Setting Stationery for a Letter Template

You can set stationery to use with correspondence letters. By definition, stationery is the non‑content settings of a letter consisting of the letterhead, font family, font size, and margin sizes.

You can customize each stationery element and upload your own letterhead. Or you can use the Correspondence Manager defaults. The system default font is Arial, 10, black. The system default letterhead specifications are as follows:

  • Header height: 1.50"
  • Header width: 8.5"
  • Left margin height: 8.75"
  • Left margin width: 1.0"
  • Footer height: .75"
  • Footer width: 8.5"

You can make changes to stationery using any of the following:

  • In the return configuration set. You can save default settings for the following:
    • Letterhead. Set the letterhead specifications for all letters associated to the return configuration set, except for filing instructions. Filing instructions do not print with letterhead.
    • Font. Set the font family and font size for all standard and custom letters. There are a few exceptions. The following letter templates print only the system-assigned font settings:
      • Tax letter templates. Filing instructions and consent letters
      • Organizer letter templates. Mail/presentation sheets

      • Important: Custom font settings are applied when tax letter templates are rendered in a return and when Organizer letter templates are previewed or printed.

    • Margins. Adjust the default top, bottom, left, or right letter template margin from the default size of one inch to a custom size. There are a few exceptions. Custom margin sizes are not applied to the following correspondence. System-assigned margin sizes print for these items:
      • Tax letter templates. Filing instructions
      • Organizer letter templates. Mail/Presentation Sheets and Questions, Pages 1 through 4
  • As part of the letter template in Correspondence Manager. The standard letter template opened in the Word pane can be changed and saved as a custom template. Use the controls on the Word pane Home or Insert tabs. Fonts set in Correspondence Manager override fonts selected in the return configuration set.
  • Inside the letter in the return. When you open a letter from inside a return, you can change the default stationery and save the letter with the return or as a new template. You must have the functional right to save letters to the library from inside the return. See Using Correspondence Manager Inside a Return for information about opening letters from inside returns.

The larger the number of paragraphs you change in a letter or letter template, the longer the length of time the system requires to save the changes. If you change stationery settings that update 250 or more paragraphs, the system displays a message advising the process can take more than an hour to complete.

Tip: Instead of saving changes to a large number of paragraphs in a letter or letter template, you can save stationery settings in a return configuration set to apply to your standard and custom letters when rendered inside returns.

Notes:

  • If an imported document contains stationery, the stationery is imported with the document.
  • The font selected must be available on each workstation used to manage correspondence.