New Letter Template and Associated Letter Profile

This guide will demonstrate how to create a new Letter Template and Letter Profile.

Prerequisites

Before creating a new letter template and letter profile, you must first install LibreOffice and Download the Letter Data Source.

Refer to Configuring the Letter Data Source for details.

Sample Templates

ACE provides sample templates to streamline the letter setup process. The sample templates provide examples of different letter templates with data fields already incorporated.

ACE Sample Templates

ACE templates are provided as examples and are not intended to fulfill company requirements. Please consult with your company's management and legal teams.

Creating a Letter Template

We will create a letter template using the ‘Sample Debt Letter’ Template

1. Go to Setup → Letters → Profiles

2. Locate the ‘Sample Debt Letter’

3. Locate the Template File Field, click on the cloud icon to download the template

4. Open the template in LibreOffice

Locating Fields to add to the Letter Template

Fields act as placeholders, allowing users to dynamically insert information from ACE into letters. This section will cover how to locate fields to add to your letter template using LibreOffice.

1. Go to View → Data Sources

2. Click the + to the left of ACE to expand that data source and then left click on the + to the left of Tables to see the ACE tables

3. Scroll through the tables and left click on a table to see the available fields

   1. Example: left click on the primaryDemographic table to locate account information for the primary consumer

Adding the Field into the Letter Template

For this example, we want to put the name of the primary consumer into the letter informally as “first name last name”, which is accomplished using the field “infoFullName”

1. Locate the Desired Field e.g. infoFullName

2. Drag the field into your template

   1. You can move and copy the field into other locations into the letter

3. Craft your content

4. Save your template noting its location

Creating a New Letter Profile

1. Go to Setup → Letters → Profile, click New

2. Locate Letter Profile Section

3. Enter data into fields

   1. See table for Field Descriptions *denotes required field

4. Locate the Template File Field, upload the template

5. Click Save

Letter Vendors Section

1. Locate Add Vendor

2. Make the selection from the dropdown, click Add

   1. Open Office (use this if you need to edit your document after it generates) 

   2. PDF (use this if you want to lock your document from being edited) 

   3. Word (use this if you need to edit your document after it generates)

3. You can add multiple Letter Vendors to a Letter Profile.  Adding multiple Letter Vendors to the Letter Profile will give the user options when generating the document at the account level   

Tips

Anytime changes are made to a letter template in LibreOffice, the template will need to be uploaded again to the associated Letter Profile in order for those changes to be effective in ACE.

Organize with an ACE Letters Folder

Enhance your workflow by creating a dedicated ACE Letters folder on your computer. This folder is ideal for storing both the ACE.ods database and your ACE letters. By centralizing these files, you ensure easy access and efficient management. Simply set up the folder in a location of your choice, and maintain a well-organized repository for all your ACE-related documents.