Amending and Using the Quick Letter Template

Amending and Using the Quick Letter
Template
School IT Systems Support
Herts for Learning Ltd
SROB220, Robertson House,
Six Hills Way, Stevenage,
Herts, SG1 2FQ
Doc Ref S1492
Published November 2014
© School IT Systems Support (SITSS)
Herts for Learning Ltd, 2014
Technical Support Centre Accredited by the Learning and Performance Institute (formerly, the Institute of IT Training)
RM Approved Support Partner
Fully accredited by Capita SIMS for proven quality of SIMS support
CONTENTS
QUICK LETTER TEMPLATE IN SIMS ............................................................................1
Finding and Saving the correct version of Quick Letter Template .........................1
Amending QuickLetterTemplate.doc .....................................................................3
Using the Quick Letter Template ..........................................................................5
Herts for Learning
Quick Letter Template in SIMS
The Quick Letter link from a pupil’s record enables a letter to be created with pre-populated
information which has been included in the Quick Letter Template. Once text has been
added to the quick letter the completed letter can be saved to the pupil’s SIMS record by
using
from the Add-Ins ribbon. It is not necessary to keep a separate
copy of the letter as it will show as a linked document for the pupil.
The Quick Letter Template will need to be amended on each machine,it cannot be done
globally across a network. Before attempting to amend the Quick Letter Template please
ensure that users:
Can access the C drive on their machine.

Can see file extensions when using Windows Explorer.

Have the Macro security for Word set to Medium.

Know which version of Word is installed on the machine.

Know where on a shared drive the school letterhead is saved.
If SIMS is networked then it may be necessary for you to contact your support provider to
ensure the above are available before commencing amending the Quick Letter Template.
Finding and Saving the correct version of Quick Letter Template
Using My Computer or Windows Explorer navigate to the Quick Letter Templates on the
machine. It will be found in one of the following locations:
C:\SIMS-SP\SIMS .net (Office Masters Only)

C:\Program Files\SIMS\SIMS .net

C:\Program Files\SIMS .net
Numerous variations of the Quick Letter Template will be displayed. Please make sure you
can see the full file name and extension.
Users of Word 2007
1.
Open QuickLetterTemplate.doc.
2.
Click File > Save As.
3.
Add Master to the file name e.g QuickLetterTemplateMaster.doc. This will
ensure that should you ever need to you will always have an original template to
return to.
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4.
Close the Master Template.
5.
Navigate to QuickLetterTemplate.doc using My Computer or Explorer. This is
the template that will need to be amended.
6.
Open QuickLetterTemplate.doc. Ensure that if Enable Macros button is
displayed it is clicked.
Instructions continue under heading Amending the Quick Letter Template as they are the
same for Word from 2007 and onwards.
Users of Word 2010 and above
1.
Open QuickLetterTemplate-Office2010.doc.
2.
Click File > Save As.
3.
Add Master to the file name e.g. QuickLetterTemplate-Office2010Master.doc.
This will ensure that should you ever need to you will always have an original
template to return to.
4.
Click Save.
5.
Close the QuickLetterTemplate-Office2010MASTER.
6.
Navigate to QuickLetterTemplate.doc. Then right click.
7.
Select Rename.
8.
Type Old into the file name e.g. QuickLetterTemplateOld.doc.
9.
Right Click on QuickLetterTemplate-Office2010.doc.
10.
Select Rename.
11.
Type QuickLetterTemplate.doc as the file name.
12.
Open QuickLetterTemplate.doc. Ensure that if Enable Macros button is
displayed is clicked.
If the above steps are not followed and the original QuickLetterTemplate.doc is amended
the Quick Letter in SIMS will not work for Word 2010 and above.
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Amending QuickLetterTemplate.doc
When the Quick Letter Template is opened it will look like this:-
Any text which is shown in angle brackets e.g. <ADDRESS> on the template indicates this
information will be populated directly from SIMS when the Quick Letter is run from a pupils
record. The <ADDRESS> field will not only generate the address but also the Parental
Addressee from SIMS.
<DATE> will show as dd/mm/yy in the generated Quick Letter. Alternative date formats are
available from the Insert Ribbon in Word. It is personal choice if you wish to change this.
1.
Select and then Delete <DATE> from the Quick Letter Template.
2.
Click on the Insert Ribbon.
3.
Click
4.
Ensure that Language is showing as English (U.K)
5.
Ensure there is a  in Update automatically.
6.
Click your preferred formatting of the date.
7.
Click OK to close the Date and Time dialog box.
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Adding the School Letterhead to the template
1.
Open The Header area of the Quick Letter Template. This can be done by
Double clicking in the Header area of the Quick Letter Template or

Click on the Insert ribbon

Click on the Header icon.

Click on the
.
2.
Copy the school letterhead (text and images) from your document.
3.
Paste the School Letterhead into the header of the template. You may need to
copy and paste text and images separately.
4.
If your School Letterhead has a Footer then as with the Header it will need to be
copied into the footer area of the Quick Letter Template. The principle is the
same as copying the header.
5.
Delete any text not required in the template e.g
6.
Click on the Save icon
7.
Close the template.
.
An amended version of the template may look like this:-
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Using the Quick Letter Template
Each SIMS workstation will have to have the Quick Letter Template modified as it is
machine specific. Or copy and paste the amended template into the appropriate location
on each workstation.
1.
Open the pupil details for the pupil you wish to write a letter for.
2.
From the Links Panel (on the right hand side of the pupil’s details screen) click
Quick Letter.
3.
If a Security Warning is displayed then you will need to enable macros.
4.
The fields that were included in the template will be populated with data from
SIMS. Add the content to the letter then print it.
5.
To save a copy of the letter directly to the Pupil Details click on the Add-Ins
ribbon.
6.
Click on Quick Letter Save and Close.
7.
The Upload to Document Management Server dialog box will open.
8.
It is advisable to change the Summary text as the letter will appear as a Linked
Document for the pupil.
9.
You may also add notes if you so wish.
10.
Click OK.
11.
The following message will appear on the screen
12.
Click OK.
13.
The letter can then be viewed from Linked Documents located in the Links
Panel.
14.
Click on the letter you wish to open.
15.
Click
16.
In the Edit Note/Document dialog box it is possible to specify what type of
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document has been attached. Click the downward arrow at the end of the Type
box and click on your preferred option.
17.
Applying a Status of Private, Public or Confidential will ensure that the document
is only viewed by SIMS Users with appropriate access rights. .
Public - Documents with this status are available to all users with sufficient
add/view/edit permissions
Private - Documents with this status are only available to the user who
attaches them.
Confidential - Documents with this status are only available to School
Administrators, SEN Co-ordinators and the Senior Management Team
18.
Click on
19.
Click OK when this message is displayed.
20.
Click
to close the letter.
21.
Click
on Edit Note/Documents dialog box.
22.
Click
on Documents Linked dialog box to returning SIMS to Pupil Details.
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