How To Simply Mail Merge

It sounds so difficult, but one of the most effective and efficient tools in Microsoft Word goes unused because too many people think they cannot do it. I use Mail Merge to write letters, address envelopes and labels. And that is just the beginning of what you can accomplish with Mail Merge. There are two components to mail merging: The database and the document.

Each year, I write welcome back letters to all staff for my boss. Here are the steps I take to set up a mail merge for this action:

The following steps were done using Office 2003 and Windows XP.

1. The first thing you need to decide is if you want to set your database up in Word or Excel. I do my database in Excel, because I do not have to build a table. So my instructions will be based on setting up the database in Excel. (You can easily follow along doing your database in Word.)
2. Open a new Microsoft Excel document and put in Headers, then put in your data (below is a sample of Headers I use in many of my databases):

   Lname Fname Address City State Zip

3. BE SURE to save your database and be sure you know where you saved it. I save my database in the My Data Sources folder in the My Documents folder. (You can save your database anywhere you want, but it is best to save your databases in the My Data Sources folder.) When you are done setting up your database, close it.
4. Open a new document in Microsoft Word. Go to View from the toolbar and from the drop down menu choose Task Pane. The Task Pane will show up on the right-hand side of your document.
5. Drop the menu bar down in your Task Pane and select Mail Merge. Here is where you will set up your Mail Merge Document. Staying with the task described above (my boss’s letters), we will choose Letters (which should already be selected by default). Notice though, that for future mail merge documents, you can also choose from Email Messages, Envelopes, Labels or Directory. So choose Letters and then click the link "Next: Starting document" at the bottom of the Task Pane.
6. When you click the link, you will be given three options:
• Use the current document – This is the one we will use for this tutorial.
• Start from a template – You can use this one if you want to use a template on your computer.
• Start from existing document – You can use this option if you already have a document that you want to use (this will save you from retyping material).
7. Be sure that "Use the Current Document" is selected and click the link "Next: Select recipients" at the bottom of the Task Pane (notice here that you also have the option to click Previous link so you can easily return to the previous step if needed).
8. Now you are going to Select recipients with the "Use an existing list" option.
9. Click the "Browse" link. A window will open and should automatically go to your My Data Sources Folder. Find your Database and select it by double-clicking it.
10. Another window will open asking you to select table. Sheet 1 should be selected. Click the OK button. Hit the "Next Link" at the bottom of the Task Pane.
11. Now comes the fun part. We are going to set up your letter with the data from your database. Put your cursor where you would put the inside address and select Address Block from the Task Pane. A pop-up menu will appear so that you can customize how you want the information to appear in the Address Block. For instance, do you want the name to appear as Mr. Joshua Randall or Joshua Randall? Do you want the company name to appear? Make your choices and look at the preview window to see if that is what you want.
12. Before you click OK, be sure to Match Fields (the bottom left-hand button). For the data to read correctly, the fields for the mail merge document must match the headers you used in your database.
13. Click OK once you are satisfied with your Address Block appearance. The following will appear <<AddressBlock>> on your document.
14. Now type your greeting line. Start by putting Dear then select "Greeting Line" from the Task Pane, then insert a comma or a colon. Again an option window will appear so that you can choose how you want your greeting to appear. Make sure your fields are correctly matching by using the Match Fields button.
15. Click OK once you are satisfied with your Greeting Line appearance. The following will appear Dear <<GreetingLine>>: on your document.
16. Now type your letter. When you are finished and satisfied, click the "Next: Preview your letters" link at the bottom of the Task Pane.
17. Now click the "Next: Complete the merge" link. With your document completed, BE SURE to SAVE your document.
18. At this time you can print your letters. Click the Print option in the Task Pane. You can choose to print all the records, current record or pick a range of records. Make your selection and say OK.
19. That is it. Your mail merge is complete.

Mail Merge is not a very difficult task as long as you correctly set up your database, mail merge document and match your fields. As data in your database changes, you can open your database and change it. When you do another mail merge using that database, the data is current and up to date. Also, you can use the same database for all sorts of mail merge documents. For instance, sometimes my boss wants a letter and envelopes to all staff and sometimes he just wants labels. I can create all of these using the same database. Good luck!