Want to make a custom mass email that grabs the user’s name and other info automatically? Maybe you need to set something in a workflow using the information of a certain record. Whatever the case, you’ll need to use mail merge variables.

What Are Mail Merge Variables?

Mail merge variables are a way to grab the information of the record that you’re working with. For example, you can use mail merge variables to automatically pull the first and last name of a contact you are emailing. For example, if I, Danielle, emailed my contact Jane with an email template:

Hello, [Field:first_name]!
How are you doing? I hope you’re well.
Sincerely,
[User:first_name]

Would become:

Hello, Jane!
How are you doing? I hope you’re well.
Sincerely,
Danielle

How to Use Mail Merge Variables

Mail merge variables are useful in two main places: email templates, and workflows.

Using Mail Merge in Email Templates

To use mail merge variables in an email template, simply type them into the template while you’re creating it. When you insert the template into an email, Ivinex will automatically replace the variables with the correct information.

Warning: There is a bug in the system that strips out all mail merge variables in mass emails. If you are mass-emailing, you must manually enter in your mail merge variables again. They’ll convert when you send the mail.

Another Warning: Mail merge variables ONLY work in email templates and mass emails. If you type out an individual email by hand and include a mail merge variable, it won’t convert when you send it. However, if you type out a mass email with mail merge variables, the variables will work properly. Also, if you use an email template in an individual email, the mail merge variables will be automatically converted from the template when you insert it.

Using Mail Merge in Workflows

When creating workflow actions, you may have noticed that there are two options you can choose when creating your action details: ‘Specific Option,’ which allows you to select a specific field, and ‘User Input.’ To use mail merge variables in workflows, choose the ‘User Input’ option and type in the variable(s) in the text box that appears.

Warning: Mail merge variables involving a logged in user ([User:first_name] for example) will not work in timer workflows. This is because they trigger automatically and don’t depend on a logged in user. However, there are some work-arounds. If you wanted to, for example, assign a task to the user who created the triggering record, you’d use this format:

Fig 1 - This action will assign a task to the user who created the triggering record

Available Mail Merge Variables

Mail merge variables take their information from the record they’re affecting. If you’re emailing a customer, you’ll have access to all the fields in their record. You also have access to your user information.

Available User Information Fields:
Using these will input the information of the current logged in user.

• [User:first_name]
• [User:last_name]
• [User:alias]
• [User:title]
• [User:email]
• [User:address]
• [User:phone]

Available Record Fields:
There are a few fields that are automatically generated for every record. They are:

• [Field:created_by] (the username of the person who created the record)
• [Field:created_date] (the date the record was created)
• [Field:modified_by] (the username of the person who last modified the record)
• [Field:modified_date](the date the record was modified)

The other fields you can access depend on what record you’re on. Mail merge variables use what is called the Field Name of the field you’re accessing. Usually, this is just the display name of the field, with these modifications:

• All lowercase
• Underscores replace spaces
• All non-letter/number punctuation removed
• If there are two fields with the same name, the second field will end with a number, starting from 0.

Fig. 2 - Examples of fields and their mail merge equivalents

Chaining Mail Merge Variables

If you have a field in your record that represents another record (for example, an ‘Account Owner’ field that links to a customer record), you can also access the variables in that linked record when you use mail merge variables. In this example, if I wanted to input the account owner’s phone number, I would use:

[Field:account_owner:phone]

Just put a colon after the field name you want to link, and then type in the second field name you want to access.