Mail merging on word

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Many day-to-day applications require similar documents containing similar text to be sent to a number of persons. These documents also have a typical common layout. Invitation letters sent to guests have a more-or-less common content and layout. Only the names of the recipients are different in these letters. One obvious way to generate such letters is to type all of them individually, putting the same amount of effort again and again. Another solution could be to copy the same block of text again and again onto the new letters. The names and addresses etc., which are different from each letter, can be entered separately in the documents. Though this method saves a lot of effort, it still requires proper caution. There should be a way where these kinds of documents can be prepared automatically. This task can be easily automated if we use the mail merge feature of a word processor. So, it is time we learnt the mail-merge feature of the word.

Components of mail merge: 

The three main components of the merging process are the main document, the data source, and the merged document.

1. The main document contains the main body of your letter, field names, and merges instructions. The basic information within the main document remains equivalent.
2. The data source (or Recipients’ list) stores the knowledge that changes for every document. This information is inserted in the main document one by one. An example of the data source is a name and address list from which the program gets what you want to include in the main document.
3. The merged document contains the main text from the main document and data from a data source.

Steps for mail merger: 

Step 1:

• Open MS Word and click on the command sequence: Mailings tab → Start mail merge group → Select recipients button → Type new List.

• A dialog namely “New Address List” will pop up(as shown in the below image). Type here the desired data under the given headings. To add a new record, click on the “New Entry” button at the bottom of the dialog and click OK when you are done.

Step 2: Prepare Master Letter

The second step is to prepare our master letter for use in the mail merge.  Before we enter all the letter text we’d like to link this Word file to our list of names.

• Create a blank word document.
• Click Mailings tab → Start Mail Merge group → Start Mail Merge → Letters command.

• Then click the Mailings tab → Start Mail Merge group →  Select Recipients button → Use Existing List command.

• Now we can start typing the letter.
• Now we would like to add the name and address and other details for the people on the list.
• Mailings tab→ Write & Insert Field group → Insert Merge Field button.
• A pop-down will appear showing all the table headings, so choose Title and press the spacebar to create a space.

Then do this again and choose FirstName, followed by a space (i.e., press only spacebar key and no other key); then choose LastName but this time press the Enter key to create a new line. Then repeat the steps to choose the Address field, and press enter key. 

Step 3:

Before we actually carry out the merge, we must first preview what the merged letters will look like.

• Mailings tab→ Preview Results group → Preview Results button

• Once we are happy with the preview, you can carry out the actual mail merge.
• To do this you click the Mailings tab →  Finish group → Finish & Merge button and choose Edit Individual Documents.

• In the Merge to New Document panel, click All to create a separate letter for each person on the Names list. Word then creates a fresh document with as many pages as there are names on your list, and every page contains a wonderfully merged letter with all the correct individuals’ details.

• We can save this with an appropriate name, such as ABC.docx

Sample Problems

Question 1: What is a mail merge?

Solution:

Mail Merge, a popular tool for personalizing printed letters, is nowadays also available for emails. Google Mail, Google Sheets make it happen for all Google domain-based emails.

Question 2: what are the uses of mail merge?

Solution:

• Writing a letter to a customer to tell them about upcoming offers or inform about some changes in business context.
• Mailshot for sending out a survey to a large number of people.
• Invoices
• School names on to the certificate
• Personal

Question 3: Give the advantage of mail merge?

Solution:

• Once the merge has been found out , thousands of letters are often produced very quickly.
• Easier to check for spelling errors as we need to check and correct at one place only; all letters will show the changes.
• Letters can be personalized.
• A standard letter can be saved and reused.
• In male merge, we can reuse the same data source, and it reduces the risk of errors.

Question 4: What are the main components of the Mail Merge process?

Solution:

• The main document.
• The data source.
• The merged document.

Question 5: How many files are created in Mail Merge?

Solution:

There are two files created in Mail Merge. The first file is called the source file that contains the content of the main document and the second file is known as the data source file that contains the name, address and other important details of the beneficiary.

