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The Letters and Forms page (System Management > Communication > Letters & Forms) enables administrators to easily manage letters and letter templates. Letters configured within this page can be incorporated into the Send Letter workflow step and run by users when working persons, accounts, or repayment plans. 

 

By default, all letters and forms are displayed within the grid; however, administrators can filter results by either typing in the filter box or using the View drop-down.

The grid on this page displays the following columns of information for each letter:

Column Name	Description
Letter	Displays the name of the letter in the following format: Letter Code-Letter Name.
Template	Displays the name of the template to which the letter is associated.
Category	Displays the category of the letter.
Type	Designates whether it is a letter or a form.
Last Modified	Denotes when the last modification on the letter was made.
Modified By	Denotes who made the last modification on the letter.

The Actions drop-down that appears above the grid displays all of the functions associated to the Letter and Forms page, such as creating and editing both letters and templates.

The Letters and Forms topic provides administrators with the following information to create and manage letters and letter templates:

• Letter and Template Attributes
  • Letter Attributes
  • Template Attributes
• Letter and Template Actions
  • Letter Actions
    • Creating a Letter
    • Editing a Letter
    • Copying a Letter
    • Deleting a Letter
  • Template Actions
    • Creating a Template
    • Editing a Template
    • Copying a Template
    • Deleting a Template
  • Template Editor
    • Fields
    • Grids
    • Barcodes
    • Preview
    • Actions within the Template Editor
      • Add Fields
      • Add Grids
      • Add a Barcode
      • Preview Template
    • Finalizing a Template

Letter and Template Attributes

Letter Attributes

All letters share common attributes that are defined when creating, editing, and copying a letter.

The following Letter attributes are defined for each letter:

Attribute	Description
Letter Code	Enter a Letter Code. This is a required field.
Letter Name	Enter a Letter Name. This name appears in the Send Letter workflow step when selecting the letter that is to be sent. This is a required field.
Letter Description	If desired, enter a description to provide more information about the letter.
Is this a letter or a form	From the drop-down, identify whether the document is a letter or a form. There is no functional difference when selecting a letter versus selecting a form.
Letter Category	From the drop-down, select a category for the letter. This is optional and is used for reporting purposes. The Letter Category drop-down populates with the values of the Letter Category lookup defined in System Management > Field Configurations.
Letter will contain Repayment Plan fields	Select the check box to categorize a letter as a Repayment Plan letter, and identify that the letter includes information specific to a repayment plan. When this check box is selected, the Roles tab is disabled within the Letter Template window and the Person Exclusions tab becomes active. During execution of the Send Letter workflow step, a letter is sent to all responsible parties for a repayment plan, or the responsible parties who meet the criteria to receive the letter.   When this check box is selected, the value cannot be edited once the letter is saved.

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Template Attributes

Templates provide administrators with the ability to define the foundation and content of the letter, such as the fields and grids that populate with information for the applicable account holders, as well as determine how a letter is generated and to whom a letter including account and/or person information is sent.

To begin creating a letter template, select a letter to apply the template to within the Letters and Forms grid and click Create Template in the Actions drop-down.

Within the New Letter Template window, administrators are provided with the ability to define the following template attributes:

• General
• Criteria
• Roles
• Person Exclusion

General

General attributes allow administrators to define the basic information for the template, such as the letter template code and letter generation method.

The following template attributes are defined within the General tab:

Attribute	Description
The letter for which the template is created	A read-only field that displays the letter for which the template is being created.
Letter Template Code	Enter the template code for the new template. The template code carries over from what was defined when the letter was created. Temenos recommends keeping the code the same as the letter for consistency purposes. This is a required field.
Letter Template Description	Enter a description for the new letter template. This is a required field.
Letter Generation Method	Select one of the following letter generation methods: On Demand – This allows the user to print the letter within the Send Letter workflow step. The user can also edit the letter when executing the workflow step. Batch Print – The letter is sent to Temenos Infinity’s Batch Letting Printing feature. Any user that has permissions to Batch Letter Printing can print whenever he/she desires. The user does not have the option to view/edit or print the letter when executing the workflow step. Outbound Export – This method is only utilized with the Letter Export functionality. The user running the workflow does not have the option to view/edit/print the letter in the workflow step. Users are also not able to view/edit/print the letter from the Letter History screen. Letter Export settings are set in System Management > Exports > Other Actions. Outbound letter export functionality does not support the export of grid data. If a letter contains a grid, the letter exports with all content excluding the grid.
Letter Category	A read-only field that displays the category defined during creation of the letter.

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Criteria

Criteria attributes allow administrators to define the criteria an account or repayment plan must meet in order for a specific letter template to be generated. When a letter is associated with multiple templates, the criteria defined within this tab determines which template is used when the letter is generated.

