Office 2007 Mail Merge - Colorado State University

Office 2007 Mail Merge

When using the Mail Merge tool, you will need two documents to execute the mail merge. One document, the data source, contains a set of data, such as names and addresses. The second document, the main document, acts as a form that receives the data.

Data Source

The data source is a document, spreadsheet, database, or file that contains personalized information, such as names and addresses, that ends up in the main document.

The data source document must be organized in a very specific way, or the merge process will generate errors. The first row of the data source must contain mail merge field names. Below the row of field names are rows of data, the personalized data that will be merged into the main document.

Tip: Field names should not contain any spaces. When you merge the two documents, Word replaces the merge fields with the appropriate text from the data source.

Main Document

The main document can take the form of envelopes, directory, mailing labels, or letters. The main document is like a normal document except that it contains MERGE FIELD codes that specify the placement of merged data. In a typical form letter, for example, the main document is a form letter in which the names and addresses are inserted, and the data source is the list of those names and addresses.

Use Mail Merge

The Office 2007 Mail Merge tools are located in the Mailings tab, Start mail Merge Group of the Wizard. Select the drop-down menu for Start Mail Merge to select the Mail Merge type.

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Mail Merge Wizard

Start the Mail Merge Wizard by choosing Tools, Letters and Mailings and select Mail Merge. The Mail Merge Wizard opens and displays in the Task Pane on the right-side of the Word Screen.

The Mail Merge Wizard consists of six steps. 1. Select Document Type 2. Select Starting Document 3. Select Recipients 4. Write Your Letter 5. Preview your Letters 6. Complete the Merge

Select Document Type

Select the document type, such as letters, envelopes, labels or directory. The steps in the Mail Merge Wizard may change slightly depending on the document type selected.

For this example, choose Letter and then choose Next.

Select Starting Document

The starting document options:

? Use the current document - The letter or main document doesn't exist and you need create the main document or letter.

? Start from a template - Use one of Microsoft's templates for your main document.

? Start from existing document - Use an existing letter as your main document. o When using this option, Word will ask you to browse and select the file that will be used as the main document.

This example will go through the Use the current document option.

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Select Recipients

The select recipients option is tied to the data source for the mail merge.

Choose Use an existing list if you have an existing data source. Remember, the data source can be a word, excel, or access file. When choosing this option, select the Browse hyperlink from the Task Pane and point to the data source file.

The Select from Outlook contacts will not be used or covered in this class.

Choose Type a new list if a data source does not exist. Word will guide you through the process of creating, editing, removing fields and names for the data source being built.

Caution: Word automatically saves all new data sources, the Type a new list option, to an access database using the file extension of .mdb. The User will not have the choice of saving their data source as a Word or Excel file.

For this example, select Type a new list from the Select Recipients area of the Task Pane. Next, select the Create hyperlink at the bottom of the Task Pane to display the New Address List dialog box.

The New Address List dialog box displays a generated form to assist in data entry of the data source. The form is pre-built with common field names. However, the form can be customized to fit your needs.

Note: All the fields are used unless you Remove them.

If the form is acceptable as displayed then enter the information for each field and click on the New Entry button to move to a blank form for additional records.

Click OK when finished.

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Add and Remove Field Names

To customize your field names for your datasource, select the Customize Columns button.

Select the Add button to add a new field. Select the Delete button to remove a field. Select the Rename button to rename a field.

Rearrange the order of the fields by selecting the Move Down/Move Up button.

Click on the OK button when finished.

Once you have your datasource complete, the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box will appear providing more options for the Merge.

Edit a Datasource from the mail Merge Recipients dialog box

Add/delete/modify a data source entry from the Data Source by selecting the file name in the data source box and clicking on the Edit button.

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Add New Field Rules

The Add field dialog box is used to create field names for the data source.

Rules for Field Names ? Names must start with a letter. o Best Practice: Names should not contain a space. Use an underscore if you need to separate words. ? Names must not be longer than 40 characters. ? Names must be unique. You cannot have two field names spelled the same. ? You must save the document containing your data source to disk before you can use it.

Find Entry

Press the Find Entry button to search the data source for a specific entry in a record.

Filter and Sort Button

Filter or Sort the data source prior to merging the data source and the main document.

Criteria can be entered in the Filter Records and/or Sort Records.

Remember to press Clear All button before initiating a different search to clear the filter and sort criteria.

Save the Data Source

When finished customizing the data source, press the OK button. Word will prompt you to save the data source. Type a name for the file in the File Name field.

CAUTION: Word automatically saves all new data sources, the Type a new list option, to an access database using the file extension of .mdb. The User will not have the choice of saving the data source as a Word or Excel file.

Click on the Write Your Letter hyperlink at the bottom of the Task Pane to proceed.

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