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%  BELL.TXH; reference in TeXhax.8730

Date: Thu, 16 Apr 87 17:37:57 PST
From: <BELL%UKANVAX.BITNET>
Subject: Documentation for earlier form letter submission.

        Well, after receiving numerous responses regarding my form
        letter format for (need I reiterate) PLAIN TeX, I realized
        that I provided no way for people to guess what the correct
        format for the letter file(s) and/or address file(s) are.

        I am sending on a text version of our local guide as to the
        usage. Unfortunately, since it uses a format that I developed
        here for producing TeXnical Memoranda, I am unable to send
        a TeXable version. Also, the examples refer to DCL (VAX/VMS)
        commands---users of other operating systems forgive me. I am
        certain that the file is too big to post in TeXhax, so hopefully
        it will be archived along with the macro files sent earlier.

                                        Ed Bell
                                        Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
                                        University of Kansas
                                        Bitnet: BELL@UKANVAX
                                        SPAN:   KUPHSX::BELL (7.220)


--------------------------Beginning of Document--------------------------------


                                    AutoLetter
                        A TeX Letter Formatting Facility
                                E. V. Bell, II

AutoLetter is a facility available for producing high quality letters capable
of handling any number of people in a mailing list. Although the format of the
address file is somewhat restrictive, it is still possible to create a form
letter destined to be sent to a wide variety of people and still personalize
each one.

This document is designed to explain: (1) the few commands necessary to format
the letter and personalize it; (2) the format of the address file; and,
(3) how to generate labels for the letters.


                                Getting started

For each form letter, you must create two files. The first is a file containing
a list of the names and addresses of the people to whom the letters are being
mailed. The second is a file containing the letter. Once these files have been
created, you are ready to TeX them. There are relatively few TeX commands
required in the letter, although any valid TeX command will work, including
macro definitions, font changes, etc. In this way you can still utilize the
power of TeX without sacrificing the simplicity of typing a form letter.
Once these files are created, then type the following at DCL level:

        $ tex autoletter

AutoLetter will then read in some files and will prompt you for the names of
the address and letter files. It handles everything from there. If you should
happen to have TeX errors present in the letter, you should correct them
before attempting to print the file. Your resulting DVI file will be called
AUTOLETTER.DVI. LNTeX this file and print it to the laser printer.

The way in which labels are formatted is similar. In this case, a different
TeX facility is used (LABELS) and only the address file is needed. In
this manner, it is not necessary to create labels for a group of letters unless
it is desired. Also, it is possible to maintain a mailing list for the purpose
of generating mailing labels without using the AutoLetter procedure.


                                The letter file

There are relatively few special commands required for producing a letter with
AutoLetter. Many of them are similar to or exactly the same as the ones listed
in Appendix E of The TeXbook.

The very first line in the file should contain the command \letterbody. This
merely informs TeX to set up some parameters in a particular way. The
salutation then follows. The salutation may include some commands which will
personalize the letter in a number of different ways. If you wish to refer to
the person by title and last name (e.g., Dr. Davidson, Mr. Desko, Ms. Comfort,
etc.), you need only use the command \person. The persons title and last name
will be substituted anywhere in the document where you use this command. If the
person should have no known title, the phrase ``Sir or Madam'' is substituted.

An alternative way to address someone would be by their first name. This could
be whatever name you specify as the persons first name in the address file or
an optional nickname. You may do this with the \familiar command.

Finally, if in the salutation line you wish to refer to the addressee formally,
you may use the \formal command. If, then, the persons title is Mr., the word
``Sir'' will be substituted. If the persons title is Mrs., Ms., or Miss, the
word ``Madam'' will be substituted. Finally, if the title is none of the above,
it is the same result as typing \person).

There are no special commands which are needed to produce the file from that
point onward. You may specify any form of type you wish to use (roman,
boldface, etc.) with the usual TeX commands. The letter is typeset by default
in twelve-point roman and TeX places the date on every copy of the letter. Also
by default, paragraphs are not indented. If you wish to have an paragraph
indented on both sides, you can use the \narrow and \wide commands. TeXhax
users should know at this point that these commands have been defined as:

        \def\narrow{\advance\leftskip by3em \advance\rightskip by3em}
        \def\wide{\advance\leftskip by-3em \advance\rightskip by-3em}

When the body of the letter is finished, you specify the closing of the letter
with the \closing command on a line by itself. The next line then contains the
closing you wish to specify (e.g., Sincerely, Yours truly, etc., including the
punctuation). The following lines until AutoLetter reaches a blank line, or one
of the commands discussed below will be the placed after the signature space.
The form, then, would be

        \closing
        Sincerely,
        J. P. Davidson
        Chairman

The \annotations command is used to specify any special annotations required of
the letter. These are specified no differently than any normal letter would be
typed. Again, the \annotations command would be on a line by itself and each
following line until a blank line is found would be typeset as a separate line.

