Creating a Microsoft Word report template

When users build reports using Microsoft Word templates, Meridian merges document properties into hyperlinks in the page layout of the template file similar to a mail merge. This is useful to create reports using your organization’s standards, logos, and so on. Formatting reports with a Microsoft Word template also gives you the most flexibility and control over the final report output, including the ability to place thumbnail images of documents in the report.

To create a Microsoft Word report template:

1. Begin a new Microsoft Word document. If your organization has existing templates, you may base the new document on one.
2. Set the page orientation as it should be for the report.
3. Type text and insert graphics for the header of the report. To insert the text calculated by the Header calculation expression option described in Formatting report output, insert a hyperlink with the Address set to _HEADEREXPRESSION where you want the text to appear.

4. Type text and insert graphics for each document (row) of the report. To use the text calculated by the Body calculation expression option described in Formatting report output, insert a hyperlink with the Address set to _DOCUMENTEXPRESSION where you want the text to appear.

   To format the report as a table and use the properties selected on the Report Data page, as described in Specifying report properties:

   1. Insert a table into the template with one header row, two data rows, and as many columns as properties that you want to appear in the output, similar to the following figure.
   2. Type a property name in the header row of each column.

   3. Insert a hyperlink in the first data row of each column with Address set to the property set and internal name of the property that you want to appear in that column. For example, insert a hyperlink with the address set to CommonPropertySet._DISPLAYNAME to include the document name in that column of the report. For the internal names of the properties for each document type, see Creating and editing document types.

      To refer to a routed property, precede the property specification with the folder type name separated by the colon character (:), for example, MyFolderTypeName:MyPropertySetName.MyPropertyName. For more information about routed properties, see Configuring the property type of a panel element.

   4. To insert a thumbnail image of the document in the table, insert a placeholder image in the second data row of the column where you want the thumbnail images to appear. The content of the image can be anything; it will be replaced by the document’s thumbnail image in the report output. However, the size of the placeholder image will specify the size of the document’s thumbnail image in the report output. Select the image and create a hyperlink with its Address set to _THUMBNAIL.
   5. After you have typed a name in the header row of every column and inserted a hyperlink in the first data row of every column, insert a bookmark named ReportBody before the first hyperlink in the first data row (at the location of the upper I in the preceding figure). Insert a bookmark named EndReportBody in the first column of the second data row (at the location of the lower I in the preceding figure). The rest of the second data row should be empty. This will cause everything in the first data row between the two bookmarks to repeat automatically for each document in the report.
5. Type text and insert graphics for the footer of the report. To insert the text calculated by the Footer calculation expression option described in Formatting report output, insert a hyperlink with the Address set to _FOOTEREXPRESSION where you want the text to appear.
6. Save the template as a normal Microsoft Word document, not in Microsoft Word Template format.

You may now add the file as a report template, as described in Formatting report output.