Question 6: Can we insert an attachment when performing a merge to an e-mail message?

Solution:

No, we cannot insert an attachment when performing a merge to an email message.

Question 7: In Mail Merge, multiple copies of the merged document are often printed.

Solution:

TRUE

Do you have a long list of names and addresses that 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.

Set up and Choose Document Type

To begin the mail merge process, you first need to choose what sort of document you want to create.

1. Click the Mailings tab.
2. Click the Start Mail Merge button.
3. Select Step-by-Step Mail Merge Wizard.

   The Mail Merge pane appears on the right, ready to walk you through the mail merge.

4. Select a type of document to create.
5. Click Next: Starting document.

   

The Mail Merge wizard advances to the next step.

Select a Document

This next step is to select a starting document.

1. Select a starting document.

   You can use the current document as the basis for the mail merge, or you can select a template or existing document instead.

2. Click Next: Select recipients.

   

The Mail Merge wizard moves on to step 3.

Select Recipients

Now, you will need to choose where you’ll get your list of addresses from. This example uses an existing list from a database, but you can also select Outlook contacts or manually create your own list.

1. Select Use an existing list.
2. Click Browse.

   

3. Select your data file.

   A data file of mail merge recipients can be in a database file, an Excel spreadsheet, another Word document, or other types of data files.

4. Click Open.

   The Mail Merge Recipients dialog box displays the addresses that will be used. If you’re using an Excel spreadsheet as a data source, you may also be prompted to select a worksheet containing the addresses.

   If there’s an address you don’t want to use, you can uncheck it.

   

5. Make sure the right recipients are selected and click OK.
6. Click Next: Write your letter.

   

The Mail Merge wizard moves on to step 4.

Write Your Letter

After the main document is set and the recipient list is connected and edited, you are ready to insert the merge fields in the document. The merge fields are placeholders in the document for unique information from the recipients list.

When you put a merge field in the main document, information from that field will appear for the document that is unique to that recipient.

1. Click where you want the information.
2. Select one of the placeholder options.

   You can add merge fields from the wizard, or from the Write & Insert Fields 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 you can insert appears.

     

3. Customize the placeholder.
4. Click OK.
5. (Optional) Repeat steps to add each merge field you want to include.
6. Click Next: Preview your letters.

   

The Mail Merge wizard moves on to step 5.

Preview Your Mail Merge

Sometimes, it is helpful to see what the data will look like once it has been inserted into a document, instead of only viewing the merge field names.

You can easily preview how the mail merge will appear before finishing the mail merge. This is encouraged to make sure the results appear as you want them to.

1. Use the arrow buttons in the Mail Merge pane 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 in the Mail Merge pane to search for a specific recipient.

2. Click Next: Complete the merge.

   

The Mail Merge wizard moves on to the final step.

Complete the Merge

Once you’ve added the list of recipients and filled out a document with merge fields, the last step is to finish the merge by making a separate version of the document for each recipient.

There are a couple of different ways you can finish the mail merge:

• Edit Individual Documents: Puts the results of the mail merge in a new document. You are free to edit the results of the mail merge and save and print them, just like any other document.
• Print Documents: Merges records and sends them directly to the printer.

1. Select the option you want to use to finish the mail merge.

   You can also click the Finish & Merge button on the ribbon and select a merge option there.

   You’re also given the option to choose which records to merge. You can merge all the records in the list, only the currently displayed record, or specify a range.

2. Select the records you want to merge.
3. Click OK.

   

Word merges the main document and the information from the data source into a new Word document, or merges it and sends it to the printer, based on the option you chose.

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Perform a Mail Merge in Microsoft Word to Generate Form Letters for Bulk Mailings

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated January 10, 2021

Applies to: Microsoft^® Word^® 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 (Windows)

You can use mail merge in Microsoft Word to create form letters, labels, envelopes and even a catalog or directory. In this article, we’ll review the process for creating form letters for multiple contacts or clients. You’ll need to create a main document or letter in Microsoft Word and then connect to a data set of names and addresses in a Word document, Excel worksheet, delimited file or database like Microsoft Access. When you run the mail merge, you have the option of creating a new merged file (which would include a letter for each contact) or merge directly to a printer.

