2. Table of Contents
Introduction to Mail Merge ..................................................................................................................1
Create Your Data Source Document in Excel......................................................................................2
How to Enter the Data .......................................................................................................................... 2
Using the Mail Merge Wizard...............................................................................................................3
Step 1 of 6: Select Document Type ...................................................................................................... 3
Step 2 of 6: Select Starting Document ................................................................................................. 4
Step 3 of 6: Select Recipients............................................................................................................... 4
Filtering and Sorting Data.................................................................................................................. 6
Step 4 of 6: Write Your Letter .............................................................................................................. 7
Insert an Address Block..................................................................................................................... 7
Preview Results.................................................................................................................................. 8
Inserting a Greeting Line ................................................................................................................... 8
Inserting Individual Merge Fields (More Items)................................................................................ 9
Matching Fields................................................................................................................................ 10
Step 5 of 6: Preview Your Letters....................................................................................................... 11
Step 6 of 6: Complete the Merge....................................................................................................... 12
Print ................................................................................................................................................. 12
Edit Individual Letters...................................................................................................................... 13
Quick Print While Previewing .......................................................................................................... 13
Using the Mailings Tab.........................................................................................................................14
Mailings Tab Overview........................................................................................................................ 14
Selecting a Starting Document............................................................................................................ 15
Selecting and Editing Recipients ......................................................................................................... 15
Adding Fields....................................................................................................................................... 16
Previewing and Finishing the Merge................................................................................................... 16
3. 1
Introduction to Mail Merge
Mail Merge is a methodof takingdata froma database or spreadsheetandinsertingitintoWorddocuments
such as letters,envelopesandlabelsusingMerge Fields.Inordertocreate a mail merge,twodocumentsare
needed: afile withthe dataor records (usuallyanExcel document) andaWord document containingboththe
instructionsforwhere toinsertthe individualizeddataandthe informationthatwill be identical acrosseachof
the lettersorlabels.
Beloware a fewdefinitionsof termsthatyou will see throughoutthismanual:
1. Data Source The source of informationthatisunique toeachindividualandchangesineach
mergeddocument.
2. Data Form An online formusedtoenterinformationintothe datasource. Each screenincludesall
the fieldsof adata record. Thisform enablesyoutoadd,delete,ormodifyrecordsin
the data source.
3. Field names Headingsforeachcolumnor category of informationinthe datasource
4. Merge fields Insertionpointsinthe maindocumentwheredatafieldsare merged.
5. Sort To place itemsina specificorder,eithernumericallyoralphabetically.
4. 2
Create Your Data Source Document in Excel
Create an Excel documentthatincludesall of the individualizedinformationthatneedstobe mergedintothe
Word document. Forinstance,name,address,courtdates,etc.
How to Enter the Data
The data in yourExcel document shouldbe organizedneatlyinto RowsandColumns.Thinkof each
row as a single recordandeach columnasa fieldyouare goingtoinsertintoyourdocument.
Create a Header Row that containslabelsthatwill identifythe datainthe cellsbelow. Laterwhenyou
are mergingthe datawith the main document,the labelswill appearasthe namesof the merge fields,
so there will be noconfusionastowhat data youare insertingintoyourdocument.
Break your fieldsdowninto the smallestpossible values to give youmore flexibilitywhenentering
your data fieldsintoyourWorddocument. Forexample,create aseparate fieldforFirstandLast
namesand breakthe City,State and ZIPof an addressintoseparate fieldsaswell.
An example of whyyouwanttobreakthe informationintosmallvaluesisthatyoumightwant to refer
to the Firstname of an individualinasalutationandthenuse the Firstand Last namesinthe address
block.
The data you intendtouse for the mail merge shouldbe on one Sheet.
5. 3
Using the Mail Merge Wizard
The Word documentwill serve asatemplate foryourcustomizedmergeddocuments. Itcontainseverything
that will staythe same foreach documentof the merge.
Step 1 of 6: Select Document Type
1. OpenWordand then openthe file youare usingforyour merge, or create a new,blankdocumentif
youare startingfrom scratch.
2. On the Mailingstab inthe Start Mail Merge group,clickStart Mail Merge and selectStepby Step
Mail Merge Wizard. The Mail Merge task pane will appearonthe rightside of the window.
3. Selectdocument type is the 1st stepof the mail merge wizard. The mostcommon mail merge uses
are for letters, envelopes and labels. Forthisexample,we’ll be creatingaformlettersowe’ll leave
the optionbuttonnexttoLetters selected.
4. At the bottom of the task pane, click the Next: Starting document link andStep2 will appearinthe
task pane.
