AFD Products: Mailsaver Manual

OTHER FEATURES OF AFD MAILSAVER

Opening & Saving Sessions

MailSaver allows you to save the settings of your current session at any time. Select File - Save from the MailSaver menu to use this facility - or press [Ctrl]+S. You are, in any case, prompted to save session settings when closing the program down.

MailSaver will always re-open the last session settings when it opens - but you can return to any set of session settings by using the File - Open [Ctrl]+O menu option.

Warning: If you save a session, then alter some settings without re running the sortation, your reports and results may be inconsistent!

Export

MailSaver can export the results of a completed session in the form of 'Quoted Comma Separated ASCII text' (or '.TXT ') files. This format is widely supported - and these files can easily be used in popular spreadsheets and databases. The address label data can be used by most word processors as a Mail Merge data file.

The main export options, available from the File - Export menu are:

Planning Data
The data used for preparing the Bulk Mail Planning Report

Multistage Planning Data
The data used for preparing the Bulk Mail Planning Report for your additional Advertising Mail MultiStage mailing.

Line Listing Data
The data used for preparing the Line-Listing Report. This data also carries the information required in the production of bag labels, if you wish to produce customised bag labels.

Address Label Data
Exports the processed address data, along with Mailsort code and the text used to generate the Customer Barcode.

An option window allows you to choose the mailsort code range you wish to export, and the following options:

Option Description

Starting and Ending Mailsort Code Allows the export to be split up to a specific mailsort code range.

Export All Exports All Records

Export Directs Exports Direct (non-residue) records only. Useful if you wish to separate out Direct and Residue records.

Export Unsortable & Residues Exports Residue and Unsortable records only. Useful if you wish to separate out Direct and Residue records.

Include Start and Stop characters in barcode Selecting this option exports the barcode text with the start and stop characters included. Otherwise these are not exported.

Include Text for Bag Labels Between Sections Inserts the bag label text whenever MailSaver calculates a new bag is due - ie whenever the Mailsort code changes and whenever a new bag is required due to weight calculations.

Remove Blank Address Lines Causes MailSaver to remove any blank lines from each address, so that any labels or mail-merge letters which you prepare have no gaps.

Include Marker on first/last label of a bag This provides a special marker string to be specified on the first or last label of a bag when required by processes to identify were a bag is required without printing a dividing label when a new bag starts.

Final Bag Label Data
This contains the data required to print final bag labels and is useful if you wish to print your own bag or tray labels.

An additional two, more specialised exports are also supported:

Export OBA Billing Data
Selecting this option will save a report containing the OBA codes necessary for use with the Royal Mail OBA electronic billing system.
Export for Final Bag Label Printer
Royal Mail supply some large Bulk Mail users with a special final bag label printer and software. This requires only the mailsort code and quantity of bags to be exported, this option therefore exports the required data for use with that printer.

The first (header) record of the export files contains the names of the exported fields - and most word-processors will read this header record and use it to prompt you when inserting the merge fields in your merge master document.

Printing Reports

MailSaver offers four session reports, and a powerful mailing-label printing facility. These are all found on the Print menu.

Planning Report
This compulsory report is required by Royal Mail to accompany the Mailsort mailing. It is a single page summary of the sortation statistics, and also includes, for information only, the approximate financial results of the sortation that MailSaver has calculated for you.

You can also Export the data for this report for use in spreadsheets etc.

Multistage Planning Report
This report is identical to the standard Planning Report, except that when you are also carrying out an additional Advertising Mail MultiStage mailing this report contains the information and pricing related to that additional mailing rather than the standard Planning Report which will give you the core mailing details. You may well, therefore, need to print both.

You can also Export the data for this report for use in spreadsheets etc.

Line Listing Report
This compulsory report summarises for each resulting Selection group (Direct and Residue), the number of items and number of mail bags included in each selection.

You can also Export the data for this report for use in spreadsheets or for preparing customised bag labels etc.

Exceptions Report
This helpful report lists all addresses where MailSaver has detected a fault in your address list data - along with a simple explanation of that fault. This report is not required by Royal Mail, but will assist the database manager to improve the quality of the address list for future runs.

AFD Software's Postcode Refiner and Postcode Plus programs are designed to make this database cleaning process much easier - as they can supply missing postcodes - as well as helping with a wide range of other address-list problems. For further information please call the AFD Sales team on 01624 811711 or email sales@afd.co.uk.

Mailing Labels
See the Mailing Labels section of this manual for full details of the Mailing Labels Printing feature.

Option	Description
Starting and Ending Mailsort Code	Allows the export to be split up to a specific mailsort code range.
Export All	Exports All Records
Export Directs	Exports Direct (non-residue) records only. Useful if you wish to separate out Direct and Residue records.
Export Unsortable & Residues	Exports Residue and Unsortable records only. Useful if you wish to separate out Direct and Residue records.
Include Start and Stop characters in barcode	Selecting this option exports the barcode text with the start and stop characters included. Otherwise these are not exported.
Include Text for Bag Labels Between Sections	Inserts the bag label text whenever MailSaver calculates a new bag is due - ie whenever the Mailsort code changes and whenever a new bag is required due to weight calculations.
Remove Blank Address Lines	Causes MailSaver to remove any blank lines from each address, so that any labels or mail-merge letters which you prepare have no gaps.
Include Marker on first/last label of a bag	This provides a special marker string to be specified on the first or last label of a bag when required by processes to identify were a bag is required without printing a dividing label when a new bag starts.

Address, Postcode and Bank solutions