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attendance:maintenance:letters:update:letter

Letter (Attendance)

Attendance > Maintenance > Letters > Update > Letter

This tab allows you to create a form letter or template for each letter type in the Attendance letter directory.

A letter body should be created for each Letter ID in the directory. You can personalize letters using variables.


Best practices for attendance letters

Update data:

❏ Select a letter type in one of the following ways:

  • From the Directory tab, click Retrieve for the letter type.
  • Click the Letter tab. In the drop down at the top of the tab, select the letter type.


The selected letter type is displayed in the text editor.

If the letter body has not yet been created, the editor is blank. Otherwise, the existing letter content is displayed.



❏ Type or edit the letter using as many variables as necessary.

Copying a letter


It is recommended that you do not enter line breaks by pressing ENTER in the paragraph body, as this will cause the text to wrap incorrectly in the actual letter. Instead, let the text wrap naturally in the editor. When you click Preview and print the letters, the line breaks will occur in the appropriate places.


Variables:

❏ To add a variable, position the cursor in the letter where you want to insert a variable.

Variables must be inserted one at a time.



❏ Click Variables to select a variable.

The Letter Variables lookup is used to select letter variables when printing attendance, discipline, or health letters. Some variables are not available, depending on the letter type.


Search for a variable:

Letter variables are listed in alphabetical order by replacement. Replacement describes the content that will appear in place of the variable when letters are generated for students.

The list can be re-sorted.

❏ To search for a specific variable, begin typing the replacement text in the Search field.

The list is automatically filtered to display the variables that contain the characters you have typed.



❏ When you locate the variable you want to retrieve, click the replacement.

The lookup closes, and the letter is populated with the selected variable.



❏ Repeat for the remaining variables.

❏ Click Cancel to close the lookup without selecting a variable.


The variable is inserted into the letter, enclosed in curly brackets.

Variables must be inserted one at a time.

A variable cannot be used in the first line of the letter. If the first character in the letter must be a variable, precede it with a blank line to ensure that the letters process properly.


❏ To delete a variable from the letter, select the variable in the letter body and press Delete.


IMPORTANT:

  • The List of Absences variable is used to report absence types and tardy periods if tardy equivalent days are specified; it is not available for Annual Notification and Mail Out letter types.

  • The font attributes (bold, italic, underline, strikeout) for the List of Absences variable should not be changed. Otherwise, the letters will not generate.


❏ Click Save.

Preview

Click to preview the letter. The letter opens in PDF format in an embedded Adobe Reader window where you can print, save, and perform other functions.

Margins

Adjust the left, right, top, and bottom margins as needed. The margins are specified in inches. Use three digits for the margin with two decimal places (e.g., 1.00).

Refresh Margins

Click if you changed the margins. The letter is redisplayed with the new margins.


❏ Click Save to save changes to the margins.

EditClick to return to the letter editor.


To insert an image using a URL link:

❏ Select Insert image from the Insert dropdown menu.

Insert Image

❏ In the Source field, copy/paste the URL link to the image to be added.

❏ In the Image description field, add a short description of the image.

❏ In the Dimensions fields, enter specific image dimensions or leave blank.

❏ Click OK. The image is placed in the letter.

Adding URL link in source field

❏ Click Close.

Final image

❏ Click Save.

attendance/maintenance/letters/update/letter.txt · Last modified: 2020/07/08 13:51 by 127.0.0.1