6. 4
Step 2 of 6: Select Starting Document
1. Selectstarting documentis the 2nd stepof the Mail Merge
Wizard. For thisexample,we’regoingto use the blank
opendocumentwe are currentlyinso we’ll leave the
optionbuttonnexttoUse the current documentselected.
2. At the bottomof the taskpane, clickthe Next:Select
recipientslinkandStep3 will appearinthe task pane.
Step 3 of 6: Select Recipients
1. Selectrecipientsisthe 3rd stepof the Mail Merge Wizard. Thisstepiswhere youmake the
connectiontoyourData Source,inthiscase an Excel Spreadsheet. Keepthe optionbuttonnexttoUse
an existinglistselected.
2. In the Use an existinglistarea,clickthe Browse link and the SelectData Source
windowopens.
3. Navigate tothe Excel documentthatcontainsthe data that youwant to merge intothe letter and
selectit.
4. ClickOpenand the SelectTable window will open.
7. 5
5. If you have namedthe sheetsinyourExcel document,youwill see the namesof the sheetsinthe
window. Inthisexample,Ihave notrenamedthe sheetssoyousee the generic(Sheet1,Sheet2and
Sheet3) namesinthe window. Each worksheetinan Excel spreadsheetisregarded as a Table. My
source data is inSheet1soI’m goingto select Sheet1$.
6. Make sure that the checkbox next to First row of data contains column headersis checked.
7. ClickOK andthe Mail Merge Recipientswindow opens.
The Mail Merge Recipientswindow allowsyoutoview,selectandfilterthe recipientsfromyourdatasource.
The informationispresentedasa table thatcan be sortedbycolumnS.
8. ClickOK to close the Mail Merge Recipientswindow.
Note: Don’tforgetto Save yourdocumentas youare workingonit to ensure youdon’tlose
any of your work.
8. 6
Filtering and Sorting Data
You don't have tocreate a separate Source Data file foreachmerge that youwantto perform.Youcan modify
your merge duringthe merge process by filteringandsortingthe records.
To Sort or Filter,youwill needtobeginbyreopeningthe Mail Merge Recipientwindow. Clickthe Edit
RecipientsListcommand onthe Mailingstabin the Start Mail Merge group.
Filtering Filteringallowsyoutochoose onlyspecificrecordsfromthe Data Source to merge intothe
form. For example,youmightbe usingaData Source that has informationfor50 clients but
youonlyneedtocreate lettersfor10 of them.
1. Addingorremovingcheckmarksaddsor removesrecipientsfromthe merge list.
Sorting Sortingisa wayof changingthe orderinwhichrecords are listed.Bysortingrecordsyoucan
organize the data sothat you can workwiththe data more easily.Youcan alsocontrol the
orderin whichthe merged documents are printed.
2. In the Mail Merge Recipients window,clickingthe columnheadings(suchas Last
Name) sortsthe listinascendingorderaccordingto the informationinthatcolumn.
Clickingthe columnheadingsagainsortsthe listindescendingorder. (Note: This
doesnotchange the waythe informationissortedinthe DataSource document – the
Excel documentinthiscase).
9. 7
Step 4 of 6: Write Your Letter
Write your letteris the 4th stepof the Mail Merge Wizard.
1. At the bottomof the taskpane, clickthe Next:Write your letterlinkandthe Wizardopensthe Write
your Letter task pane.
Thisis the stepwhere youwrite the letter,insertthe merge fields,andlayoutandformatthe letter. Youcan
specifywhichfieldsyouwanttoinclude inthe letter. Inthisexample,we will follow the “Addressblock…,”
“Greetingline…,”and“More items…”linkstoplace merge fieldsintothe formletter.
Insert an Address Block
We’ll beginthisstepbyinsertingan AddressBlock inthe document.
1. Start by placingyourcursor inthe Word documentwhere youwantthe AddressBlock inserted.
2. In the Mail Merge pane, clickthe Addressblock link andthe InsertAddress Block window appears.
3. The scrollinglistinthe Insertrecipient’sname in this format window containsvariouscombinationsof
formatsfor names,whichincludeswaysof addressingthe recipient. (The scrollinglistis disabledwhen
the checkbox isunchecked). Selectthe formatthat youwouldlike touse fromthe scrollinglist. Note
the previewpane.
4. Make sure the checkbox nextto Insert postal addressremainschecked.
5. ClickOK and the AddressBlock placeholderis insertedintoyourformletter:
Note: Our data source doesnothave a company name fieldora countryor regionfieldso
those optionsare grayedout.
