The Basics. Mail Merging. Old Way. New Way

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1 1 of 1 Created: 11/03/2009 Fields Record 1 Record 2 The Basics The Mail Merge tool allows you to mass-produce letters, labels, contracts, and other documents containing personalized or specific information (e.g. an address on a label). It involves the creation of two separate documents that will later be merged. The two documents are: 1. The Main Document the document (sometimes called the Form) into which data will later be inserted. This document could be a letter, a mailing label, a nametag or anything else you wish to merge. 2. Data Source the data source contains the information that is to be merged with the main document. This could be a Word document, Excel worksheet or Access table or query. The data source is divided into categories called Fields (i.e. the information that varies with each person/product). All the fields relating to one person/product are called Records. Firstname Lastname Street City, Province Postal Jane Doe 123 Main Street Toronto ON M5G 3Z7 Joe Blow 345 Front Street Etobicoke ON M9M 9M9 3. Merge when the two documents are merged together the output will be one copy of the main document for each record you have entered Mail Merging Old Way From the Mailings tab find the Start Mail Merge Area and from it click the Start Mail Merge drop-down button In the menu avoid all other options except for the last option called the Step by Step Mail Merge Wizard... It will bring up the old wizard from the 2003 version of Word on the right side of the screen and guide you through the process of creating a mail merge NOTE: REGARDLESS OF WHICH WAY YOU CHOOSE THE STEPS IN THIS HELP DOCUMENT ARE THE SAME. THE WIZARD JUST PROVIDES A FEW MORE VISUALS TO THOSE WHO ARE USING MAIL MERGE FOR THE FIRST TIME New Way Follow the same steps to get to the Start Mail Merge drop-down menu Instead of choosing the step by step wizard you choose your document type and begin merging using the different areas found in the Mailings tab without the wizard guiding you Tip: If you are going to use the new way it is a good idea to not create a blank document but instead when you choose to create a new document select a letter template to work with instead. It will make it easier for you to place your merge fields

2 2 of 2 Created: 11/03/2009 The Steps NOTE: THE FOLLOWING STEPS ARE THE SAME WHICHEVER METHOD YOU CHOOSE Step I: Select Document Type From the Mailings tab, find the Start Mail Merge Area and click on the Start Mail Merge drop-down button Choose the type of document you want to work on: Letters Messages Envelopes Labels Directory Select the appropriate document type you want to work with If you are working from the wizard click the underlined link to move onto the next step STEP II: Selecting Starting Document OLD WAY You will be asked to select the starting document The wizard provides you with three options: 1. Start from the current document (work from the current document you have open) 2. Start from a template (start from a ready-to-use mail merge template that can be customized to suit your needs) 3. Start from an existing document (start from an existing mail merge document and make changes to the content or recipients) Select the starting document that works best for you and click on the underlined link to move to the next step NEW WAY The new unfortunately does not provide the same ease of use as the old way. It will only allow you to create a mail merge from the current document you have open. Depending on the type of mail merge document you wanted to create the view may change but that is about it. It is up to you to know how to create a mail merge and all the required pieces of it. Thus, if you are not familiar it would be a good idea to be working from the wizard. Step III: Select Recipients The process to select recipients is the same for both the old and new way of creating a mail merge. The process is as follows: From the Mailings tab, in the Start Mail Merge Area click on the Select Recipients drop-down menu

3 3 of 3 OR Be in the third step in the wizard Regardless of which method you are using, choose the appropriate method of adding recipients that works for you 1. Type New List (allows you to create a new recipient list from scratch not a good idea for a long list) 2. Use Existing List (allows you to import a contact list from a spreadsheet or database) 3. Select from Outlook Contacts (allows you to create your recipient list based on the contacts in your Outlook account) If you choose to type a new list a new window will appear asking you to enter the information, the window looks very much like a spreadsheet or database table 1. Click in the column box to add in recipient data 2. Use this button to add in a new recipient entry 3. If you don t want a recipient as part of your list anymore highlight the row and click this button 4. This button will bring you to a new window which will allow you to create new columns or delete ones you don t want Most likely however you will choose to use an existing list 1. Regardless of whether you are working from the Wizard or using the New way you will be asked to find your list 2. Browse your desktop and find the list you want to use 3. Import it 4. If you are using the wizard a new window will appear, if not you will have to click the Edit Recipient List button to bring up this window 5. The window will give you options to pick your the recipients your want in your mail merge list a. This area gives you options to sort the entries in your list or filter them so you can more easily pick the people you want b. Or if you don t want to do that you can use the check boxes to include the people you want and the ones you don t want 6. When you are satisfied click OK

4 4 of 4 Step IV: Write Your Letter Now you can write your letter. Write your letter as normal but when you come to a part of the letter where you normally would put a name or address or any other information about a person it indicates to you that a merge field belongs there. To add recipient information click on the location you would like to add it to and select one of the items listed in the Wizard or in the Write & Insert Fields Area Choose from one of the default fields or a field from your database and add it in your document Address Block Greeting Line You will now you have a merge field in your document because text will appear surrounded by two triangle brackets (eg. <<Address Block>>) Once you have written your letter and have inserted all the necessary merge fields it is time to move on and preview it STEP V: Preview Your Letter Before printing it is probably a good idea to preview the merged letter to make sure that the merged fields display the information you want. If you are working from the Wizard use the arrow buttons to go back and forth between the different recipients. If you are using the new way you have to make sure that the Preview Results button is clicked in the Preview Results Area before you use the arrow keys to go between the different recipients. Once you are satisfied with how everything looks you can me on to finally completing the mail merge. Step VI: Complete Mail Merge In this step you can edit individual letters by using the Finish & Merge drop-down button in the Finish Area or the option presented in the last step of the wizard.

5 5 of 5 You can also print all the letters from the same button or step by clicking on Print instead and selecting which letter to print from all to current or specific pages. Word will take all those merge fields and fill them in with information when you print the pages. Congratulations you have just completed a mail merge. Labels and Envelopes Without the Merge Feature Labels and envelopes can be created with or without the mail merge feature. Creating labels WITHOUT using mail merge is useful if you want to create a full page of the same label or don t think you want to reuse the data From the Mailings tab, find the Create Area and either click on the Envelopes or Labels buttons A new window will appear 1. Will show a preview of the label paper or envelope you have selected 2. Will allow you to change how you want the labels to be printed 3. This button allows you to change the type of envelope or label paper you are using 4. Will open up the page in a new document so you can edit and add your address 5. IMPORTANT: If you want an address to appear on all the labels type it in this area If you have decided not to open a new document print the document from this window If you have decided to open a new document add the text in the new document then save or print it Labels and Envelopes with Mail Merge The nice thing about using mail merge and envelopes is that the process is essentially the same except for at the start. Instead of at the start of the wizard or from the Start Mail Merge drop-down menu choosing a letter you will choose an envelope or label instead. The process after that is the same. You go about setting up your labels and the choosing the correct format then after that just as with the letters adding the fields and previewing them before finally printing it.