, which a bit tricky.  Turn on the Field Definitions for the document by doing an Alt+F9.  Place your cursor in the last row where you want the AutoSum to populate.  Your document will look like this when the Filed Definitions are activated:

Now click on InsertQuick Parts, and choose Field.

This will bring up the Field Screen (which looks daunting, but just do the following).  Click on the Formula Button.

The Formula screen will appear, in the Formula Field type in =SUM(ABOVE)

In the Number Format: use the $#,##0.00;($#,##0.00) option

Then Click OK.

Your Total field will have the following Merge Field Definition:

Save the file, then minimize and click on the OK to Continue button in Exceed.

Now you when you create your Form Letters, the “Total” Column will autosum the above amounts just like in Excel.  The trick is to turn off the Field Definitions on the merged form letter.  When the merge is completed it will look like this:

So now turn the Field Definitions off by Alt-F9 and you will get the sum:

Year End Processing Top of page

The Year End Processing task does a couple things.  First it allows you to define your current fiscal year.  Some organizations operate on a July to June period while others use calendar or some other range.  Whatever the case may be you can customize this by going to Tasks/Year End Processing.  It also calculates all gifts within the date range you defined and updates the YTD Giving Totals field in the Totals table with that number.  It also goes back and calculates giving totals for Last Year, Two, Three and Four Years Ago.  If Year-End Processing is grayed out that means you have a window open within Exceed!.  Close all windows and try again. 

Donor Listings (Size Category List): Top of page

Help Fix Top of page

Background:  Microsoft released a security patch that disables HTML Help files from running.  Our help file is compiled in this format and is affected by the security patch.  Below is more information about the security patch and below that are the steps to fix the issue.

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-026
Vulnerability in HTML Help Could Allow Remote Code Execution (896358)

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS05-026.mspx

To fix the Help navigation issue open the Exceed or Exbasic program folder, not the program itself.  Inside the folder you’ll see a Help Fix Folder, open it.

Email issues: Top of page

If you have ever used or plan to use the Email merge feature which allows you to send an email to a group of donors you’ll want to make sure you are in version 6.5.  Previous versions of Exceed! didn’t have an email validator.  This validator doesn’t check to make sure the email address is still active, but that the address is in the correct format.  Many mass emails have been halted midway because of an email address that was entered incorrectly.  Examples include using a comma instead of a period (sean@telosa,com) or using the domain suffix “con” instead of “com.” 

To validate your email addresses go to the Utilities menu and choose Check E-Mail Addresses.

Data Integrity Top of page

Backup/Reindex/Repeat.  The 2^nd worst thing that can happen to a database is data corruption.   The worst thing for your data is inconsistent data entry, but that’s another article.  Data corruption usually happens when there is loss of power to the computer while editing a record or by a virus running around your local machine or network.  So, make sure you have a good anti-virus program and a UPS (uninterruptable power supply) to prevent any data loss.  You can also compromise your data if you close the program while in the middle of running an upgrade or reindexing your files.  I also recommend backing up your data before doing any sort of global tasks, like global code replacement, archiving lapsed donors or purging your data of old prospects.  If you do find yourself with data corruption you have two choices.  You can restore from a backup or you can send us your data and for a fee a programmer will look at it and give you a quote to fix the data.  If you have an automated backup happening on your server that’s great.  Just make sure that in the event of data corruption you know how to restore the data.  We do not support 3^rd party backup/restore applications.  However, we do support our own backup/restore feature which you can find by going to File/Backup and Restore. 

The utility is simple.  You can tell Exceed to remind you to backup when you exit the program every X number of days and I recommend clicking “Include Month/Day in Backup file name.”  Click the Select button and choose a directory in which to store your backups.  If you want to password protect the .zip file it creates you can do so, but it’s not mandatory.  Once you’ve done all that click Backup Now and Exceed will create a .zip file in the destination directory with today’s date on it. 

Office 2010: Trusted Locations Top of page

Yes, Microsoft has done it again. More security means more work for you. If you have tried doing a mail merge from Exceed! into Word you probably aren't having much luck. That's because Office 2010 comes with a new feature, Trusted Locations. Long story short, if you want to do a mail merge into Word you will need to add the Exceed directory and your C:\Temp folder to the list of Trusted Locations. For more information on how to do this take a look at the following article from Microsoft.

Knowledgebase Article 1

Knowledgebase Article 2

Mastering Report Output: Excel, PDF Top of page

In the Report Output section, select from the following options: 
• Print Preview—Your report opens on the screen, and you have the opportunity, after viewing your report, to send it to the printer, or save it in various formats.
(For information on edit options in the Report Designer window that opens, see the Print Preview Screen topic below.)
• Printer—Your report is sent to the printer, without prior viewing.
• File—Your report is sent to a file in comma-delimited text format for use with a word processor or spreadsheet. Clicking File gives you  the option of changing the file name and directory.
To change the file name, type the name of the file in the edit box provided. The file name must be eight characters or less, with no spaces or special characters.
To change the directory where the file is stored, click the Change button and select a directory from the Select Directory window.

When you send your report to a file, the report is not sent to the screen.
• Excel—Allows for the creation of an Excel file saved in XLS format. When an Excel report is generated, Excel is opened and the report is displayed as a spreadsheet.
• PDF—A PDF version of your report is created and placed in your Exceed/Exbasic folder.
• HTML—An HTML version of your report is created and placed in your Exceed/Exbasic folder.
• RTF—An RTF version of your report is created and placed in your Exceed/Exbasic folder.