10. 8
Preview Results
You can previewwhatthe letterwilllooklike atanypointbyclickingthe PreviewResultsoption onthe ribbon.
Inserting a Greeting Line
1. In the Mail Merge pane,clickthe Greetingline… linkandthe InsertGreetingLine window appears.
2. The Greeting line for invalid recipient names field contains text that will appearforanyrecord
that doesnot have validdata for thisfield (orwhenthere isno first or last name field). You can
choose DearSir or Madam, To Whom It May Concern:or just a blankline,listedas(none).
3. The preview fieldshowsasample greetingline basedonthe optionsthatyouhave selected.
4. When youhave completedselectingyouroptionsforthe Greetingline clickOKand the GreetingLine
placeholderisinsertedintoyourformletter.
11. 9
Inserting Individual Merge Fields (More Items)
You are nowreadyto write the bodyof your letter where you’lladdadditionalmerge fieldsfromthe Insert
Merge Fieldwindow.
1. In thisexample,I’mgoingtoadda reference linebetweenthe AddressBlockandthe Greeting Line.
I’ve addedspace betweenthe AddressBlockandGreetingline tomake room forthe reference line
and addedthe textthatI want to appearbefore the Merge field.
2. The nextstepisto click onthe More items… linktobringup the Insert Merge Fieldwindow.
3. The two optionbuttonsallowyoutoselectfromeitherthe AddressFieldsorDatabase Fields. By
default,the Database Fieldsbuttonwillbe active.
AddressFieldsconsistsof typical fieldsthatare usedby Word inaddresses.
Database Fieldscontainthe specificfields(columnheaders) of yourdatasource.
Keepthe optionbuttonnexttoDatabase Fieldsselected.
4. Selectthe fieldthatyouwantto insertandclickthe Insert button. You can alsodouble-clickthe field
to insertitintoyour document.
5. Once you have enteredafieldintothe document,the Cancel buttonatthe bottomof the windowwill
change to a Close button. Whenyou are done insertingfields,clickthe Close button.
6. Continue typingthe textof yourdocumentandenteringthe Merge fieldsusingthe stepsabove until
youhave completedyourdocument.
12. 10
Matching Fields
You may have noticedthatthe Match Fields…buttonisan optionin the windows usedtoinsertfields.
To openthe Match Fieldswindowyoucan:
1. Clickthe Match Fieldscommandon the
Mailingstab inthe Write & Insert Fields
group.
- OR - 2. Clickthe Match Fieldsbuttonwhile
youhave one of the Insert windows
open.
The Match Fieldswindowestablishesacorrespondence betweenthe general fieldsof Wordandthe specific
fieldsof the Data Source.
The Match Fieldswindow allowsyoutosee how AddressFieldsare matchedto columnsinyour Data Source.
Thismatchingis done eitherautomaticallyby Wordor specificallybyyouthroughthe Match Fields window.
Each row inthe scrollingframe hasa drop-downbox thatcontainsthe name of each column(field) of the Data
Source as well asan optionthat reads(not matched).
Word will pre-selectthe optionineachdrop-down
box that bestmatchesthe name of the general
addressfield. If Worddoesnotmake a match,
then(notmatched) isselected. Youcan match
themmanuallybyusingthe drop-downfields.
Note: If you have a fieldinyour Data Source
calledTitle, Wordwill pre-selectthe Title option
inthe drop-downbox forCourtesyTitle,evenif
youmeantTitle to correspondtothe Word field
calledJobTitle.
13. 11
Step 5 of 6: Preview Your Letters
Previewingyourletters is the 5th stepof the Mail Merge Wizard. Previewingthe merge isuseful inthatyou
can ensure thatthe informationfromyourdatasource ismergedcorrectly
1. At the bottomof the taskpane,clickthe Next:Previewyour letters linkandthe Wizardopensthe
Previewyour letterspane.
2. You may previewandcycle throughyourlistof recipientsbyusingthe navigationbuttonsinthe top
sectionof the pane. Clickthe arrow buttonsto go to the previousornext recordinthe list.
3. Clickthe Finda recipientlinktolocate a particularrecord.
4. If you wantto add recipientstothe list,youcanclick the Edit recipientlist… linktobringupthe Mail
Merge Recipientswindow.
5. Clickingthe Exclude thisrecipientbuttonwill removethe recordthatisbeingpreviewedfromthe list.
Note: If you findthatyouhave made a mistake inplacingyourmerge fieldsor inmatching
the fieldstoyourData Source,in the Mail Merge pane,clickthe Previous:Write Your
Letter linkso youcan work inthe previouspane.
