What is Mail Merge

What is Mail Merge

Mail Merge is a tool that allows you to easily produce personalized multiple letters, labels, labels and more using information stored in a list, database or spreadsheet.

To use mail merge:

• Select Mailings Tab on the Ribbon.
• Click on the Start Mail Merge command
• Choose Step by Step Mail Merge Wizard…

The Mail Merge Task Pane appears that will guide you through the six main steps to complete the task. You will have many decisions to make during the process. The following is an example of how to create a form letter and merge the letter with a data list.

• Select Letters for the document type in the Mail Merge Task Pane
• Click Next:Starting document at the bottom of the task pane to move to Step 2.
• Select the Starting Document. Choose Start from a template and then select any template from Letters tab for our example.
• Click Next:Select recipients at the bottom of the task pane to move to Step 3.
• Select Type a new list button, since we don’t have an existing list of recipients.
• Click on Create in the task pane to create a data source. A New Address List dialog box appears. 
• Enter the data only for the columns Title, First Name, Address Line1, City, Pin Code. Enter the complete name in the First Name column itself. Click New Entry to add more than one record.
• You may Customize the address list by clicking on the customize button. You can add new columns, delete the column you don’t need, rename a column or change the column order in the Customize Address List dialog box. For example, we will delete the columns Last Name, State and Country from the column list. Select these columns one by one and click delete button after each selection. You will need to confirm each deletion. After deleting all the required columns, rename the column ’First Name’ to ‘Name’. Click Ok to save the changes.
• After data entry, when you click OK, it asks for the file name and location. Provide the required information and click Save.
• The Mail Merge Recipients dialog box appears and displays all the records in the list. 
• You can refine the recipients list using sort, filter or other options available in the dialog box.
• Click OK once you have ensured that the data list is correct.
• Click Next:Write your letter to move to Step 4. 
• Since we had started with a template, we need not type any letter. Else, you can type a letter now if you don’t have one. 
• Also notice <> and <> in the letter. This is where the personalized information will appear in the completed letter after merging. 
• To see how to add these information, simply place your cursor where you want to insert the information. Click on Address Block or Greeting Line and a dialog box appears. Specify what and how you want the information to appear and Click OK. You can see a placeholder has appeared in the document. 
• You can display more fields by using the option More items… from the task pane and selecting the required field from the Insert Merge Field dialog box. 
• Once you have set all the place holders for the information and completed your letter, click Next: Preview your letters.  

Mail Merge – Setting Address Block 

• When you have previewed the letters to ensure that the information from the data records appeared correctly in the letter, click Next:Complete the Merge. 
• Click Print to print the letters. Select All and click OK.