Mail Merge

What is Mail Merge used for?

Mail merge allows you to create letters, reports, or template documents that automatically fill in with the data of the patient opened in Kitview: their first name, address, photos, the current date, etc.

You create the template only once, and each time you use it, it personalizes itself automatically. It works exactly like a standard word processor — the only difference is the merge fields, which we will explain below.

How to access mail merge?

To open the mail merge editor, first open a patient’s file in Kitview Connect, then:

1. Click the main menu icon (the three lines at the top left)
2. In the menu, select Mail Merge
3. The editor opens directly within the interface.

Once in the editor, you can open an existing template or create a new document from scratch.

(clic to enlarge)

Document generated:

Here is an example of a final document produced by mail merge — the patient’s data has been inserted automatically:

Set up the page layout

Before typing anything, start by choosing the size and margins of your document. Click the Page Setup icon in the toolbar.

Paper size: Choose A4 for standard printing in Europe, or Letter if the recipient will print it in the United States.

Margins: Be careful with the width. Photos need space. Margins that are too large may cause your images to be cut off when printed.

Orientation and margins

              

Write your text

Type your text normally, as in any word processor. To adjust the spacing or alignment of a paragraph, right‑click on the paragraph and choose Paragraph.

   

Create a table for the photos

To insert photos with merge fields, it is strongly recommended to place them in a table. This prevents the images from moving on their own and makes alignment easier.

A table is a grid of cells. You place your photos and your merge fields inside it, and everything stays properly aligned.

1. Insert the table 

Click the Table icon in the toolbar. Set the number of columns and rows you need. For example, 2 columns for 2 photos side by side.

2. Adjust the table

Once the table is created, right‑click it to access its properties and adjust the column width or row height.

 

3. Insert the merge fields into the cells

Click inside a cell of the table, then insert your merge field (see the next section). The corresponding photo will appear exactly in that cell.

 

Merge fields

A merge field is a keyword you place in your document that is automatically replaced with the patient’s actual information. No need to retype everything each time.

There are three main categories

DATES

DateToday	Today’s date (updates automatically)
PatientBirthDate	The patient’s date of birth
PatientTreatmentDate	The treatment start date
PatientTreatmentStartAge	The patient’s age at the start of treatment

PATIENT FILE INFORMATION

PatientFirstname	The patient’s first name
PatientLastname	The patient’s last name
PatientAge	The patient’s age
PatientGender	The patient’s gender
PatientAddress	The patient’s postal address
PatientCity	The patient’s city
PatientPostalCode	The patient’s postal code
PatientSSN	The social security number
PatientDentalCenter	The medical center associated with the file
PatientComment	The comment recorded in the file
PatientRef1 / PatientRef2	Custom references for the file
PatientFilesCount	The number of files attached to the patient record

IMAGE FIELDS

These fields automatically insert a patient photo—portrait, intraoral image, X‑ray, etc.—based on the keywords assigned to the image in the file. For this to work, the photos must be correctly tagged in KITVIEW.

If a photo is not tagged (or is incorrectly tagged), the corresponding merge field will remain empty in your document. Make sure to check the tags in the patient’s file.

You can also create your own custom photo merge fields: give the field a name, then assign the appropriate keywords. Kitview will automatically insert the photo that matches those keywords.

The Mail Merge toolbar — what is it for?

A quick reminder of the available buttons, in the same order as they appear in the interface:

Insert template	Allows you to insert a mail template
New	Creating a new document
Open	Allows you to open a document that exists on your computer
Save	Allows you to save your model
Undo	Allows you to undo the last operation (Ctrl+Z)
Redo	Allows you to redo the last operation
Image	Allows you to insert an image from a file downloaded from your PC
Table	Allows you to insert a table into the document
Link	Allows you to create a link in your document for quick access to web pages and files (Ctrl+K)
Bookmark	Allows you to insert a bookmark at a specific location in this document
Table of Contents	Allows you to provide a preview of your document by adding a table of contents
Header	Allows you to add or modify the header of your document
Footer	Allows you to add or modify the footer
Page Setup	Allows you to adjust the layout of your document
Page Number	Allows you to add page numbers
Break	Allows you to put a page break
Find	Allows you to search find and replace
Comments	Allows you to add comments
Track Changes	Allows you to keep track of changes made to the document
Local Clipboard	Allows switching between the internal clipboard and the system clipboard
Restrick Editing	Allows you to restrict editing (read only or protections)
Form Fields	Allows you to create form fields (text form, check box, drop-down list)
Insert Field	Allows the insertion of a merge field
Update Fields	Allows you to update cross-reference fields