For example, an institution may have customers in three different states: New Jersey, Delaware, and New York. Because of statewide regulations, the templates for each state must be designed differently to conform to the regulations for each state. When building a template for the state of New Jersey, the administrator can set the criteria to look for the primary’s home state to be New Jersey so when the letter is sent, it is only sent to appropriate customers in New Jersey.

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Roles

Role attributes enable administrators to assign the role types that are to receive the letter. When a letter including account and/or person information is generated in the Send Letter workflow step, it is sent to all account holders related to the account(s) associated with the workflow who hold a role that corresponds to a role type assigned within this tab.

The following role attributes are assigned within the Roles tab: 

Attribute	Description
Available Roles	Displays a list of all roles defined in System Management > Role Types. Assign roles to the template by selecting the desired role type(s) from the list and moving the role type(s) to the Assigned box using the arrows that are displayed. At least one Role type must be selected. If no role types are selected, a message appears directing the user to assign at least one role.
Assigned Roles	Displays the roles types to receive the letter. When a letter including account and/or person information is generated in the Send Letter workflow step, the system automatically generates a letter to the person(s) with the role types assigned within this box.                         For example, when the Primary and Secondary role types are assigned to a letter template, both the primary and joint account holders receive a letter once it is generated. The primary role code within the database is imported into Temenos Infinity and automatically mapped to all letters upon completion of the first batch import. For more information, please see the connector guide for the applicable core interface.

       

Person Exclusion

The Person Exclusion tab provides system administrators with the ability to select from a list of Person level fields to define criteria that prevents a person from receiving a letter with repayment plan information. By default, a letter is generated for each responsible party on a repayment plan; however, when criteria is set within this tab, a letter is not generated for any responsible party who meets the defined criteria. 

For example, administrators can set criteria within this tab to prevent a letter from being sent to a responsible party on a repayment plan that is deceased. With the above template, a letter is generated for each responsible person on a repayment plan who has a deceased flag set to false; a letter is not sent to any responsible party with a deceased flag set to true.

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Letter and Template Actions

Letters are formed by first creating a letter and then building a template for the letter.

The Actions drop-down that appears in the Letters and Forms page provides administrators with the ability to easily create and manage both letters and templates. 

Letter Actions

Within the Actions drop-down, administrators are provided with the ability to perform the following actions to create and manage letters:

• Creating a Letter
• Editing a Letter
• Copying a Letter
• Deleting a Letter

Creating a Letter

To create a letter:

• Click the Actions drop-down and select Create Letter.

   

• The Create Letter screen appears.
• Define the letter attributes.
• When finished defining the letter attributes, click  to create the letter. The new letter populates within the Letters and Forms grid.
• Once a letter is created, a default template is automatically created for the letter and populates within the Letters and Forms grid.

  To avoid having multiple templates for the same letter, it is recommended to edit the default letter template rather than create a new template.

• To edit the default template or begin creating a new template, select the letter within the grid and navigate to the Actions drop-down to select the desired action.

  For information on how to define a letter template, please see the Creating a Template or Editing a Template section in this topic.

Editing a Letter

To edit a letter:

• Select the desired letter within the Letter and Forms grid.
• Click the Actions drop-down and select Edit Letter.
• The Edit Letter window appears.
• Make the desired updates to the letter.

  If the Letter will contain Repayment Plan fields check box is selected for a letter, the value cannot be modified in the Edit Letter window.

• Once all modifications have been made, click  to retain the changes and return to the Letters and Forms page.

Copying a Letter

To copy a letter:

• Select the desired letter within the Letters and Forms grid.
• Click the Actions drop-down and select Copy Letter.
• The Copy Letter screen appears.
• Enter a new Letter Code and make any additional updates to the other letter attributes.

  If the Letter will contain Repayment Plan fields check box is selected for the letter being copied, the check box remains selected for the new letter and cannot be updated within the Copy Letter window.

• Once all attributes have been defined, click  to create the letter. The new letter populates within the Letters and Forms grid. After the letter is created, select the letter within the grid and navigate to the Actions drop-down to begin creating a template for the letter. 

  For information on how to define a letter template, please see the Creating a Template section in this topic.

Deleting a Letter

To delete a letter:

• Select the desired letter within the Letters and Forms grid.
• Click the Actions drop-down and select Delete Letter.
• A message appears to confirm that the letter should be deleted. Click Yes to delete the letter or No to retain the letter and return to the Letters and Forms page.

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Template Actions

Within the Actions drop-down, administrators are provided with the ability to perform the following actions to create and manage templates:

• Creating a Template
• Editing a Template
• Copying a Template
• Deleting a Template

Creating a Template

Templates are created by defining the template attributes and customizing the content of the letter within the template editor.

• To begin creating a letter or form template, select the desired letter within the Letters and Forms grid.
• Click the Actions drop-down and select Create Template.

   

• The New Letter Template window appears.
• Define the template attributes within the General tab, Criteria tab, and, if enabled, the Roles tab or Person Exclusion tab.

  For information on how to build criteria within the Criteria and Person Exclusion tab, please see the Criteria Builder Help topic in this guide.