Recommended article: How to Create Labels in Word Using Mail Merge and Excel Source Data

Do you want to learn more about Word? Check out our virtual classroom or live classroom Word courses >

Understanding the mail merge process for form letters

There are 7 steps in the mail merge process to create form letters in Word:

1. Start the merge and specify the main document for the letter.
2. Select the source file containing the data set with names and addresses. Microsoft refers to a data set or database as a list. It’s best to create this file before you begin the mail merge process.
3. Insert fields into the letter and any other required content (such as the body of the letter and signature).
4. Format the letter.
5. Select specific recipients or filter the recipient list (optional).
6. Preview the merged letter (optional).
7. Run the mail merge.

During the mail merge process, fields are inserted into the main document and appear in carets (such as <<FirstName>>). By default, when you click in a field, it is displayed with grey shading. When you run the merge, the fields are replaced by data from the source file.

In this article, we’ll be using the Mailings tab in the Ribbon to set up and run a mail merge (not the Mail Merge Wizard):

Step 1: Start the merge and specify the main document

The first step in the mail merge process is to start the merge using Start Mail Merge on the Mailings tab in the Word Ribbon:

To start the merge and specify the main document as a form letter:

1. Create a new blank document or open a Word document containing a sample letter.
2. Click the Mailings tab in the Ribbon and then click Start Mail Merge in the Start Mail Merge group.
3. From the drop-down menu, select the type of document you want to create. In this case, select Letters. By default, Word uses the current document. At this point, you may want to insert other components such as a date, the body of the letter and a signature.

Step 2: Select the source file containing the data set

The next step is to connect to a source file containing a list of names and addresses using Select Recipients. The source file can be a Microsoft Word document containing a table or delimited data, Excel worksheet or even a table or query in a database such as Microsoft Access. For Word tables and Excel spreadsheets, the first row in the table or worksheet must contain field names such as FirstName, LastName, Company, Address and so on. In a Word source file, there cannot be any paragraphs above the table or data. You can also use a comma or tab delimited file as long as the first line in the document contains field names. In delimited files, the field names and data are separated by a delimiter such as a comma or tab.

Select Recipients appears on the Mailings tab in the Ribbon:

In the following example, note that the field names are in the first row of a Word table which will be used as a source:

In the following Excel example, note that the field names are in the first row of the worksheet which will be used as a source:

To select a Microsoft Word source file containing a table with names and addresses:

1. In the main Word document, click the Mailings tab in the Ribbon and then click Select Recipients in the Start Mail Merge group. A dialog box appears.
2. Click Use an Existing List from the drop-down menu. A dialog box appears.
3. Navigate to the Word file containing the names and addresses you want to use.
4. Double-click the file.

To select a Microsoft Excel source file containing a worksheet with names and addresses:

1. In the main Word document, click the Mailings tab in the Ribbon and then click Select Recipients in the Start Mail Merge group. A dialog box appears.
2. Click Use an Existing List from the drop-down menu. A dialog box appears.
3. Navigate to the Excel file containing the names and addresses you want to use.
4. Double-click the file. A dialog box appears.
5. Ensure First row of data contains column headers is checked.
6. Click the Excel worksheet containing the data you wish to use.
7. Click OK.

The following dialog box appears when you select an Excel file as the source for a merge:

Step 3: Insert fields from the source file

Once you have connected to a source file, you can insert fields into the main document or letter. You have the option of using special Word fields such as Address Block and Greeting Line (for example, to insert Dear John) or inserting individual fields.

