Variables and Mail Merge Fields

Some communications in Dash can be customised via the use of dynamic variables or mail merge documents. 

Constant Variables

• dash_url
• organisation_title
• intake_title
• intake_year
• intake_display_name
• sport_title
• sport_code
• division_title
• division_code
• close_date_date (eg 2020-04-30)
• close_date_pretty (eg 30th April, 2020)
• open_date_date
• open_date_pretty
• event_title
• event_location
• event_start_date
• event_end_date
• event_description
• responsible_user_display_name
• responsible_user_user_email
• responsible_user_first_name
• responsible_user_surname
• ticket_code

Intake Tickets

Some intakes are only accessible via unique ticket codes that are sent to the parents or students. To make this distribution process easier you can mail merge the tickets into a document.  

Clicking "View Tickets" on an intake will bring up a ticket pop-up showing you which tickets have already been assigned, and also give you the option to mail merge tickets in a document. 

You can upload your own mail merge document at Organisation Profile > Intakes > Ticket Export Templates > Choose File.

You can use the above mentioned list of constant variables in your mail merge document. See below instructions on creating a functional mail merge template document. 

Notification Templates

Each notification scope/topic/key will have it's own list of dynamic variables that you can use to better customise your templates. 

Role Acceptance

For role acceptance notifications, the below variables are available;

• role_title
• role_display_name
• tenure_startdate
• tenure_enddate
• role_type
• role_sub_type
• role_gender_id
• role_sport_id
• role_division_id
• organisation_title (if exists)
• region_title (if exists)
• applicant_display_name

The syntax for using a variable in a notification is "{variable_name}" for email_subject and email_body.

For example, if we want to make a notification email more personable we can update it to be:

These variables can be used in both the email body and email subject as well as in email attachments, by making use of a mail merge document.  

Mail Merge Documents

You can create your own mail merge documents and use them in Dash to create more personable/custom communications. 

Downloadable Templates:

Intake Ticket Export

Role Acceptance Notification 

Updating Fields

Now that you have a sample document, you can update the mail merge fields and move them around as necessary.

Mail merge fields are those that lie within double angle brackets, for example «ticket_code». To update an existing field to a different variable, follow the below instructions:

Windows

Right click on the field you want to update and select "Edit field". Enter the new variable name in the "Field name" box.

Mac

Right click on the field that you want to update and select "Toggle Field Codes".

The MergeField will now expand allowing you to update the variable to whichever you like. 

 After typing the new field code, right click on the field again and select "Update Field" to finalise the change. 

Manage Data Loss with Tables

Some variables may not apply to all instances of an intake, for example not all intakes are linked to an event, so if we create a document that references "event_location" we risk sending out documents with incomplete/missing data.

To avoid this you can implement tables in your document, which do not display if the data it's referencing does not exist. 

For example, if we want to include information about an event we can use the below:

This is fine if we're sure there will always be an event to pull data from. If an event will only be linked to an intake some times, and not others, we would use a table:

In the above example, if there is no event data to be used the table will not display at all, as opposed to displaying with missing data.

Note: as these fields are within an "event" table, you don't need to use the full field name of "event_title" and instead can just say "title". 

Uploading Your Mail Merge Document

After creating your mail merge document, you need to upload it to the appropriate section in Dash. 

Intake Ticket Exports

If you are using a mail merge document to send out intake tickets to parents, you will need to upload your mail merge field to the Ticket Export Templates section. To do this, go to your Organisation Profile > Intakes > Ticket Export Templates > Choose File.

Role Acceptance Notification Attachment

If you are using a mail merge document to send out a role acceptance attachment to successful applicants, you will need to upload your file in the Communications Templates section. To do this go to your Organisation Profile > Communications > Templates > Add/Edit Customisation > Set Attribute to "email_attachment" > Choose File.