[Idea] MailMerge 2.0

[drodriguez]

Mail Merge becomes a necessary tool in many cases and not always is
used to create a letter or email as the wizard says. I think achieving
the mentioned task using LibreOffice needs to be a easier.
That's why I'd like to propose:
* Rename: As the name seems to condition the application
functionality, DataMerge or InfoMerge would be more appropriate and
provides the idea of greater functionality.
* Advanced Editing: If I'm not writing a letter, why should I assign
fields? an option to skip the wizard and include fields manually would
be welcome.

what do you think?

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Escuelas Libres :: Porque la educación es mucho mejor cuando es libre
http://www.escuelaslibres.org.ar/
---
Para entrenar, cualquier programa sirve. Para educar, sólo Software
Libre. (Federico Heinz)
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[cornouws]

Hi Daniel,

Daniel A. Rodriguez wrote (12-04-11 03:57)

Mail Merge becomes a necessary tool in many cases and not always is
used to create a letter or email as the wizard says. I think achieving
the mentioned task using LibreOffice needs to be a easier.
That's why I'd like to propose:
* Rename: As the name seems to condition the application
functionality, DataMerge or InfoMerge would be more appropriate and
provides the idea of greater functionality.

No opinion yet, sorry.

* Advanced Editing: If I'm not writing a letter, why should I assign
fields? an option to skip the wizard and include fields manually would
be welcome.

Already is there: drag the header of a column from a table in the datasource window (F4) or use Insert>Fields>More ... tab Database.

Kind regards,
Cor

[drodriguez]

Mail Merge becomes a necessary tool in many cases and not always is
used to create a letter or email as the wizard says. I think achieving
the mentioned task using LibreOffice needs to be a easier.
That's why I'd like to propose:
* Rename: As the name seems to condition the application
functionality, DataMerge or InfoMerge would be more appropriate and
provides the idea of greater functionality.

No opinion yet, sorry.

* Advanced Editing: If I'm not writing a letter, why should I assign
fields? an option to skip the wizard and include fields manually would
be welcome.

Already is there: drag the header of a column from a table in the datasource
window (F4) or use Insert>Fields>More ... tab Database.

Yes, but I need to get to step 6 to do so. An option to avoid the
wizard in step 3 could prevent this.

Furthermore, the last step of the wizard saves the merged document.
What happens if I need to edit base document for any omission? Or
change the location of the fields?

All this I have raised are issues that arise in the school where I
work, where teachers are comfortable using MSOffice.

--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
Escuelas Libres :: Porque la educación es mucho mejor cuando es libre
http://www.escuelaslibres.org.ar/
---
Para entrenar, cualquier programa sirve. Para educar, sólo Software
Libre. (Federico Heinz)
---

[cornouws]

Daniel A. Rodriguez wrote (12-04-11 11:32)

Mail Merge becomes a necessary tool in many cases and not always is
used to create a letter or email as the wizard says. I think achieving
the mentioned task using LibreOffice needs to be a easier.
That's why I'd like to propose:
* Rename: As the name seems to condition the application
functionality, DataMerge or InfoMerge would be more appropriate and
provides the idea of greater functionality.

No opinion yet, sorry.

* Advanced Editing: If I'm not writing a letter, why should I assign
fields? an option to skip the wizard and include fields manually would
be welcome.

Already is there: drag the header of a column from a table in the datasource
window (F4) or use Insert>Fields>More ... tab Database.

Yes, but I need to get to step 6 to do so. An option to avoid the
wizard in step 3 could prevent this.

No, both possibilities work without the wizard.

Furthermore, the last step of the wizard saves the merged document.
What happens if I need to edit base document for any omission? Or
change the location of the fields?

Most easy for me always is:
- create document/template
- add fields (see my tips above)
- start the wizard and step to 8 immediately.
Have document and/or data changed? Just the Wizard and step 8 do the job.

All this I have raised are issues that arise in the school where I
work, where teachers are comfortable using MSOffice.

Ah, great task for you to make them learn the advantages of the LibreOffice way :
No need to link documents to sources. Just drag the fields from the datasource in. Of have a textblock (autotext) with fields ..

Best,
Cor