14. 12
Step 6 of 6: Complete the Merge
Complete the merge is the 6th and final stepof the Mail Merge Wizard.
1. At the bottomof the taskpane,clickthe Complete the merge linkandthe Wizard opensthe Complete
the merge pane.
At thispoint,you have twochoicesforproducingthe letters:
Print… Sendthe completedlettersdirectlytothe printer.
Edit individual letters… Create a separate documentcontainingthe
completedletters.
Print
To print:
1. In the Mail Merge taskpane, clickthe Print… link. The Merge to Printer window opens.
2. Make sure the optionbuttonnextto All isselectedinordertomerge all recordsor selecta printrange.
3. ClickOK and yourprinterwindowappears. Checkyourprintsettings,andprintyourletters.
15. 13
Edit Individual Letters
Some people preferthe Editindividual lettersoption overthe Printoptionbecause itallowsthemto review
the lettersone lasttime before sendingthemtothe printer.
To editindividual letters:
1. In the Mail Merge taskpane,clickthe Edit individual letters… link. The Merge to NewDocument
windowopens.
2. Make sure the optionbuttonnextto All isselectedinordertomerge all recordsor selecta printrange.
3. ClickOK and a newdocument,usuallynamedLetters1,opens withaseparate page foreach letter.
You can customize,save andprintthisdocumentjustlike youwouldwithanyotherWorddocument.
Quick Print While Previewing
You can quicklyprintan individual recordthatyouare Previewingatany time. Inthe example below,Ionly
needtoprintrecord 5. Insteadof clickingthe Finish&Merge option,Ican printthe document while
previewingitjustlike anyotherWord document.
16. 14
Using the Mailings Tab
Althoughthe Mail Merge Wizard isgreat forcreatingbasic documents,youmaywantto use the Mail Merge
toolsindependentlyof the Wizard. (Youcanalso use the Mailingstabto enhance a Wizard-createdmerge.) In
thissection,we’ll lookathowto manuallyinsertfieldsintoyourdocumentandperformamail merge without
the Wizard.
Mailings Tab Overview
1. Create Envelopes Clickthisbuttonto open the EnvelopesandLabels window
that will allow youtocreate envelopes.
Labels Clickthisbuttonto open the EnvelopesandLabels window
that will allow youtocreate labels.
2. Start Mail
Merge
Start Mail Merge Choose whatkindof Mail Merge you wantto start.
SelectRecipients Choose the source foryour recipientlist.
Edit RecipientList Make changesto yourrecipientlist.
3. Write &
Insert Fields
HighlightMerge Fields Highlightfieldsthatwill be mergedtoeachrecord.
AddressBlock Create and insertanAddressBlockmerge field.
GreetingLine Create and insertaGreetingLine merge field.
Insert Merge Field Insertothertypesof merge fields.
Rules Create rulesforan advancedmerge.
Match Fields Match fieldsinyourrecipientlisttomerge fields.
Update Labels If you are creatinglabelsandhave made anychanges,click
thisbuttonto update them.
4. Preview
Results
PreviewResults Preview yourmerge.
Navigate throughmergedrecords.
FindRecipient Finda particularrecipient.
Auto Check for Errors Checkyour mail merge forproblems.
5. Finish Finishand Merge Complete the merge.
17. 15
Selectinga StartingDocument
If you’re performingamail merge onyour own,youshouldchoose astartingdocumentsothat Word givesyou
the appropriate options.Simplyclickthe StartMail Merge buttonand choose the documenttype.
Selectingand Editing Recipients
To choose yourrecipients,clickthe SelectRecipients buttononthe Mailingstabandthenchoose a source for
your recipientlist.
Once you choose a source,youwill see adialog box promptingyouformore information.If youeverneedto
editthe list,click EditRecipientList(nexttoSelectRecipients).
Note: If you are usingan Excel documentthatcontainsyourdata source,choose the Use
ExistingList… optionandthenbrowse forthe Excel document justas we didwiththe
Mail Merge Wizard.
18. 16
Adding Fields
To add fields,place yourcursorwhere youwantthe fieldtoappear inthe documentandclickany fieldname in
the Write and Insert Fields groupof the Mailingstab.
You will thenbe promptedtocustomize thatelement,just aswe didwiththe Mail Merge Wizard.
Previewingand Finishingthe Merge
To previewthe resultsof yourmerge,clickthe PreviewResults button. Thiscommandcanbe toggledonand
off,givingyouaneasyway to checkwhat the finishedproductwill looklike.
Once your documentisreadyto be merged,click the Finishand Merge buttonand choose youroption justas
we didwiththe Mail Merge Wizard.
