How do I create an invoice in pages and have it obtain a contact from a table in numbers

Mark,

I went back are read your original post. I think a simple answer is to add a column of checkboxes. Check the box of the client you wish to invoice, then use the Reorganize panel to hide all but the TRUE checkbox row. Then merge. Only the non-hidden rows will merge.

Another approach would be to add a column that raises a flag in reponse to your entering a particular client I.D. in the Header of that column. Again Hide rows that don't match the flag.

Jerry

Mark,

The easy way to do that is to have your customers in your Contacts app and Merge from Contacts.

In Numbers you would have to first find the customer's record, then hide all others. Or, you could Copy that one customer's record and Paste it into a designated Merge table so that it would be the only record in that table.

Jerry

Mark,

The answer is to Hide the rows that you don't want to be merged. How about posting a screen shot of your Pages Merge document and another screen shot of your Numbers database. You can substitute for any sensitive information.

We can help you to get it working properly.

Jerry

Well, you're started! One thing that may cause you trouble, or at least looks suspicious, is the fact that there is more than one Header Row in your Numbers Table. You should have only one, to eliminate any confusion. Also, delete the Header Column if you're not going to use it.

I can't tell from your screen shot if you have Saved your Numbers document, but that's a must before you create your links.

Jerry

Hi Mark,

I think one thing you may missing is an understanding of the purpose and operation of the mail merge process.

Mail merge is used to 'personalize' a preset document using information from the records of a database. Any content that will vary from copy to copy of the document must be imported from the database. Every item that is specific to the copy being sent to a specific individual must be included in the row of the table containing the record for that individual.

For invoices, unless you are sending an invoice for the same item(s) at the same price(s), you'll need to either include the items and prices in the database and merge them into the invoices, or use the merge document to create a document containing an empty invoice for each customer, containing only the customer identification information, and the company information (taken from the card marked "My Card" or "Me"), then fill in each invoice manually.

The Pages '09 template named "Invoice" might word with the second approach, depending what type of document the merge to file option produces. If it's a Pages document, the table, containing the invoice data, will likely be useable; if it's a pdf document, the table may be editable (or not), but will lose its ability to calculate the tax amounts and totals.

To produce an individual invoice from this template:

Open the template.

Drag the recipient's card from Contacts/Address Book and drop it on one of the fields in the first block of address text.

Enter the project information in the second block of text.

Check the Company block in the left margin for correctness.

Enter the Invoice items and quantities in the table.

Print (or Print to PDF) the document and mail it.

Regards,

Barry

Mark,

I believe that your best alternative, given that you have a large number of clients and complex invoices, is to use a true database program. I hope this won't offend you, but if you find Mail Merge, or creating an invoice in Numbers to be out of your comfort zone, you're going to need help with a database application. Apps like Filemaker Pro are expensive and require expert programmers, but they are made for your job.

I have a feeling that there may be a middle ground, if you don't need full automation, where you can do some things with mail merge and some things manually.

Jerry

I cannot find mail merge on the new pages and numbers versions for Mavericks. I have a feeling based on reading another question that this function has been removed. Seeing as the previous question and answer here are pertinent to what I am using numbers for (my accounts and invoicing) and only in March you guys having gone to so much trouble to sort this issue out, I am now reading your post and wondering whether it is possible that the mail merge function would simply be dropped?

Can anyone suggest if this is right and there is no mail merge anymore?

By the way I have found my old numbers and pages apps, on the imac and can use them as well as the new Mavericks versions, but they weren't all in the applications folders, and I had to search for them using"pages.app" and "numbers.app" as one was in a shared downloads file.

My suggestion would be to avoid the Header Column if you don't absolutely need it, such as for a Category Chart.

Jerry