Do you have a long list of names and addresses you need to send letters to? The mail merge process combines a word document with a data source to quickly create letters that feel personal.
configure and choose the document type
To begin the mail merge process, you must first choose what type of document you want to create.
- click the mails tab.
- click the start mail merge button.
- select step-by-step mail merge wizard.
The mail merge panel appears on the right, ready to guide you through the mail merge.
The mail merge wizard proceeds to the next step.
select a document
The next step is to select a starting document.
- select an initial document.
You can use the current document as the basis for the mail merge, or you can select a template or an existing document instead.
The mail merge wizard proceeds to step 3.
select recipients
Now, you’ll need to choose where you’ll get your address list from. this example uses an existing list from a database, but you can also select outlook contacts or manually create your own list.
- select use an existing list.
- click explore.
- select your data file.
A mail merge recipient data file can be in a database file, an excel spreadsheet, another word document, or other types of data files.
The mail merge recipients dialog shows the addresses to use. If you are using an excel spreadsheet as the data source, you may also be prompted to select a spreadsheet that contains the addresses.
If there is an address you don’t want to use, you can uncheck it.
The mail merge wizard proceeds to step 4.
write your letter
After setting up the main document and connecting and editing the recipient list, you are ready to insert the merge fields into the document. merge fields are placeholders in the document for unique recipient list information.
When you put a merge field in the main document, the information in that field will appear for the document that is unique to that recipient.
- click where you want the information.
- select one of the placeholder options.
you can add merge fields from the wizard, or from the write & insert field group on the ribbon:
- address block: This is a combination of fields to insert the names and addresses of recipients.
- greeting line: This is a combination of fields to insert the recipient’s name in the greeting line.
- insert merge field: When you click this button, a list of additional merge fields appears that you can insert.
The mail merge wizard proceeds to step 5.
preview your mail merge
Sometimes it’s useful to see what the data will look like once it’s inserted into a document, rather than just seeing the names of the merge fields.
You can easily preview how your mail merge will appear before you finish the mail merge. this is recommended to ensure that the results appear the way you want.
- Use the arrow buttons in the mail merge panel to preview each merged document.
You can also use the arrow buttons in the preview results group on the ribbon.
Click the find recipient button in the preview results group or mail merge panel to search for a specific recipient.
The mail merge wizard advances to the last step.
complete merge
Once you’ve added the list of recipients and populated a document with merge fields, the last step is to finalize the merge by creating a separate version of the document for each recipient.
There are a couple of different ways to finish the mail merge:
- edit individual documents – Puts the results of the mail merge into a new document. you can edit the mail merge results and save and print them, just like any other document.
- print documents: Combines records and sends them directly to the printer.
- select the option you want to use to end the mail merge.
You can also click the finish & merge button on the ribbon and select a merge option there.
You also have the option to choose which records to merge. you can merge all records in the list, just the currently displayed record, or specify a range.
word combines the main document and data source information into a new word document, or combines it and sends it to the printer, depending on the option you choose.
- select an initial document.