The \ps command is used to specify any post-scripts the author may wish. You
need not type the usual ``P.S.'', however, as AutoLetter takes care of it.
Again, leave a blank line after the post-script is finished.

Finally, the last line in the document should have the command \endletter. This
finishes the general description of the letter file. An example file follows
(the result of which produces the last three pages of this document):

--------------------------------Example----------------------------------------

\letterbody
Dear \familiar,

This is the first in what I expect to be a series of canned \TeX\ routines
for the office staff of the University of Kansas' Department of Physics and
Astronomy. The obvious intent is to facilitate the usage of the departments
VAX 11-750 computer and ease the shock of transition for either those not
used to working on computers in general or those simply not used to working
on a VMS system.

I hope to provide to the department a durable but relatively flexible system
whereby the office staff will be able to:

\narrow
\item{1.}Create standardized form letters for mailing to a large group of
people.
\vskip-\parskip
\item{2.}Allow creation of book and journal formats which will allow for
providing camera-ready text for publication.
\vskip-\parskip
\item{3.}Provide for both a means of uniformity of appearance of departmental
documents when that is desired and for diversity of appearance when personal
taste dictates.

\wide
This will, I trust, give you a brief idea of what I have intended. A format for
producing an interdepartmental memo already exists and the ability to produce
dissertations exists in at least two formats. This letter proves the capability
of creating mass mailings or even of a single letter in a uniform format. I
hope that you will all find these routines useful and productive.

\closing
Sincerely,
E. V. Bell, II
System \TeX nician

\ps
The \TeX\ routine which produced this letter is called AutoLetter. It is
available to everyone on the system and users manuals are available.

\endletter

-----------------------------End of Example------------------------------------


                                The address file

The format of the address file is very specific. The first six lines are
reserved for the name of the addressee and the address as it is to appear in
the letter follows on subsequent lines. Each entry is separated by an asterisk
(*) on a line by itself. An example of an address file might be:

--------------------------------Example----------------------------------------
Mr.
Edwin
Ed
V.
Bell
II
1011 Indiana, Apt. \#6
Lawrence, KS\ \ \ 66044-2952
*

Dept. of Physics and Astronomy




University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS\ \ \ 66045
*
Mr.
R.
Rick
D.
Desko

Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS\ \ \ 66045
*
-----------------------------End of Example------------------------------------

Note that each part of the persons name (including their title) appears on a
line by itself. The lines for the addressees name are:

        (1) The persons title (e.g., Prof., Mr., Ms., etc.).
        (2) The persons first name or initial.
        (3) The name to use other than their first name if the salutation is
            \familiar. (This can either be the same as (2) or a nickname.)
        (4) The persons middle name(s) or initial(s).
        (5) The persons last name.
        (6) Additional name information (used for such things as ``Jr.'',
            ``II'', or other things).

Even if one or more parts of the name is unknown or irrelevant, a blank must
be left for the entry. AutoLetter will reassemble the name as appropriate to
certain commands. Also notice that if the letter is to an organization, as in
the second entry, that you should leave all name lines blank except the one
reserved for the first name. All other information would then appear as part of
the address.


                                The LABELS facility

The ability to create mailing labels, while not necessarily useful only in the
generation of form letters, is still so closely tied to the subject that I
hesitated to write another manual iterating much of the same material. It is
useful to be able to generate mailing labels both in coordination with and
separately from the AutoLetter facility. It is therefore provided as a separate
utility.

The LABELS procedure creates a page containing 33 labels, three columns of
eleven labels. In order to use it, have the address file (described above)
already created and type at DCL:

        $ tex labels

LABELS will then read in some files and will prompt you for the name of the
address file, just as AutoLetter does. It handles everything from there. As
always, if you should happen to have TeX errors present in the letter, you
should correct them before attempting to print the file.

Similarly to the AutoLetter procedure, your resulting DVI file will be called
(this time) LABELS.DVI. LNTeX this file and print it to the laser printer.



If you do not wish to use the AutoLetter facility directly, it is possible to
just input the letter format file (with \input letter_format), but you will
need to control the positioning of the date (as well as many other things)
yourself. Enjoy!

                                        E. V. Bell, II

-----------------------------Ending of Document--------------------------------

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