Dan
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Registered: 22nd Apr 02
Location: Gorleston on Sea, Norfolk
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Right, im trying to find a better way to do the paperwork at work for our engine build reports.
At the moment, we have templates of all the documents, we then open them, fill in the customer details, engine details etc etc, and print it, then save as, into a job file to keep an electronic copy.
When you have like 20 documents, filling in customer address fields and all the rest takes an absolute age.
Whats the best way for me to make this quicker? Would it be merged documents? or is there a better way?
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Russ
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Registered: 14th Mar 04
Location: Armchair
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mail merge
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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Depends exactly what software/document type(s) you're currently using and the data you need to duplicate/share between them.
If you're using Word then you can use internal bookmarks for replicating data or document properties if using using UserForms. Similarly with Excel, you can create forms and stick data where its needed.
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Dan
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Registered: 22nd Apr 02
Location: Gorleston on Sea, Norfolk
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At the moment, we just use word documents, which are generally made up of tables, if there was a way of creating a spreadsheet with all the customers details and then clicking create documents, that would be epic. If not opening both and merging into it would be just as helpful, although slight more involved in opening each one.
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IvIarkgraham
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Registered: 27th Mar 04
Location: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
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can you not create something with microsoft access?
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evilrob
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Registered: 16th Mar 12
Location: Your mum's house
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There is absolutely no good reason to have people rekeying data manually into Word documents in this day and age!
Where does the customer data come from?
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Richie
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Registered: 3rd Dec 02
Location: Newport, Wales
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quote:
Originally posted by Dan
At the moment, we just use word documents, which are generally made up of tables, if there was a way of creating a spreadsheet with all the customers details and then clicking create documents, that would be epic. If not opening both and merging into it would be just as helpful, although slight more involved in opening each one.
Which is exactly what a mail merge does....
http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/word-help/mail-merge-using-an-excel-spreadsheet-HA102809678.aspx
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Dan
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Registered: 22nd Apr 02
Location: Gorleston on Sea, Norfolk
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Customer data is just from memory, or a work instruction that's typed out before each job come in.
The whole computer system is horrendous tbf. They use folders to store each job number. Which then has more folders for things like pictures, documents etc. there's like a million folders within the job file.
What it really needs is like a piece if software, That stores and manages everything. But I'd imagine that would need to be custom and not something off the shelf so to speak.
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by Richie
quote:
Originally posted by Dan
At the moment, we just use word documents, which are generally made up of tables, if there was a way of creating a spreadsheet with all the customers details and then clicking create documents, that would be epic. If not opening both and merging into it would be just as helpful, although slight more involved in opening each one.
Which is exactly what a mail merge does....
http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/word-help/mail-merge-using-an-excel-spreadsheet-HA102809678.aspx
Does mail merge handle duplicating a single piece of information across multiple Word document templates on per job basis?
Granted i don't know a huge amount about mail merge but i've only ever seen it used in a newsletter/envelope label situations where you're creating job-lots of the 'template' rather than one-off's.
quote:
Originally posted by Dan
Customer data is just from memory, or a work instruction that's typed out before each job come in.
Personally, it sounds like you're wanting to only enter the data once and then get it to replicate that data across multiple documents on a per job basis - which from what i know is not what mail merge does.
As mentioned, i'd have a look at using Bookmarks. You'd need to merge your templates into one document but it allows you to replicate data across multiple fields - ie: you have a single name field but it'll populate the other name fields within the document/template, same for address, engine size etc.
Alternatively you could use UserForms which that presents itself as an application window with text boxes/dropdown menus etc. But ideally you'd need to be a little handy with VBA/VB, although i wouldn't say it'd be particularly hard to grasp.
[Edited on 10-08-2013 by Dom]
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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Various bits of CRM software will probably do it, definitely wouldn't have to be custom.
Loads of folders and doing things manually is still the way lots of small (and not so small) companies do it.
Software, the new server to run the software, training etc all costs money.
