Create a Ajera CRM Merge Template with Adobe InDesign

You can create a Ajera CRM merge template with Adobe InDesign in Ajera CRM Merge Templates Configuration.

InDesign gives you flexibility in formatting and structuring your merged document.

You create a merge template with InDesign when InDesign is launched automatically from within Ajera CRM Merge Templates Configuration. In the same step that you add the merge template to the Ajera CRM database, you also create the merge template. This allows the Ajera CRM database tables and fields to be available within InDesign. You cannot create merge templates directly in InDesign without going through Ajera CRM Merge Templates Configuration.

Prerequisites: Review the "Prerequisites for Creating Ajera CRM Merge Templates with Adobe InDesign" help topic.

To create a Ajera CRM merge template with Adobe InDesign and add it to Ajera CRM, complete the following steps:

1. From the Ajera CRM Navigation menu, click Configuration > General > Merge Templates.
2. In the Info Center Area field on the Merge Templates form, select the appropriate Info Center for the template.
3. On the Merge Templates grid toolbar, click Add and from the drop-down list select Create Adobe InDesign Template.
4. On the Add Merge Template dialog box, enter a description for the template and click OK. The description will also be used as the name for the InDesign .indt file that is created for the merge template. When you click OK, the Adobe InDesign software opens, and the Ajera CRM Merge Code dialog box may be minimized on your Windows taskbar.
5. On the Merge Code dialog box, select a Ajera CRM table and field (merge code) that you want to add to the merge template. From the drop-down lists, you can select only the Ajera CRM database tables and fields for the Info Center that you selected on the Merge Templates form.
6. Optional. If the field that you select can be formatted, enter formatting for it in the Format field. You can see how the formatting looks in the Example section below the Format field.
7. Click Insert on the Merge Code dialog box. The Ajera CRM field and its formatting are entered into the active InDesign text frame.
8. Continue to add more Ajera CRM fields to the InDesign merge template using the Merge Code dialog box. As you work, you move back and forth between the Ajera CRM Merge Code dialog box and the In Design text frame.
9. When you finish adding Ajera CRM fields to the InDesign template file, click Save and Close on in the Merge Code dialog box. This saves the merge template to Ajera CRM, closes InDesign, and returns you to the Ajera CRM Merge Templates form. A new row for the template is added to the Ajera CRM Merge Template form. The file name that displays in the Template File Name field is based on the description that you entered for the merge file on the Add Merge Template dialog box.

   If you save the file using File > Save or File > Save As in the InDesign screen, the .indt file is not saved to Ajera CRM. It is saved to a location on your workstation or a network drive. You must use the Save or Save As buttons on the Ajera CRM Merge Code dialog box to save the InDesign merge template file in Ajera CRM.

To add merge codes for grid fields, graphics, and other items, see the following topics:

• Insert Merge Codes for Ajera CRM Grids in an Adobe InDesign Merge Template
• Insert Merge Codes for a Graphic in an Adobe InDesign Merge Template
• Insert Merge Codes for Project Descriptions in an Adobe InDesign Merge Template
• Insert Ajera CRM Data into a Table in an Adobe InDesign Merge Template