Address Block and Greeting Line appear as follows in the Ribbon:

To insert the Address Block field:

1. Click in the main document where you want to insert an address block.
2. Click the Mailings tab in the Ribbon and then click Address Block in the Write & Insert Fields group. A dialog box appears. Word will display an address based on the source data.
3. In the samples on the left, select the address sample you prefer.
4. Check or uncheck other options if necessary.
5. Click OK. Word inserts an Address Block field into the main document.

For Address Block, select a sample address in the area on the left in the Insert Address Block dialog box:

To insert a Greeting Line field:

1. Click in the main document where you want to insert a greeting.
2. Click the Mailings tab in the Ribbon and then click Greeting Line in the Write & Fields group. A dialog box appears. Word will display a greeting based on the source data.
3. Select greeting line options for the Greeting line format.
4. Select an option for invalid recipient names.
5. Click OK. Word inserts a Greeting Line field into the main document.

For Greeting Line, select greeting line options in the Insert Greeting Line dialog box:

To insert fields individually:

1. Click in the main document where you want to insert a field (such as FirstName).
2. Click the Mailings tab in the Ribbon and then select Insert Merge Field in the Write & Insert Fields group.
3. From the drop-down menu, select the field you want to insert.
4. Press the spacebar, type text or press Enter if necessary.
5. Repeat for other fields you want to insert.

Step 4: Format the letter

You may need to apply formatting to the letter such as changing the font and size and adjusting paragraph spacing.

It’s common for an Address Block field or address lines to have extra paragraph spacing above and / or below lines in the address when the results are previewed or printed. This is caused by default settings for space above and below paragraphs.

To remove the paragraph spacing:

1. Select the Address Block field or other lines (often in the address if you have inserted individual fields).
2. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon and select the dialog box launcher on the bottom right of the Paragraph group.
3. Select Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style. Alternatively, change the space above and below the paragraph(s).
4. Click OK.

Step 5: Select specific recipients or filter the recipient list (optional)

You have the option of specifying specific recipients or filtering the recipient list if you don’t want to create form letters for all contacts in the data source.

To choose specific contacts:

1. Click the Mailings tab in the Ribbon and then click Edit Recipient List in the Start Mail Merge group. A dialog box appears.
2. Uncheck the check boxes beside the recipients you do not want to include in the mail merge.
3. Click OK.

To filter the source list:

1. Click the Mailings tab in the Ribbon and then click Edit Recipient List in the Start Mail Merge group. A dialog box appears.
2. Click Filter. A dialog box appears.
3. Select / enter the desired filtering options.
4. Click OK.

For example, below is a filter to display records from Toronto:

To remove the filter, repeat the process, but click Clear All in the Filter and Sort dialog box.

Step 6: Preview the results (optional)

Before you run the mail merge, you can preview the results:

1. In the main document, click the Mailings tab in the Ribbon and then click Preview Results in the Preview Results group.
2. Click the arrows in the Preview Results group to go to the next or previous letter.
3. Click Preview Results to view the fields again.

Step 7: Run the mail merge for letters

The final step is to run the merge. You can either create a new merged document or merge directly to a printer.

To run the letter mail merge in the main document and create a new merged document:

1. Click the Mailings tab in the Ribbon and then click Finish & Merge in the Finish group. A drop-down menu appears.
2. Click Edit Individual Documents. A dialog box appears.
3. Click Current Record or enter a selected range if necessary.
4. Click OK. Word creates a new merged document that you can edit, print and save. Each letter will appear on a new page in a new section.

The following dialog box appears when you select Edit individual documents.

To run the letter mail merge in the main document and print the merged documents:

1. Click the Mailings tab in the Ribbon and click Finish & Merge in the Finish group. A drop-down menu appears.
2. Select Print Documents. A dialog box appears.
3. Click Current Record or enter a selected range if necessary.
4. Click OK. A dialog box appears.
5. Select the desired printer and other printer options.
6. Click OK.

The following dialog box appears when you select Print Documents:

You will typically want to save the main document and the source file. If you save the merged file, you will have a record of the letters that were created.

The process is similar for labels. The main document would be labels (usually a label type with a product code) and would connect to the source document in the same way.

