Mail Merge For Form Letters



Mail Merge General Information (Instructions follow)

Introductory text taken from Microsoft On-line Help

Use Mail Merge to create form letters, mailing labels, envelopes, directories, and mass e-mail and fax distributions. To complete the basic process, you:

1. Open or create a main document.

2. Open or create a data source with individual recipient information.

3. Add or customize merge fields in the main document.

4. Merge data from the data source into the main document to create a new, merged document.

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[pic] Data source with recipient information, such as names and addresses

[pic] Main document with merge fields that are placeholders for recipient information

[pic] Resulting merged document

The wizard guides you through all of these steps. If you prefer to work outside the wizard, you can use the Mail Merge toolbar. Either way, the end result is that each row (or record) in the data source produces an individual form letter, mailing label, envelope, or directory item.

Note   You can use mail merge to create any type of document that maps fields to data, not just mailings or directories. For example, if your videotape collection is listed in a spreadsheet, you can use the Labels option to create videotape labels.

More information about mail merge data sources

A data source is a file — for example, a Microsoft Outlook Contact List — that contains the data that varies in each copy of a merged document.

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How data sources work in a mail merge

You can think of a data source as a table. Each column in the data source corresponds to a category of information, or data field — for example, first name, last name, street address, and postal code.

The name of each data field is listed in the first row of cells, which is called the header record. Each subsequent row contains one data record, which is a complete set of related information — for example, the name and address of a single recipient.

When you complete the merge, individual recipient information is mapped to the fields you included in your main document.

Connecting to a data source

By default, you connect to data sources in the Select Data Source dialog box. If you already have a data source to use (such as a Microsoft Outlook Contact List or Microsoft Access database), you can connect to it directly from the Mail Merge Wizard.

If you don't, you can also create one directly from the wizard. If you only want a simple address list, the Mail Merge Wizard guides you through the process of creating a Microsoft Office Address List. Or you can create a more complex one from within the Select Data Source dialog box.

Selecting specific recipients from the data source

Once you connect to your data source, the recipient information appears in the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box, where you can select exactly which recipients to include in the merge.

For example, if you want to target customers in specific postal code areas, you can select only those customers. You can also use this dialog box to perform more advanced filtering and sorting operations.

More information about mail merge fields

You use merge fields to customize the content of individual documents. When inserted into your main document, they map to corresponding columns of information in your data source. If Microsoft Word doesn't find the information it needs by mapping merge fields automatically to the headings in the data source, it gives you the opportunity to do so as you're inserting address and greeting fields or previewing the merge.

Creating Form Letters

1. Create a data list in Excel (see Excel List Guidelines.doc).

2. Open Word.

3. Open Mail Merge Toolbar (Tools ( Letters & Mailings ( Mail Merge Toolbar).

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4. Choose Main Document Setup from the toolbar.

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5. Select Letters and click OK.

6. Choose Open Data Source from the toolbar.

7. Navigate to and select your Data Source and, if an Excel data source, indicate the Sheet containing your data

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8. Choose Mail Merge Recipients and make sure all recipients have a check next to their names.

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9. If you’re creating a form letter, begin to write your letter inserting fields as you go. When you get to a location of a field, choose Insert Merge Field from the toolbar.

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10. Select a field from the list and click Insert then Close.

11. Go back to #9 until your letter is complete and all fields have been entered.

12. Choose Merge to New Document from the toolbar.

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13. Click OK.

14. A new document opens (usually called Letters1). This document contains each form letter merged with your data. Scroll through the document ensuring the setup and format of what will be printed.

Note: Don’t edit or save this document. All changes should be made to either your data source or your main document.

15. Choose File ( Print ( OK to print the letters.

16. Close Letters1 without saving.

17. Save the Main document before exiting Word.

Creating Envelopes

1. Create a data list in Excel (see Excel List Guidelines.doc).

2. Open Word.

3. Open Mail Merge Toolbar (Tools ( Letters & Mailings ( Mail Merge Toolbar).

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4. Choose Main Document Setup from the toolbar.

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5. Select Envelopes and click OK.

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6. Choose appropriate Envelope and Printing Options and click OK.

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7. Choose Open Data Source from the toolbar.

8. Navigate to and select your Data Source and, if an Excel data source, indicate the Sheet containing your data

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9. Choose Mail Merge Recipients and make sure all recipients have a check next to their names.

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10. Enter any information you wish to appear on every envelope (e.g. return address).

11. Using the mouse, click where you want the address block to appear.

12. Choose Insert Address Block from the Mail Merge Toolbar.

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13. Select appropriate elements from this window then click Match Fields.

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14. Match your data source fields with those listed in this window then click OK.

15. Click OK again.

16. Choose Merge to New Document from the toolbar.

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17. Click OK.

18. A new document opens (usually called Envelopes1). This document contains each form letter merged with your data. Scroll through the document ensuring the setup and format of what will be printed.

Note: Don’t edit or save this document. All changes should be made to either your data source or your main document.

19. Choose File ( Print ( OK to print the letters.

20. Close Envelopes1 without saving.

21. Save the Main document before exiting Word.

Creating Labels

1. Create a data list in Excel (see Excel List Guidelines.doc).

2. Open Word.

3. Open Mail Merge Toolbar (Tools ( Letters & Mailings ( Mail Merge Toolbar).

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4. Choose Main Document Setup from the toolbar.

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5. Select Labels and click OK.

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6. Choose appropriate product number from the Label information section and click OK.

7. Choose Open Data Source from the toolbar.

8. Navigate to and select your Data Source and, if an Excel data source, indicate the Sheet containing your data

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9. Choose Mail Merge Recipients and make sure all recipients have a check next to their names.

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10. If you want address information on your label follow steps 12 - 15 under Creating Envelopes, then skip to # 15 below.

11. If you want other information on your labels, choose Insert Merge Fields from the Mail Merge Toolbar.

12. Select a field from the list and click Insert then Close.

13. Insert any punctuation or spaces, then return to # 8 above until all fields have been entered.

14. Choose Propagate Labels from the Mail Merge Toolbar.

15. Choose Merge to New Document from the Mail Merge Toolbar.

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16. Click OK.

17. A new document opens (usually called Labels1). This document contains each form letter merged with your data. Scroll through the document ensuring the setup and format of what will be printed.

Note: Don’t edit or save this document. All changes should be made to either your data source or your main document.

18. Choose File ( Print ( OK to print the letters.

19. Close Labels1 without saving.

20. Save the Main document before exiting Word.

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4 Main

Document

Setup

6 - Open Data Source

8 Mail Merge Recipients

9 Insert Merge Fields

12 Merge to New Document

12 Insert Address Block

6 - Open Data Source

16 Merge to New Document

9 Mail Merge Recipients

4 Main

Document

Setup

11 Insert Merge Fields

7 - Open Data Source

15 Merge to New Document

9 Mail Merge Recipients

4 Main

Document

Setup

14 Propagate Labels

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