1.

Create a Job folder with subfolders Sample, Template, Source, and Output.

2.

Create sample output pages and place them inside the Sample folder.

3.

Prepare the templates:

i.

Copy a set of the sample output files and all supporting files (such as web graphics) to the Template folder. These copies will be the starting point of your templates.

ii.

Open your database or spreadsheets to see which data elements are to be inserted into the output.

iii.

Work through each template to replace the corresponding parts with Mergemill field tags, which serve as placeholders for the contents provided by the database or spreadsheets.

iv.

Where necessary, insert IF or CASE tags to select different parts of the template to be included in the output based on certain conditions, insert Loop tags to automatically repeat parts of the template for each set of data elements for the looped fields, and insert a Date system tag where the output generation date needs to be added.

v.

Save your templates.

vi.

This step may involve going back and forth between your database and templates several times to achieve the exact result you desire.

4.

Copy all supporting files, such as GIFs, required by the output from the Template folder to the Output folder. Mergemill will automatically create all non-existent subfolders in paths to the output files. However, you still have to ensure that the directory structure and names of the supporting files are identical in the Sample, Template, and Output folders, so that all hyperlinks in the generated web pages work correctly.

5.

Open your database or spreadsheet, and export appropriate data to text files in one of the following formats:

i.

TAB SEPARATED TEXT
This format uses [Tab] as the field delimiter and [Return] as the record delimiter. Remember to begin the names of these text files with 'db_'.

ii.

MERGE
This format uses comma as the field delimiter and [Return] as the record delimiter. It also encloses each piece of data content in quotes. Remember to begin the names of these text files with 'db_'. Mergemill will automatically distinguish between the Merge and Tab-separated Text formats.

iii.

XML
This data exchange standard lets you freely include line breaks, returns and HTML tags in your text contents. Please note that Mergemill identifies these files by their '.xml' extension and requires your data element values to be enclosed by tags with element names, instead of say <data>...</data>. If you export in XML using FileMaker Pro 6, select FMPDSORESULT as the Grammar option.

6.

Run Mergemill, add job definitions and specify a template for each. If you want Mergemill to automatically upload generated web pages to a remote FTP server, you need to select the menu item 'File > FTP Accounts...' to set up appropriate account details first.

7.

Tasks associated with each job are automatically created by Mergemill, one for each field tag in the template. You specify the content source for each tag/task. Such content may come from the Source Text field in the task setting, an external source file, each file in the Source Folder specified in the job definition, or combining components you specify.

8.

Run the jobs using the Run Job buttons.