• Once all attributes are defined, navigate to the top of the window and click Click to Launch Template to open the template editor.

  Please see the Template Editor section in this topic for more information on the functionality available to customize letters within the template editor.

• After the letter content has been defined and previewed within the template editor, click  in the New Letter Template window to create the template. The new template populates with the assigned letter in the Letters and Forms grid and the letter is available to be added to a Send Letter workflow step.

  Letters and letter templates are saved in the .docx file format; however, Temenos Infinity continues to support letters and letter templates saved as .doc files. If a letter template created prior to the 16.00 Temenos Infinity release is copied, the copied template continues to save in the .doc file format.

Editing a Letter Template

To edit a letter template:

• Select the desired letter template within the Letters and Forms grid.
• Double-click the template or click the Actions drop-down and select Edit Template.
• Within the Letter Template window, update the desired attributes.

  Since template criteria cannot be edited once a template is created, the Criteria tab is disabled when editing a template. If the template being modified is assigned to a Repayment Plan letter, the Roles tab is also disabled within the Letter Template window.

• Once the desired attributes have been modified, click Click to Launch Template to open the letter template editor to make any necessary modifications to an existing template or define the content of a default template. 

  Please see the Template Editor section in this topic for more information on the functionality available to customize letters within the template editor.

• When all information has been updated, click  to retain the updated template and return to the Letters and Forms page.

Copying a Letter Template

To copy a letter template:

• Select the desired letter template within the Letters and Forms grid.
• Click the Actions drop-down and select Copy Template.
• The New Letter Template window appears.
• Enter a new Letter Template Code and make any additional updates to the other template attributes.
• Once the desired attributes have been modified, click Click to Launch Template to open the template editor and apply the content to the template being created.

  If no changes are required to the existing letter content, the template editor must still be opened in order to attach the content to the template being created. If the content within the template editor is not saved, a message appears upon trying to save the new template to inform that a template must be attached prior to saving. Please see the Template Editor section in this topic for more information on the template editor.

• Make any desired changes within the template editor.
• Once all updates have been made, click  within the template editor toolbar to apply the letter content to the new template and close the template editor.
• When all information has been updated for the template, click  in the Letter Template window to create the letter template. The new template populates with the assigned letter in the Letters and Forms grid and the letter is available to be added to a Send Letter workflow step.

Deleting a Letter Template

To delete a letter template:

• Select the desired template within the Letters and Forms grid.
• Click the Actions drop-down and select Delete Template.
• A message appears to confirm that the template should be deleted. Click Yes to delete the template or No to retain the template and return to the Letters and Forms page.

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Template Editor

The Template Editor allows administrators to insert fields and/or grids into a Word document to automatically populate information from Temenos Infinity directly within the letter, as well as add a barcode to a document that automatically identifies the letter as undeliverable if returned in the mail.

Upon clicking Click to Launch Template in the Letter Template window, the system attempts to authenticate the user's session.

 Once authenticated, a Word document opens along with the Template Editor to enable administrators to define the content that appears in the letter template.

When a template is being created for a Repayment Plan letter, the Template Editor appears as shown below:

The Template Editor enables administrators to easily insert fields and/or grids into a letter template, add a barcode to a template, as well as open an existing Word document to edit and use as a base for the template.

The actions listed below can be performed within the top toolbar:

Button	Description
	Enables administrators to save the updates made to a template. When this button is clicked, the Template Editor closes and returns administrators to the Letter Template window.
	Enables administrators to open a pre-configured Word document from the File Explorer to edit and use for the template.
	Enables administrators to cancel the changes made to a template.
	Enables administrators to insert a field into the letter template.

The following tabs appear within the top of the Template editor to provide administrators with the ability to insert fields and/or grids into a letter, as well as add a barcode to a letter template:

Fields

Grids

Barcodes

Below the tabs is the Preview section, which enables the ability to review a letter template before it is created. For letters including account, case, and/or person information, administrators are able to enter an account number, case number, or SSN/TIN to generate the letter and automatically populate information specific to the account, case, or person.

When creating a template for a letter including repayment plan information, administrators are able to enter the account number associated with a repayment plan as well as identify the type of repayment plan used to generate the letter and automatically populate information specific to the repayment plan.

Actions within the Template Editor

To begin creating the letter template, add the desired text to the Word document, leaving spaces for the fields and/or grids to be inserted from the Template Editor.

Once all text has been entered, navigate to the Template Editor to begin adding fields or grids to the template.

Within the Template Editor, administrators can perform the following actions to add data to the template, and ensure the template generates correctly before it is created:

Add Fields

Add Grids

Add a Barcode

Preview Template

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Finalizing a Template within the Template Editor

After the letter content has been previewed and all desired information has been added to the template, click  within the top of the Template Editor to retain the template configurations. 

Once   is clicked, the Template Editor closes and returns to the Letter Template window to finalize the letter.

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