Displaying Preferred Names in CommGen (3Cs) Communications

Purpose: This guide explains how to pull a student's Preferred name into a communication correctly—and automatically default to the Primary name when a Preferred name does not exist. It also clarifies which BI Publisher fields to use and how the Person Communication Usage settings on the Communication Generation page determine which name type is used to populate your template fields.

Audience: Communication builders.

Avoid Using Preferred Name Fields Directly in Templates

  1. Fields labeled as Preferred Name in the Communication Datasource pull only the Preferred Name type.
  2. Blank values will appear for students who do not have a preferred name in ctcLink.
  3. For reliable output, use regular name fields (Fld_First_Name, Fld_Name) and let the Person Communication Usage settings (Communication Generation) decide which name type populates the field. ⚠️Name fields must come from the correct datasource folder based on where the name appears in your communication.

CommGen (3Cs) Run Control Setup

  1. Navigate to Campus Community > Communications > Communication Generation > Process Parameters.
  2. Under Person Communication Usage, set all three name-type drop-downs (Address Name, Salutation, Extra Name) to Data Svcs Preferred, Pri Name, unless you intend to refer to Legal or other name types, which is rare in workflows.
  3. What this does:
    • Inserts the student’s Preferred name if it exists
    • Automatically falls back to the Primary name if no Preferred name is on file
    • Avoids blank name fields (since most students do not have preferred names)

Address Name

  1. Use for:
    • Mailing address block at the top of a letter
    • Address references inside a communication
  2. Datasource subfolder:
    • rs_PER_ADDRESS

Salutation

  1. Use for:
    • “Dear Jane,”
    • “Hello David,”
    • Any greeting line
  2. Datasource subfolder:
    • rs_PER_NAME_SAL

Extra Name

  1. Rarely used. If you do use it:
    • Test thoroughly in PCD before sending to Production
  2. Datasource subfolder:
    • rs_PER_NAME_EXTRA
Datasource Folder Use For Populated By Example Fields
rs_PER_ADDRESS
(Address Block)		 • Mailing address block at the top of a letter
• Address references inside a communication 		Address Name dropdown in Person Communication Usage fld_NAME, fld_FIRST_NAME
rs_PER_NAME_SAL
(Salutation Line)		 • “Dear Jane,”
• “Hello David,”
• Any greeting line 		Salutation dropdown in Person Communication Usage fld_NAME, fld_FIRST_NAME
rs_PER_NAME_EXTRA
(Extra Name)		 Rarely used; recommended only if specifically needed. Extra Name dropdown in Person Communication Usage fld_NAME, fld_FIRST_NAME

Testing Your Template

  1. Always test in PCD before moving to Production.
  2. CommGen behavior varies based on:
    • The folders you selected the fields from
    • The Person Communication Usage dropdown settings
    • Whether the student has Preferred, Primary, or Legal names on file

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