Bookshelf v8.1/8.2: About Siebel Correspondence

Siebel Correspondence enables employees and partners to generate correspondence from any location with access to the Web. It also makes it easy for them to direct correspondence to fulfillment centers that print and mail it. Consequently, they can produce and send correspondence even if they are on the road and cannot access a printer. For information about the Documentation Server and other software that is required for Siebel Correspondence, see Document Server.

For example, if sales representatives want to do mass mailings to customers in cities where they are giving presentations, Siebel Correspondence enables them to log in from any location where they can access the Web. Then they can create personalized form letters to invite customers in a specific city to a specific presentation, and direct these letters to a fulfillment center for printing and mailing.

First, an administrator creates templates (usually form letters and labels) that employees and partners can use for their everyday correspondence. Then, employees and partners can automatically generate correspondence using this template and on data from the Contact business component.

About Correspondence Templates

You create and edit Siebel correspondence templates in Microsoft Word (DOC file format). Correspondence templates contain fixed text and one or more merge fields. The merge fields are placeholders that are populated with variable information from your Siebel database, such as a Contact's name and address, when users generate a correspondence for recipients.

Users can create their own personal correspondence templates, and administrators can create correspondence templates for users.

About Correspondence with Multiple Languages and Locales

The fixed text of each correspondence template is written using specific locale conventions and language. To support Global Deployment, the author of the correspondence template can explicitly indicate the locale and language using the Locale and Language fields in the correspondence template record. The Document Server then uses these settings to substitute correctly localized data into the merge fields of the correspondence template. The following types of fields are affected:

Terms for Siebel Correspondence

Table 2. Correspondence Terms
Term	Definition
correspondence template	This template is a Microsoft Word file (DOC or HTM). It usually contains one or more merge fields. It must not contain code (including field codes such as ASK) or macros. Typically, this file contains a form letter in which the address and salutation are merge fields that are automatically populated for multiple recipients.
label template	The label template is a correspondence template specifically for a mailing label. You create label templates in much the same way as other correspondence templates, but they are generated using the Generate Label command instead of the Generate Correspondence command.
insertion template	This template is a Word, text, or HTML file. It cannot contain any merge fields.
personal correspondence template	This template is a correspondence template that users create for their own use. Other cannot use it, although the administrator can view, edit, and delete it.
correspondence template record	This record in the Siebel database contains the correspondence template. (The correspondence template is stored in the Siebel File System.) These records appear in the Correspondence Templates and the Personal Templates views.
correspondence record	This record in the Siebel database contains the generated correspondence. A correspondence record must be associated with a correspondence template record. In addition, it can be associated with a label template record.
merge field	Merge fields are placeholders in the correspondence template that are populated with information from records in the Siebel database, such as a contact's last name. (These fields are also called mail merge fields.)
merge data	Merge data from the Siebel database is copied into the merge fields when correspondence is generated.
SIEBEL.HTML file	Lists the database columns used as merge fields in the most recently generated correspondence. (The file is updated each time correspondence is generated.) When you create correspondence templates in Microsoft Word, you use the SIEBEL.HTML file as the data source file.

Siebel Correspondence, Proposals, and Presentations Guide		Copyright © 2013, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Legal Notices.