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Of all the tools available in your word processing package,
mail merge is one of the most useful. The software lets you
create personalised letters automatically by combining a list of
names with a document, but it can do more than that.
What is mail merge?
The basis of any mail merge is a list of repetitive data such as
names and addresses, which you then merge with any standard
document - typically a letter. The result is a series of
personalised documents, such as individually addressed letters or
labels.
This is how to create a mail merge in Microsoft Word 2003 and in
Word 2007 on a PC. In Word 2003, start with a new document and
choose Tools > Letters and Mailings > Mail Merge. This
opens the task pane, which is a step-by-step process for creating
a mail merge. In Word 2007, start with a new document open,
select the Mailings tab and choose Start Mail Merge >
Step-by-Step Mail Merge Wizard. This displays the same wizard
that you see in Word 2003.
From here on, both programs work the same way.
Start by selecting the document type, which can be letters, email
messages, envelopes, labels or a directory. For now, choose
Letters and click Next. Select Use the current document and then
Next to decide on the recipients. Use Existing List and then
Browse will open an Excel file that contains the names and
addresses you need or an Access data file. You can also add a
series of Outlook contacts via Select from Outlook Contacts and
then click on the relevant folder. When you assign a list you
will see the entries appear - you can deselect any that you do
not want to send the message to.
If you don't have your list on your computer, select Type a new
list and click Create. The standard list includes title, first
name, last name, company name and various other details, but you
can amend these with the Customize Columns option, and set up
field names for those details that you want to use for the merge.
You can then type the information into your new list.
Make sure that if you plan to send your merge letter via regular
mail you record the recipient's name, address, city, postcode and
such. For email merges you will need, at the very least,
everyone's email address.
prepare the letter
Once you've selected your recipients, click Next and write your
letter - this text will appear in every letter that you send.
Once you've done this, you can add your merge fields. These
indicate where the information from each entry in the list is to
be inserted into the letter.
The simplest way to do this is to select More Items, then choose
each field you want to add to the letter and click Insert. If you
do this all at once you can then organise the items after they
are in place in the document. Close will shut the dialogue.
Create a new line or add a space between each set of fields so
the data won't be jammed together.
creating directories and lists
Creating a directory is similar to creating merge letters, only
this time you should select Directory in the first step of the
merge. When you do this, you can select the recipients from your
list (although they will be list items rather than recipients),
and add the fields to merge the details.
For example, your directory might include first name, last name,
company name and position and when you merge it, you will get one
list of these on a single page (or multiple pages if your list is
a long one). When you preview the merge it will look as though
the page contains just one entry, but this won't be the case. In
addition, you won't be given the print option so you must merge
to a new document and then print that document if desired.
Mail merges can be used for a range of tasks. For example, when
organising a conference, use labels to create not only mailing
labels but also name tags for people to wear at the conference.
Use letters to stay in touch with registrants and use the
directory merge to create a list of conference attendees for
registration day.
For example, a person's first and last name should be separated
by a space followed by the address on the next line and city,
with postcode and country on the following line. You may also
want to include a salutation such as 'Dear' followed by the
person's first name, for example.
Click Next and preview your letters using the Recipient
navigation buttons in the top right of the screen. Move from one
recipient to the next to see how the letter looks - if the merged
data is not spaced correctly, click Previous, make changes to the
document and check this again.
You can delete a recipient via the Exclude Recipient button and,
if the recipient list needs any changes, you can click to edit it
too. When you have everything looking the way you want it, select
Next to complete the merge.
You can either Print the merged documents or Edit Individual
Letters, which will send the merge to a new file.
This is the ideal choice as it gives you another chance to look
at each letter before printing it, and you can fix them if
necessary. If you want to use the merged document in future, make
sure you save it before closing.