Create an MLR Document in Shaman for an approved email

How to create an MLR document for approved email content in the Shaman email editor

Katy Moore avatar
Written by Katy Moore
Updated over a week ago

In this article:


What is MLR document creation in Shaman?

MLR document creation for approved email in Shaman is designed to further simplify the process of creating multi-channel content for Veeva Vault.

An MLR document is a combination of a visual rendition of your email content, and the MLR proof you receive that approves the distribution of the email content you are creating for a specific amount of time and to a specific audience. Without an MLR document, it is not possible to approve content in Veeva Vault and make it available for your end users to users.

We understand that not all of the Shaman users in your organization will have access to Veeva Vault, so we have enabled a tool in Shaman that allows all users to create an MLR document in Shaman and sync their email fragments or templates directly to Veeva Vault (based on the email and your configuration).

The workflow outlined below means that Shaman users only need to contact their local Veeva Vault admin once in the process - to approve the MLR document for distribution and also approve the content (email fragments, email templates, or template fragments) in Veeva Vault.

In this article we will take you through step by step how to create an MLR document, and then sync your content to Veeva Vault.


How to create an MLR document in Shaman and sync your content to Veeva Vault?

Once you have completed the Veeva settings, added copy, created a design and tested your email, click on the tab “MLR” from the Overview page of your email fragment or template.

From here, you can export a PDF of your email fragment or email template to then send for review and approval in your FUSE or local approval system.

Export PDF options

Compare against previous PDF version: Compare text of email versions in PDF export: If you have edited the text in your email and saved the versions separately (you can learn more about email versions here) you also have the option to compare the current version of your email, with any previous different version side by side in a PDF.

Include document information

Good to know!

If you are exporting an email template, you will see two additional options appear underneath the “PDF file” option: “Include selected email fragments” and “Include selected template fragment”.

You can click these toggles to enable them to show either email fragments or the selected template fragments in the exported PDF file.

Then, click the “Send to Email” button. You will receive the PDF file to your email address within a few minutes.

Good to know!

- A PDF file means you will receive a PDF of your email template or fragment.

- PDF file including related fragments means you will receive the email template and the email fragments used.

Here is where the process gets interesting.

You will see two options available in the section "MLR document in Veeva Vault".

  • Create new: select this option if you wish to create an MLR document in Shaman

  • Link to existing: select this option if you wish to link to an MLR document manually uploaded and approved for distribution in Veeva Vault. Click here to view more information on how to link to an existing MLR document.

Click "create new" to begin the process. You will then be redirected to a page where you can add all the details for your MLR document:

  • Document Name*: This field is automatically populated from the name of the corresponding email content you are creating the MLR document for. You can edit the name by simply typing in this field. This is an obligatory field.

  • Description: This field is automatically populated from the description of the corresponding email content you are creating the MLR document for. You can edit the name by simply typing in this field. This is an optional field.

  • Product/Brand*: This is a dropdown menu, automatically populated with the product/brand assigned to your email template or fragment. This is an obligatory field.

  • Country*: This is a dropdown menu, automatically populated with the country assigned to your email template or fragment. This is an obligatory field.

  • MLR Approval Nr*: this is a free text field and will usually be a five or six-digit number that can be found on your approval document. This is an obligatory field.

  • Material Intent*: Ordinarily there are two options to choose from here, promotional and non-promotional (but this may vary depending on your account settings). You can select the value that matches your approval document. This is an obligatory field.

  • Audience*: Ordinarily there are multiple options available in a dropdown menu (eg. Physician, Nurse, etc). You can select the value that matches your approval document. This is an obligatory field.

  • Language*: This is a dropdown menu, automatically populated with the language assigned to your email template or fragment. This is an obligatory field.

  • Expiry Date*: Using the calendar which opens when you click on this field, you can select the expiry date which matches your approval document. This is an obligatory field.

Once you have completed these details, you need to attach the document exported from the FUSE/local approval system along with a viewable rendition of the content in PDF form.

MLR document* is the viewable rendition of the content in PDF (which you can export directly from Shaman using the "Export as PDF" option.

MLR Proof* is the PDF document or email from the FUSE/local approval system.

You can then click the "Create" button in the top right-hand corner to create your MLR document:

You will be directed to a page where you can view the progress of the creation of the MLR document:

Once the MLR document has been created, you can see your MLR document now attached.

You can now proceed to the "Export" tab to sync your email content to Veeva Vault.

Take a look at this article for more information on exporting email content to Veeva Vault.


Link to an existing MLR document in Veeva Vault

To link an MLR document which has been manually uploaded and approved in Veeva Vault, from the "MLR" tab click the "Link to existing" option.

Here you will be able to see all MLR documents which are currently available for use for the Product/brand assigned to the email content you are working with.

Good to know!

If you do not see an MLR document that has recently been uploaded and approved to Veeva Vault, click the "Update button" to retrieve the latest MLR documents.

To select an MLR document from the list, click the small circle next to the corresponding document and then click the "Select" button in the top right corner.

You will then see the MLR document attached to your email content.

You can preview the details of the MLR document (such as creation date, Product/brand, etc) by clicking "Details".

Alternatively, you can remove the MLR document by clicking the "Remove MLR document" button.

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