Tip #212 - How To Create and Use Envelope Templates

If you are creating and mailing letters in SmartAdvocate, it is likely you mail them in envelopes. Conveniently, you can have your envelope generated at the same time as your letter in SmartAdvocate. You will need to create an “Envelope Template” and associate or “attach” that template to your letter template in order to have them generated at the same time. We will assume you already have your letter template, so let’s create the envelope template and then attach it to the letter.

Creating The Envelope Template
The envelope template is created much the same way you would create any regular document template.

1. Open Microsoft Word

2. Create a document in Word, formatted as an envelope (e.g., a No. 10 business envelope)

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3. You can use merge codes to populate data, such as the recipient’s address on the envelope. In the example shown above, we use the primary contact address block merge code to populate the plaintiff’s address on the envelope. In this example, we will also have the case number and a barcode inserted in the bottom left corner of the envelope.

Now let’s save the envelope as a template.

4. Make sure you are on the SmartAdvocate Word Plugin toolbar. Click the “Save As” tab located on the top left section of the toolbar. 

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5. Accept the default to save as “Template”

6. Give the envelope template a name

7. The Category must be Form and the Sub-Category must be Envelope

8. Folder and Template Group can be left blank

9. Envelope must be left blank

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The envelope can be generated by itself using the Envelope Template (the same way you would generate a document using any document template) and it can also be set to generate automatically when a document is generated.

To have the envelope printed automatically with a letter for example, you will need to edit the appropriate letter template and “attach” the envelope template to the letter template.
Here’s how:

1. Open Microsoft Word

2. Access the SmartAdvocate plugin on the Word toolbar and open the desired letter template

3. Click the ‘Save As” button

4. Click the dropdown for the Envelope option and select an envelope (from the available envelopes as created above). You most likely will not need to make any other change to your template.

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5. You may see an “overwrite” warning popup. Click “Yes” to overwrite the letter template which will now be saved with the selected envelope template attached.

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Now, whenever you generate a document using the template (letter), the envelope will also be generated and saved to your documents page automatically.