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Vtiger Office Plugin 5.0.4 - User Manual

From vtiger.com

Contents 1 Installation Procedure 1.1 System Requirements 1.2 Installation Prerequisites 1.3 Installing vtiger Office Plug-in 1.4 Uninstalling vtiger Office Plug-in 2 Working with vtiger Office Plug-in 2.1 Configuring vtiger CRM Server 2.2 Logging in and out vtiger CRM 2.3 Inserting Data Fields in Document 3 Managing Mail Merge Documents 3.1 Storing Mail Merge Templates 3.2 Creating Mail Merge Documents 4 Troubleshooting Tips 5 Known Issues 6 Customer Support

[edit] Installation Procedure

• System Requirements
• Installation Prerequisites
• Installing vtiger Office Plug-in
• Uninstalling vtiger Office Plug-in

[edit] System Requirements

• Hardware: x486 with 256 MB RAM or higher with a minimum of 100 MB disk space.
• Operating System: Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista.
• Software: Microsoft Word 2000/2003 (English or German) and Internet Explorer 5.5 and above.

[edit] Installation Prerequisites

• You must have administrator or power user privileges on the system.
• You must have valid login details to connect vtiger CRM 5.0.4, as you have to connect from Microsoft Word to vtiger CRM .
• All the Microsoft Word applications must be closed before installing the vtiger Office Plug-in.

[edit] Installing vtiger Office Plug-in

1. Download vtiger Office Plug-in from SF.net
2. Double-click the vtigercrm-office-plugin-5.0.4.exe from the directory where you have downloaded the file.
3. In the vtiger CRM Office Plug-in Setup dialog, click the Next button to start the installation process.
4. In the License Agreement dialog box, read the license agreement and click the I Agree button if you accept the license agreement.
5. In the Language Selection dialog box, select the language and click the Next button.
   
   

   Note: You can select English, Dutch, French, German (Swiss), German, Finnish, or Portuguese language.

6. In the Choose Destination Location dialog, browse the directory in which you want to install vtiger Office Plug-in and click the Next button.
7. In the Start Copying Files dialog, click the Next button to start installation. The vtiger Office Plug-in installation will take a few seconds.
8. In the vtiger Office Plug-in Setup dialog box, click the Finish button to complete the installation.

[edit] Uninstalling vtiger Office Plug-in

1. Stop the Microsoft Word if it is running.
2. Select Start àSettings àControl Panel.
3. In the Control Panel, click the Add or Remove Programs icon.
4. In the Add/Remove Programs dialog, select the vtiger Office Plug-in and click the Remove link. It will take a few seconds to remove the vtiger Office Plug-in.

[edit] Working with vtiger Office Plug-in

You can use vtiger Office Plug-in to create mail merge templates for creating on-the-fly Microsoft Word templates, such as form letters/emails, envelops, catalogs, mailing labels, and others using leads, accounts, and contacts database fields in vtiger CRM. After creating a mail merge template based on customer specific data fields in vtiger CRM, you have to upload the same into vtiger CRM through vtiger CRM Browser interface.

You can perform the following operations in Microsoft Word using vtiger Office Plug-in:

• Configure vtiger CRM Server
• Log in and out vtiger CRM
• Insert vtiger CRM-specific database fields into mail merge document

[edit] Configuring vtiger CRM Server

First you have to establish a connection in between Microsoft Word and vtiger CRM to display the database fields related to Leads, Contacts, and Accounts in Microsoft Word.

To configure vtiger CRM server

1. Start the Microsoft Word.
2. In the Microsoft Word, click the vtiger CRM --> Configuration menu.
3. In the vtiger CRM - Configuration dialog under vtiger CRM Configuration section, enter the following vtiger CRM server details:
   • User Name: Enter the user name to log in to the vtiger CRM.
   • Password: Enter the password for the user name.
   • Host Name: Enter the vtiger CRM server name, where it is running.
4. In the vtiger CRM - Configuration dialog under vtiger Configure Proxy to access vtiger via Internet section, enter one of the following details:
   • Select the Direct connection to the Internet option if you are connecting the vtiger CRM directly
   • Select the Manual proxy configuration option if you connect the vtiger CRM through proxy. Enter the following details:
   • Address: Type the name or numeric IP address of the proxy server.
   • Port: Type the port number.
   • Proxy User Name: Enter the user name to access the Internet.
   • Password: Enter the password for the user name.

[edit] Logging in and out vtiger CRM

You must have authenticated login details to log in from Microsoft Word to vitger CRM.

To log in and out vtiger CRM

• Click the vtiger CRM --> Sign In menu to log in to the vtiger CRM.
• Click the vtiger CRM --> Sign Out to log out from the vtiger CRM.

[edit] Inserting Data Fields in Document

You can create mail merge templates using the vtiger CRM database fields for leads, contacts, accounts, and tickets, so that you can create on-the-fly documents from vtiger CRM. Once mail merge templates are created, you can store the templates either locally or remotely.

