Mail merge allows sending a standardized message to a large recipient list without manually typing each address. It involves: 1) Creating a spreadsheet contact list; 2) Linking the spreadsheet to a database in OpenOffice; 3) Writing a template letter in OpenOffice Writer and dragging database fields into the letter; 4) Printing or saving individualized letters for each recipient.

2. Mail merge is useful when we have to send a mail to a large number of
recipients without taking the trouble of typing the name and coordinates every
person on the list.
The Contact Details.
To start with the process, first we have to prepare the list of persons to
whom we want the mail to be send. To do that we will use Open Office Calc
and enter the name and details in the cells and save the file for later use.
After saving the file we have to go to link the saved file into a Database.
Setting up the Database
A Database is a collection of organized information in a regular structure.

3. To create a database in open office we have to use the database option present in it,
Click on that to start our Process.
After clicking on the Database option or by using the new menu within the calc we can
access it.
Then we will get the database window.

4. Well, here in our process we don’t have to create a new database, what we have to do is
connect our calc file, to do that click on the radio button on “Connect to an existing
database” and change JDBC to Spreadsheet from the scroll down option and click next to
proceed to the next step.

5. Browse for the file which we made earlier and link that to the database.
Click next and Make sure to register the database, to ensure that check whether the radio
button next to “Yes, Register the database for me” Is enabled. And we can also check on
“Open the Database for editing” option if we want to make changes to our database linked
file.

6. Click Finish and Save your Database file where you want to save it.
Your Saved file will look somewhat like this.
Now we have the contact details ready and we have successfully set up the database too, now
what we have to make is the Mail Content which we have to send to the recipients in the list
we made. To make that we will use Open office Writer and write the mail content.

7. THE MAIL AND THE DATABASE
Open up Writer and Prepare the Mail which we have to send to the people on the list.
To Enter the details of the students in the to field we can use the database which we created
earlier, to link the database to the file either go to
View  Data sources Or use F4.

8. After this On the newly opened bar, Select the database which you made earlier and go to
Tables  Sheet 1 and Click on it and we can see the details of the contacts which we entered
in the spread sheet displayed on the bar.
Now Drag the fields onto the mail and set the attributes where you want it to be
After setting up the fields, go to File  Print and a Message will came up as below
Press on Yes and we will be on the mail merge window.

9. We can either save the files in a single document or directly print it all out. Press Ok and
save the file. After completing the process, open the saved document and you can see that all
the names and coordinates have been applied to the fields as we set them.
That’s how we use mail merge option in Open office.