Using Correspondence Manager in Batch Manager

Correspondence Manager opened from Batch Manager includes features to create, edit, and import Organizer letter templates for Individual and Fiduciary returns.

Important: This topic describes how Correspondence Manager functions when opened from Batch Manager. For information about using the Correspondence Manager window when opened from Dashboard, see Navigating the Correspondence Manager Window in Correspondence Manager Help.

Note: Permission to access the Organizer letter templates from Batch Manager is a functional right that is granted in security group profiles.

Opening Correspondence Manager

To open Correspondence Manager from Batch Manager, do the following:

  1. In Dashboard, click Application Links on the navigation panel, and then click Batch Manager under Tax.
  2. Click Letters in the Customize group on the Home tab.

Commands

Most of the features used in Correspondence Manager are accessed from commands found on one of the following:

ClosedApplication Menu

The Application menu contains the available actions for CCH Axcess™  product. The menu also provides access to user options and, if applicable, a list of recently accessed records. Click in the upper-left corner of the window to display the menu and view the available options.

ClosedQuick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access Toolbar is located beside the Application button and is used to access frequently used commands, such as a command to open Dashboard.

Click next to the Quick Access Toolbar to display the menu. You can move the toolbar position above or below the ribbon and show or hide the ribbon, depending on your preference.

ClosedRibbon

The ribbon is used throughout CCH Axcess and replaces the menus used in previous versions. Commands are organized on the Letters tab. Ribbon commands provide another option to perform an action, in addition to the Application menu and right-click menus. The following features are available:

Component Description
New Custom Letter Template Opens a blank Organizer letter template in the Word pane.
Edit Letter Template Opens the selected Organizer letter template in the Word pane.
Save Saves a custom Organizer letter template to the Letter Template Library.
Save As Saves an Organizer letter template that is in edit mode. You can also copy the letter template with a different letter type or change the template name.
Delete Custom Letter Template Deletes the selected custom Organizer letter template.
Rename Custom Letter Template Renames the selected custom Organizer letter template.
Enable letter template

Indicates the Organizer templates to print for the selected return configuration set when rendered in a tax return. Enabled letter templates are identified by the Enabled icon,, which displays next to the template name. You can enable multiple Organizer letter templates in a letter type to print with the return.

Additional ribbon features are available.

  • Minimize. You can minimize the ribbon by right-clicking the ribbon and selecting Minimize the Ribbon from the menu or by double-clicking the ribbon.
  • KeyTips. Each tab on the ribbon and each feature in a ribbon have corresponding keyboard commands. Press the Alt key to display the shortcuts and use your keyboard to execute ribbon commands.
  • ScreenTips. A description and, if applicable, a keyboard shortcut displays when you hover your mouse over each ribbon command.

Navigation Panel

The navigation panel, located on the left of the Correspondence Manager window, contains a Library Selection box and two libraries: the Letter Template and Keyword libraries. Each library can be expanded and collapsed by clicking a section's navigation bar.

  • Letter Template Library. Lists all Organizer letter types, each containing standard and any custom letter templates.
  • Keyword Library. Lists keywords that are defined by the system. Keywords are variable blocks of text in correspondence that change to return specific data when the applicable letter is rendered in a tax return.

The Library Selection box, located at the top of the navigation panel, defines the year, return type, and return configuration for which you are creating correspondence. Organizer letters apply to Individual and Fiduciary return types only.

Each library includes a Search box to locate objects in a library.

See Managing Organizer Letters for more information on selecting and searching libraries.

Word Pane

The Microsoft® Word pane displays to the right of the libraries. Word maintains many of its functionality and displays menu and tab options that are separate from the Correspondence Manager window. The New, Open, Save, Close, and Exit commands are not available in the Word pane. These functions are available on the Correspondence Manager Application menu, ribbon, and library context menus.

  • When you open Correspondence Manager from Dashboard, a blank document displays in the Word pane. To display a letter or paragraph in the Word pane, select it from a library on the navigation panel.
  • When you open Correspondence Manager from Batch Manager, a blank document displays in the Word pane. Select Organizer letter templates from the Letter Template Library to display in the Word pane.
  • When you open Correspondence Manager from inside a return, the letter on the Print Preview window displays in the Word pane. You can enter content directly in this document, or you can drag keywords and paragraphs from the libraries when editing letter templates.

The Word pane has the same view settings as your last session of Microsoft® Word outside of Correspondence Manager.

You can resize the Word pane to enlarge or reduce the viewable area of the open document and the Correspondence Manager libraries. To resize the pane, click the divider between the Word pane and the libraries to display double arrows, and then drag the divider left or right. The default Word pane size is applied when you reopen Correspondence Manager.

Note: You must have one of the following versions installed:

  • Microsoft® Office Standard edition of Word 2013 or 2016
  • Microsoft® Office Home & Business edition of Word 2013 or 2016
  • Microsoft® Office 365™, locally installed
  • Microsoft® Office 2019

Status Bar

The status bar, displayed at the bottom of the window, displays information about the active element. The information displayed on the status bar varies depending on where the cursor is in the text. Some examples of the information displayed on the status bar are as follows:

  • Role description of the current user
  • Current mode (for example, New Letter Template or Edit Letter Template)
  • Name of a template, when it is saved
  • The path of a selected or open paragraph, including the letter type and name, paragraph section, reference ID, and the first 125 characters of the paragraph text
  • Category and name of a keyword
  • Keyword reference information