If you choose Print Preview in the Report Option section, your report opens on the screen with the following toolbar:

The following options are available on the toolbar:

 Go to the first page of the report.

  Go back one page.

  Look up text anywhere in the report. A screen asks for details.

   Go the last page of the report.

  Go forward one page.

  Zoom in or out.

  Print the report.

 Send the report to a Word document.  Microsoft Word opens with the report displayed.

 Create an RTF format for the report.

 Create an Excel spreadsheet of the report.  Microsoft Excel opens with the report displayed.

Note: If you select Excel from the System Reports Selection form, the report appears in Excel in a more-easily manipulated form.

 Create an HTML document from the report.

 Create a PDF document of the report.

  Create an image file of the report.

This creates a .gif formatted image of the report and places it in your Exceed folder.

  Close the preview. Before you close the preview, you should select one of the other options if you want to do something with the report other than look at it on the screen.

User Rights Top of page

Establishing User Rights

To set up User Rights for a user, do the following:

1. Choose Setup/Security Setup from the Setup menu.
2. Click the User Rights tab.
3. In the User's Name field, select the name of the user whose rights you want to set.
4. The Form Name table field indicates the area in Exceed! where you are able to establish access privileges.  Click a Form Name, as appropriate, and then select from the options as described below.

The following table fields define the types of screen privileges that you can set for each user:

• View—All View check boxes are initially marked by default. If you wish to restrict a user’s view rights for a particular form, click View check box to delete the default.
• Edit—For a user to be able to edit data on a screen or form, the Edit check box must be checked. If it is not checked, the user will be able to view data, but not edit it.
• Begins—Establishes the start date for access to a screen or form. The current date is entered by default. Double-click  the Begins field to change the date.
• Expires—Establishes the end date for access to a screen or form. Double-click in the Expires field to change the date.

5. Click Save.
6. Click Exit to close the Security Setup window.

To restrict a user’s view or edit rights, un-check the appropriate check box. For example, to restrict a user from viewing or editing Delete Prospects, remove the check form the check box beside Delete Prospects. To verify that the rights have been properly edited, login as the user whose rights you modified. Select the Tasks menu and verify that Delete Prospects is not listed.

Changing a Password

To change a user's password, do the following:

1. Select Security Setup from the Setup menu.
2. In the System Users tab, click the name of the person whose password you wish to change.
3. Click Edit.
4. Click Password field. Delete the old password and enter a new password.
5. Click the Confirm field and reenter the new password.
6. Click Save.

 Deleting a User

To delete a user, do the following:

1. Select Security Setup from the Setup menu.
2. In System Users, click the name of the person whose record you wish to delete.
3. Click Delete.(A message will ask you if you are sure you want to delete the User)
4. Click Yes.

Help vs. Procedures Manual Top of page

Exceed! includes several ways to get help in using the product:

• Help Menu—Selecting Contents from the Help menu brings up the Help system.  The tabs on the left side of the Help window assist you in finding topics. The topic text appears in the window on the right.  
  
  From the tabs on the left, you can find help on a specific topic in four ways:
• Contents tab contains a Table of Contents.  Click on the books to open chapters or subchapters.  Click on a topic to display it in the window.
• Index tab contains an alphabetical index.  Type a word in the box at the top or scroll through the index to find your topic.  Double click on the topic in the index, or click once on a topic and click on the Display button.
• Search tab allows you to enter any keyword.  All topics that contain that word are listed below.  Double click on the topic you wish to view or click once on the topic and click on the Display button.  Note that your search word is highlighted everywhere it appears in the topic.
• Favorites tab starts out with nothing in it.  If you have some help topics that you visit often, you can mark them as favorites by clicking on the Add button on this tab. They then appear in a list on this tab for easy access.
• Help Button— Clicking on the Help button on the Menu bar does the same thing as selecting Contents from the Help menu.
• Help and Support Navigator— Clicking on any of the topics on the Help section of this navigator brings up the Help system at the topic chosen.  You can then use the Help system from there.
• ? What's This Help— On most Exceed! screens, there is a "?" in the upper right corner.  This enables you to ask about any of the fields or buttons on the screen.  To use this feature, click on the "?".  This turns your cursor into a "?".  Now click on the field or button you are interested in.  The Help system appears, with the relevant topic displayed.

Procedures Manual

If you are an Exceed! Premier user, the procedures manual has been included with your program upgrades and probably exists in your Exceed! program folder already. The manual is named "Procedures Manual.doc", and the newly updated manual for Exceed! Premier 7.0 is named "Procedures Manual 7.0.doc". For Exceed! clients with a current Technical Support Contract, the updated procedures manual is available for Exceed! Premier 7.0 as well as Exceed! Basic 3.0.

Click here for more information.

Attaching PDFs to Actions (Premier only) Top of page

Having the ability to attach an document to an action is helpful in many ways. Exceed! Premier allows you to easily attach PDF, Word or Excel documents to actions. While adding a new action or editing an existing action click the Add Attachment hyperlink. Navigate to the location of the document you want to attach and click OK. Now that document is attched to your action and you can view, change or delete it whenever you want to. To view the attachment simply click the View Attachment hyperlink. If you want to Change or Delete the document right-click the View Attachment hyperlink and select the appropriate option.