The purpose of merge fields in a template is to identify specific elements of TeamConnect data that should be retrieved when a document is being generated.

Basic merge fields are merge fields that do not need to follow any specific naming convention. You can specify any name when you define them in the RTF. Each merge field can be mapped to a simple data element in TeamConnect, such as a number, date, text, or list field.

Basic merge fields can be used to identify each of the following types of information:

•Data from system fields (for example, fields in the General block of the record).

If you want to map system fields automatically, you should follow a naming convention instead. See Automatically Mapped System Fields.

•Data from custom fields (fields that are specifically created for your TeamConnect implementation and belong to specific Categories).

If you want to map custom fields automatically, you should follow a naming convention instead. See Automatically Mapped Custom Fields.

•Text that the user needs to enter manually at the time of generating a document with this template.

•The current date.

•Text from another file.

•Attributes of the current user who is generating the document (usually, the current user's first and last name)

Also see Predefined Merge Field Codes for predefined mapping to the current user.

For example, if a document template is based on a matter, you may want to retrieve the matter name and matter number. To do this, you can create merge fields with names like MatterName and MatterNumber, and this will help you to recognize them when you are mapping them in TeamConnect.

The following table provides examples of basic merge fields for a document template that is based on a project (such as Matter). You would need to map each of these fields manually after uploading the RTF into TeamConnect.

Examples of Basic Merge Fields