To insert database fields in document

1. Start the Microsoft Word from Start à Program Files à Microsoft Word.
2. In the Microsoft Word window, create a New Document from File à New menu.
3. In the New dialog box, select either a Blank Document or one of the templates from other tabs.
4. In the New dialog box, select the Document option and click OK.
5. In the MS Office main window, click the vtiger CRM àInsert Merge Field menu.
6. In the vtiger CRM - Insert Merge Fields dialog, follow the procedure given below:
   1. Point the cursor at the required place in document.
   2. In the Chose Field Type section, select one of the field types (Contacts, Accounts, Leads, or Tickets).
   3. Choose the field to be inserted from the Select merge field to insert section. You can select multiple fields by clicking the fields to be inserted.
   4. Once you have selected the fields, click the Insert button. Your selected fields are inserted at the cursor point. Follow the same procedure till you have completed the mail merge template.
7. Once you have completed typing Mail Merge document, save the file with *.doc extension, i.e., Microsoft Word document format.

[edit] Managing Mail Merge Documents

After creating mail merge templates in Microsoft® Word® by inserting the vtiger CRM specific database fields, and then store the mail merge template in vtiger CRM server. After that, users can start using these templates and create Microsoft® Word® documents merging the customer-related data, such as leads, accounts, and contacts. Once the documents are created, you can either store it locally in your machine or make it available in vtiger CRM documents storage system for public use. Also you can send these documents to your customers.

You have to complete the following operations to create mail merge Microsoft® Word® documents:

• Store mail merge templates in vtiger CRM.
• Create Mail merge documents from vtiger CRM.

[edit] Storing Mail Merge Templates

After creating mail merge template in Microsoft® Word®, store it in vtiger CRM for users to merge their customer data with the template and create documents.

To store mail merge templates

1. Log in to vtiger CRM with valid administrator login details. Please skip this section if you are not vtiger CRM System Administrator. Refer to Creating Mail Merge Documents section. 
2. Click the Settings hyperlink.
3. In the Settings: Home page, under Communication Templates à Word Templates section, click the Mail Merge Templates hyperlink.
4. In the Mail Merge Templates page, click the New Template button.
5. In the Attach Mail Merge Template page, add the mail merge template as given below:
   • Module: Select the Leads, Accounts, Contacts, or Trouble Tickets from drop-down list
   • File Name: Browse the mail merge template created using vtiger Office Plug-in.
   • Description: Specify any additional comments.
6. Click the Upload File button.

[edit] Creating Mail Merge Documents

You can create Word documents merging the vtiger CRM data with the required Leads, Accounts, and Contacts.

You must have Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.5 or higher and Microsoft® Word® 2000/2003 in your machine to view the mail merge documents. Other wise you cannot be able to view the generated documents.

While creating mail merge document, first time the Security Warning message is displayed in your Internet Explorer because vtigerCRM.cab file will be downloaded from your vtiger CRM server.

Click the Yes button to download the vtigerCRM.cab file. Otherwise you will not be able to create mail merge documents.

To create mail merge documents individually

1. Log in to vtiger CRM with a valid login details.
2. Select the required lead, contact, account, or trouble ticket from the corresponding Leads, Accounts, Contacts, or Trouble Tickets module respectively.
3. In the Lead, Contact, Account, or Trouble Tickets page, select the mail merge template from the Select Template to Mail Merge drop-down list.
4. Click the Merge button to display the mail merge document in Microsoft Word.
5. Now you can save locally or print the document.

To create mail merge documents in bulk

1. Log in to vtiger CRM with a valid login details.
2. Select the module. You can create mail merge documents for Leads, Accounts, Contacts, or Trouble Tickets.
3. In the Module List View, select the mail merge template from the Select Template to Mail Merge drop-down list.
4. Click the Merge button to display the mail merge document in Microsoft Word.
5. Now you can save locally or print the document.

[edit] Troubleshooting Tips

Error message while creating mail merge document: This feature requires IE 5.5 or higher for Windows on Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows NT4 SP6, Windows XP. Click here to return to the previous page

The above error message will be displayed, if you are using vtiger CRM in Web browser other than Microsoft IE 5.5 or above.

[edit] Known Issues

• User with any login details can gain access from the Microsoft Word to the vtiger CRM. Authentication feature is not implemented in vtiger Office Plug-in 5.0. Hence vtiger CRM users are advised not to expose their vtiger CRM system to Internet. 
• Error message during installation: First call to RegDBCreateKeyEX Failed. Kindly ignore this error message.
• You cannot use vtiger Office Plug-in with Web browsers other than Microsoft Internet Explorer.
• Error message while creating mail merge document: vtiger CRM cannot download template document.

The above error message will be displayed, if the value for "$site_URL" in the config.php file present under <vtiger CRM Home> is not configured properly. Provide the exact Web server port number at which vtiger CRM is running.

[edit] Customer Support

Please post your valuable comments, feature requests, and issues in vtiger CRM Discussions (http://forums.vtiger.com) so that we can provide technical support for you.

Contact Information:

vtiger Systems India Pvt. Ltd.
Sree Narayana Complex,
11 Sarathy Nagar,
Vijayanagar, Velachery,
Chennai 600 042,
INDIA

India Phone No: +91 080 23146984

USA & Canada: +1-408-716-8592

 

Free Support:http://foruns.vtiger.com

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