Zoho Writer Mail Merge Field Settings Guide

How to control field rendering through merge field type settings

Overview

Zoho Writer's merge fields type make the data source value appear as formatted text, numbers, dates, checkboxes, images, hyperlinks, maps, chart or watermark. This flexibility allows users to design automated proposals, invoices, and reports with rich formatting and logic.

For example, an URL from the data source like ${Payment_URL} with value as https://pay.example.com/invoice/12345, when set as a Link type merge field, appears as a clickable link like Pay Now, ideal for emails. If the field type is set to QR Code, it appears as a scannable code, useful for printed documents.

Steps

How to set merge field type

In the Automate pane, click Settings next to Manage fields.
In the following pop up that appears, configure the field type as required.

How to format merge fields

Field formatting lets you display the value in bold, italics, UPPERCASE, lowercase, and more.

Select the merge field you wish to apply the formatting to.
Click Format.
Select your desired formatting option such as Font Style, Font Size, Text Case, Alignment, and more.

Writer merge field types

Zoho Writer supports various merge field types to dynamically populate your documents during a mail merge. These include:

Field type	Description	Possible values in the data source	Rendered as	Notes
Plain Text	The value of the field is placed as a string in the document.	“test”	“test”	Select the field in the document and format the text using the editor.
Multi-line Text	Text spanning multiple lines is handled as multi-line data	“test input”	“test input”
Checkbox	The checkbox appears checked or unchecked depending on the data source value.	TRUE \| true \| Yes \| 1 for checked FALSE \| false \| No \| 0 for unchecked	☑ \| ☐
Image	Image fields in the data source are merged directly into the document as image elements	URL of the image src		You can set aspect ratio and size for the image in the editor.
Link	The URL in the data source is placed as a clickable link in the document.	http://zoho.com/writer	http://zoho.com/writer	Click on the value column to create dynamic links with other merge fields.
Rich text	HTML values of the data source are rendered in the document.
Number	Numeric values can be placed in the document.	100.234	100 100.23	Click "Format" column to set the desired format for the numbers.
Email \| Phone	An email id or a phone number can be inserted in the document.	director@catsye.com 044 6744 7000	director@catsye.com 044 6744 7000
Date	The value of the field is represented as a formatted date in the document.	24/04/2020	24/04/2020 or 24 April 2020	Refer help to learn how to configure the date fields.
Image List	Comma separated image URLs can be placed horizontally or vertically as an image list.	[imageurl1,imageurl2,imageurl3]
List	A comma separated value in the data source can be added as it is or as a vertical bullet list.	item 1, item 2, item 3	Comma separated list: item 1, item 2, item 3 or Vertical list: item 1 item 2 item 3
Embed	The URL value in the data source is embedded in the document as an iframe.	http://mysite.com/profile/ UserID		Click on the value column to make the URL dynamic by placing merge fields in the URL.
Barcode	The value can be merged as a Barcode based on the selected code.
QR Code	A high-quality QR code can be added based on the specific field value.	QR code data can be a plain text, a web link, a text message, an email, or a business card.
Map	Convert addresses and location latitude or longitude in the data source to an embeddable map of the location post merge.	10 Downing Street, Westminster,London,SW1A		When the merged document is printed, the embedded Google Maps link is converted to an embedded image.
AutoNumber	Autonumber automatically increments for each record			Ex Generating invoices with multiple line items per customer with each row having serial number automatically assigned Learn How to Customize AutoNumber

Troubleshooting

Error/Symptom: Is there a way to render Rich text or HTML content from a field properly during merge?
Recommended Solution: Set the merge field type to Rich text to render the merge field value as rich text.
Error / Symptom: Thousand separator is not displayed in number values during merge.
Possible Cause: The merge field is not set to the correct Field Type, or the number format is set to "From data source", which displays the value exactly as received without formatting.
Recommended Solution:

Set the Field Type to Number and configure the required number format in the merge field settings.
To display separators or a specific pattern (for example, #.#00,00), choose the desired field format in the Field Settings, click Update, and recheck the merge output.