Word 08 Mail Merge

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This quick guide provides the step by step directions for creating a

mail merge in Microsoft Word 2008. The guide provides

instructions for creating data merges in letters, labels, and

envelopes with tips and tricks along the way.

Purpose of Mail Merge

You use mail merge when you want to create a set of documents

that are essentially the same but where each document contains

unique elements. For example, in a letter about orientation, the

logo and text about orientation will stay consistent in each letter

and the address and greeting line will be different in each letter.

Using mail merge, you can create:



A set of labels or envelopes The return address is

the same on all the labels or envelopes, but the

destination address is unique on each one.



A set of form letters, e-mail messages, or faxes The basic content is the same in all the

letters, messages, or faxes, but each contains information that is specific to the individual

recipient, such as name, address, or some other piece of personal data.



Steps to creating a Mail Merge

To begin a Mail Merge, open Microsoft Word. On the Tools menu, select

Mail Merge Manager from the pull-down list. The Mail Merge Manager

palette will appear which provides step by step instructions for creating a

mail merge in a word document. To complete the Mail Merge, follow the

steps below.

Step 1: Select Document Type



Step 1 is to select the document type that you would like to create a merge in. Click the button

Create New to expand the options. Your options for the main document type are:



Form Letters: allows you to tailor one letter to many individuals



Labels: allows you to print labels with different addresses.



If you select this option, the Label Options dialogue box

appears.



From the Label products pull-down menu, select the brand

name of your labels



From the Product number scroll box, select the product

number of your labels



Click OK



Envelopes: allows you to print envelopes with different

addresses



Catalog: allows you to gather varied but related information

into a list. For example, list people’s names, office locations,

and phone numbers to create an organizational directory.

In This Guide

Overview .............................................. Page 1

Purpose of Mail Merge ....................... Page 1

Steps to Creating a Mail Merge ......... Page 1

Step 1: SelectDocument Type ......... Page 1

Step 2: SelectRecipients List............ Page 2

Step 3: Insert Placeholders ................ Page 2

Step 4: Filter Recipients ..................... Page 2

Step 5: Preview Results ..................... Page 3

Step 6: Complete Merge .................... Page 3

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Last Updated December 12, 2008

Information Technology Services • Ithaca College

Step 2: Select RecipientsList / Data Source

The options for data source are:



New Data Source: allows you to create your own list by

typing each recipient in a pop up window in Microsoft Word.



The Create Data Source dialogue box will appear.



In the Placeholder list text box, type the name of the field

you want to add if it is already not in the list to the right.



Click Add Placeholder



To remove a field from the data source, select the desired

field and click Remove Field Name



Click OK and save the data source.



Then after saving the data source, to add an entry, click Add

New and type in the information into the allotted slots.



Open Data Source: uses a previously saved list. Once you make this selection, a link will

appear. Clicking it takes you to the Choose a File dialog box where you can choose the file you

want to use that was previously saved on your computer.



When choosing an Excel file, locate the Excel workbook you will use for your list and click Open



When the Open Workbook dialogue box appears, choose the sheet and cell range that your

data is in



Office Address Book: uses your email contacts as recipients. You must use the email client

Entourage and have existing Contacts. Once you make this selection, Word retrieves your

Contacts in the form of an editable recipient list.

Step 3: Insert Placeholders

During this step you will be adding text and the variable information to your document through placeholders.

Word has created pre-formatted entries along with the fields from your recipient list. Once you have the text

that you want in your document, click with the cursor where you want to

insert the first field. In the Mail Merge Manager palette, under Insert

Placeholders, drag the field name that you want to use into the main

document. The options that appear are consistent with the fields in your

data source.

Repeat this step as many times as necessary to create the appropriate text

and merge fields that you want in the main document.

Placeholders, also referred to as Fields, are a subsection of a record,

such as a name or zip code. Fields can be big and contain the whole

address or small and break the address down into separate fields such as street address, state, and zip code.

Separating the fields allows you to use them as a group (the entire address at the top of a letter) or use them

individually (address the recipient by first and last name or first name alone).

Note: When you merge data, you can use as few or as many of the data fields as you want, and you can use

them in any order. Also, you can use each field multiple times.

Step 4: Filter Recipients

This step allows the user to Filter Recipients or select sub-set of

recipients. By clicking Options, the Query Options dialogue box will

appear. You can either Filter Records or Sort Records (images on next

page)



Filter Records allows you to select a field from the pull down of available fields from your data

source and select a comparison. For example, you can select title as a Field, equal to from the

Comparison pull down, and then type “Mr.” into the Compare to box and the data will be filtered

to only those with the title of “Mr.”

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Last Updated December 12, 2008

Information Technology Services • Ithaca College



Sort Records allows you to sort the data recipients into alphabetical order by ascending or

descending. You are allowed to sort the records up to three times. For example, first you may

choose to sort ascending by city, then you may choose to sort the lastname descending within

each city.

Step 5: Preview Results

Before you complete your merge, it is a good idea to preview your document with the merged information to

make sure it looks the way you intended. To preview the merged

document for each record, click <<>>ABC button in the

Preview Results section. This will initialize the Preview. You

can then browse through your document by clicking either

Previous or Next arrows. Also, manually typing in a number will move the preview to that specific record. For

example, a wanting to see the 40th

record would be quicker to type in the number 40 than scrolling through

with the arrows.

Based on what you see during the preview, you may decide to edit the document, edit the recipient list, or

exclude one or more recipients from the merge.

Step 6: Complete Merge

Once the document is complete to your satisfaction, you can

merge the documents to the printer or to a new file.

Merge to New Document, the document image icon, creates a

new document that contains the results of the merge. You can

print, save, or delete this new document without affecting either the main document or the data source

document.

Merge to Printer, the image with the printer, allows you to print the

merged documents. To print all merged documents click All in the

Complete Merge section, and click the left button, Merge to Printer.

Also, choosing Custom Record, will print what record is showing in

the document on the screen at that moment. Custom allows you to

pick a certain combination of merges