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Dan
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Registered: 22nd Apr 02
Location: Gorleston on Sea, Norfolk
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Too a company turning over 10s of millions I'd expect a little bit of software to not really bother them.
I think it's more those involved in it all are not at all clued up on what can be used.
I want to sort these documents as its me that has to type them all out when I do the job.
I think mail merge could work to save loads of time. If I put all documents onto 1 word file. Thn merge a customer spreadsheet with it, it should fill in all the blanks shouldn't it? Can I then save them with the details filled in?
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Dan
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Registered: 22nd Apr 02
Location: Gorleston on Sea, Norfolk
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Looking into those userforms, and VBA within excel, could I build something that would be like loads of question boxes, where I check the boxes that are relevant.
Then at the end of all the questions, have a button to generate a report?
That report could be laid out the same as our current documents, which could then be printed or saved?
Is this too much to as an inexperienced person using vba etc to try and build?
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IvIarkgraham
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Registered: 27th Mar 04
Location: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
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access
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Dom
Member
Registered: 13th Sep 03
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quote:
Originally posted by IvIarkgraham
access
For what exactly? 
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Bart
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Registered: 19th Aug 02
Location: Midsomer Norton, Bristol Avon
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Access requires a pro version of office, does everyone have that?
What about SharePoint / InfoPath?
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IvIarkgraham
Premium Member
Registered: 27th Mar 04
Location: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Dom
quote:
Originally posted by IvIarkgraham
access
For what exactly?
to create a database that will do exactly what he wants
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Dom
Member
Registered: 13th Sep 03
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by IvIarkgraham
quote:
Originally posted by Dom
quote:
Originally posted by IvIarkgraham
access
For what exactly?
to create a database that will do exactly what he wants
Database stores information, doesn't exactly help in replicating and populating Word templates.
Sharepoint/InfoPath would be a good shout, although getting Sharepoint to run on a desktop OS is a bit of a faff and ideally you want to run it with Windows Server.
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IvIarkgraham
Premium Member
Registered: 27th Mar 04
Location: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
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we use it in work, and it does everything he has asked for
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Dan
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Registered: 22nd Apr 02
Location: Gorleston on Sea, Norfolk
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The ideas you u2u'd me dom seem ideal, im gonna take a look through them and see if I can build something like that.
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Dan
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Registered: 22nd Apr 02
Location: Gorleston on Sea, Norfolk
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Absolutely epic...
Spent the last couple of hours making a demo strip report programme within word. (if you call these programmes :/)
Now have a box come up when I open the file, with a list of engine components, followed by questions for each section.
Each question has a drop down box which has the applicable answers.
You choose your answers, then click complete. It then writes the answers into my document ive made in the correct sections.
Absolutely amazed how easy that bit was to create with no previous experience of it.
My next question, is it possible to have a box that says next, rather than complete report. I click next, it fills in the data so far, then opens up another box with more questions on, this can be repeated until I have asked all questions, followed by the complete report button, which will finalize all the answers into the document?
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Dan
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Registered: 22nd Apr 02
Location: Gorleston on Sea, Norfolk
User status: Offline
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Im guessing on the click programming of the next button, I have unload me followed by a list2.show
:/
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Dan
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Registered: 22nd Apr 02
Location: Gorleston on Sea, Norfolk
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Fuck yes! That works spot on. So I can basically just carry on asking more questions and repeating this!
Ignore my ramblings.
Love it!
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Dom
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Registered: 13th Sep 03
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Have you gone down the VBA/Userforms route then? Guessing you're using bookmark fields within the templates?
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Dan
Premium Member
Registered: 22nd Apr 02
Location: Gorleston on Sea, Norfolk
User status: Offline
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Yep, userforms and bookmarks.
Works brilliant for what we need. Showed it to the line manager today and he was amazed. So we're going to sit down and discuss the options with it when I get spare time and go from there.
In the mean time, im going to learn the print buttoncode and a few other things.
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