This article was first published on December 9, 2019 and has been updated for clarity and content.

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Mail merge is a Microsoft Word feature that allows you to personalize a section for each copy of a similar document. It allows you to use a list of contacts or other pieces of a document stored in a database (could be a Word Mail Merge Lists, Excel Spreadsheets, access or other forms of databases). In other words, mail merge enables users to create a set of documents with a similar layout and content but with different information on some section(s). Also, learn how to change the embedded file name in Office documents?

Mainly, this feature is used to create identical
letters, labels or emails for different recipients. You can also use the tool
to personalize reports, newsletter or any other documents and email to
different contacts on your mailing list. Generally, mail merge can be useful
whenever you want to generate multiple output documents with some fixed content
like letterhead and specific parts with data varying depending on a particular
data source.

Different Components of Mail Merge

• Main
  Document – Word document with content that will be the same across all the
  output. It could be plain text, merge fields guiding text, company letterhead
  and so on.
• Data
  source – A database with a list of data that vary with each mail merge output
  (for example, recipients of your monthly newsletter).
• Merge
  Document – The resulting output when you merge the main document with the data
  source.

In this guide, we will show you how to use the mail
merge feature in MS Word.

Using Mail Merge in Microsoft Word

• Open a new Document, a template or an existing main document in Word to get started.
• Go to the “Mailings” menu and on the ribbon, click the “Start Mail Merge” arrow to expand.
• Select the last option “Step-by-step…” to start the mail merge wizard.

• This will open a Mail Merge wizard on the right edge of the document. Select the type of document you want to prepare and click “Next” at the bottom of the wizard.

Choosing Your Main Document

Here you need to select your starting document.

• If the current document is your main document, pick the first option and continue to add the recipient.
• In some cases, you may have a template that you use for your letters. If that is the case, check the template option and then click “Select template” to pick from your stored templates.

• When you have your main document ready, tick the existing document alternative and click the “Open” button to choose the specific file on your PC storage.

Note:
Once you pick a template or an existing file, the document loads and the option
switches to “Use the current document.”

Adding Data (Recipients) to Mail Merge

MS Word gives you three options to add data from the
source.

Select List from an Existing List

• You may have your data in a database (Excel, Access and so on). Choose “Use an existing list” click the “Browse” link to specify the list you want to merge.
• Select the data source and click “Ok” to add the list.

• You can add multiple data sources by clicking “Select a different list” link. Besides, on clicking the “Edit…” link, you can edit your list to select only the pieces of data that you are interested in.

Select List from your Outlook Contacts

• Choose the option to select recipient data from your Outlook mailing contacts.
• Click on “Choose Contacts Folder”, select your outlook profile and click the “Ok” button.

Create a List in Word

• The third option allows you to create a new list in MS Word for your mail merge.
• Click on “Type a new list” and then the create button on the lower section.
• This opens a table view where you can add and save your list of recipients.
• Type the recipients’ details and press “Ok” then save the document.

Editing the Main Document

• Now continue to the next page to edit the main document.
• If you picked a blank document, add your content to the document and set the location for merging data.
• Click the “Address Block” link to edit the order in which you want the recipient’s details to appear.
• Select your preferred style and click “Ok” to insert the address.

• Under the “Greeting lines” pick a salutation and click “Ok”.

• If you need to add more details, go to “More items” and insert extra fields.
• Once you are done, your document should look something like this.

Preview the Output Documents

• Click next to move to the preview wizard. Use the left and the right double arrows to preview the multiple personalized documents.

• You may find feature to look for a specific recipient. Once you have verified the details, click “Next” to complete the mail merge.

Mail Merge Keyboard Shortcuts

Here are some of the keyboard shortcuts when you use Mail Merge function.

Wrapping Up

If you want to send the same letter multiple recipients,
print labels or prepare a personalized but standard document, you can use mail
merge instead of creating as many documents as the number on your list. The
mail merge feature allows you to merge your main document with a data source to
end up with identical documents with unique details on some sections.