====== Wildcards in Mailings ======

In case you are sending mailings directly with oFb, you can use a couple of wildcards for personalisation purposes.

**Important**: When working with serial numbers, do not enter the link to the questionnaire manually; use the wildcard ''%link%''.

^ Wildcard ^ Description ^ Notes/Requirements ^
| %link% | Link to the questionnaire including serial number | The questionnaire can be selected below.\\ When using the HTML version it is useful to write:\\ ''%%<a href="%link%">Go to Questionnaire </a>%%''|
| %salut% | Title and name according to gender | The form allows you to edit the title. The standard is "Dear Ms Surname" and "Dear Mr Surname", respectively. |
| %serial% | Serial number (included in %link%) | In case email addresses have not been assigned serial numbers, this is done automatically when sending the emails. |
| %subgroup% | Subgroup | The subgroup (if existent) is inherited as specified in the panel data |
| %custom1% | Customised field no. 1 ||
| %custom2% | Customised field no. 2 ||
| %custom3% | Customised field no. 3 ||

Some wildcards are designed specifically for a personalised address. You can separately define the address for men, women and people of unknown gender when designing the email.

^ Wildcard ^ Description ^ Notes/Requirements ^
| %formalname% | Surname of the person including title ||
| %title% | Title, if existent ||
| %title+% | Title, if existent | If a title exists, a space character is automatically added. |
| %firstname% | First name, if known ||
| %firstname+% | First name, if known | If the first name is known, a space character is automatically added. |
| %lastname% | Surname, if known ||

===== Expanding a link =====

In case you need to add information to your link (e.g. language or a reference), you can simply add this to the wildcard ''%link%'':

  Click here for the questionnaire:
  %link%&r=A121&l=eng
  
You can also attach the serial number manually to the link -- usually though it's easier to use the wildcard ''%link%''.

  Click here for the questionnaire:
  https://www.soscisurvey.de/survey/?s=%serial%