Microsoft Word 7.0 - A Quick Guide to Mail Merge

With Microsoft Word, you can personalize form letters, print addresses on envelopes and mailing labels, assemble legal documents, and produce catalogs.

Preparing any type of merged document -- for example, a form letter -- typically involves merging two documents: a main document and a data source. The main document contains the text and other items you want to be identical in each version of the merged document. The data source contains the information that varies in each version, such as the names and addresses of each recipient of a form letter. You insert special instructions, called merge fields, into the main document to instruct MS-Word where to print the variable information from the data source.

When you merge the data source and the main document, MS-Word replaces merge fields in the main document with the appropriate information from the data source.

Once you have set up the envelopes or mailing labels the way you want, Word automates the merging process, collecting information from the data source and setting up the printing placement where you indicated in the main document. Word then prints the envelopes or labels.

While creating form letters is the most common reason to merge documents, you can also use the Mail Merge feature to prepare other kinds of merged documents, such as catalogs, parts lists, directory lists, forms, or invoices. Once you're familiar with the basic process, you can explore these other possibilities for mail merge.

Creating a merged main document, such as a form letter, is a three-step process that involves merging a main document with a data source. In the first step, you set up the main document, which contains the text, punctuation, and other items that remain the same in each version of the form letter.

To set up a merged main document, such as a form letter

1. Open the document you want to use as the main document.

You can open an existing letter, or you can begin a new letter based on a template you select.

2. From the Tools menu, choose Mail Merge.

3. Under Main Document, choose the Create button, and then choose Form Letters.

4. Choose the Active Window button.

Under the Create button, Word displays the type of merge it will perform and the name of the main document.

Later you will complete the main document by typing and editing the text and inserting merge fields. The next step is to set up the data source, which contains the information that varies in each version.

To create a new data source

1. In the Mail Merge Helper dialog box, choose the Get Data button under Data Source.

2. Choose Create Data Source.

3. In the Field Names In Header Row box, Word lists field names for the categories of data commonly used in a data source. To see all of the field names, scroll down through the list. Do one or more of the following:

To	Do this
Add a category to the data source	Type the new field name in the Field Name box, and then choose the Add Field Name button.A field name can contain up to 40 characters. Each name must start with a letter, and subsequent characters must be letters, numbers, or underscore characters (_). A field name cannot contain spaces.
Delete a category from the data source	Select the field name, and then choose the Remove Field Name button
Change the order of field names	Select a field name in the Field Names In Header Row box, and then click the up or down arrow at the right of the list until the field name is in the position you want.

4. When you finish creating the field names, choose the OK button.

Word displays the Save Data Source dialog box so that you can save the new data source.

5. In the File Name box, type a name for the new document, and then choose the OK button.

6. Word displays a message asking you whether you want to edit the data source or edit the main document. Choose the Edit Data Source button to type the information that varies in each version. Now you can type the information into the data source.

1. If the Data Form dialog box is not already displayed, choose the Edit button under Data Source in the Mail Merge Helper dialog box, and then select the data source from the list.

2. In the Data Form dialog box, type the information you want in each data field box, and then press ENTER.

To move to the next or previous data field box, press TAB or SHIFT+TAB.

3. Continue typing information, choosing the Add New button to start each new record.

4. When you finish adding information, choose the OK button.

To save changes to the data source now, first choose the View Source button in the Data Form dialog box to display the data source in a document window. Then save the data source. To return to the main document, click the Mail Merge Main Document button on the Database toolbar.

You complete the main mailmerge document by inserting merge fields and by typing or adding information you want to be the same in each form letter, such as the body of the letter, your address, and your logo.

To complete a merged main document,

1. In the main document, type or edit the text and graphics you want to appear in each version of the form letter.

2. Each time you come to a place where you want to insert information from the data source, click the Insert Merge Field button on the Mail Merge toolbar, and then choose the merge field you want to insert.

Make sure that you type any spaces or punctuation you want between two merge fields or after a merge field.

You cannot type a merge field directly into a document.

3. When you finish editing the main document, choose Save from the File menu.

Now that you have completed the main document, which contains the information that is the same in each version, the final step is to merge the data source with the main document.

If you are working with field codes hidden (the default), merge fields are displayed within chevrons -- for example <<FIRSTNAME>>. The chevrons are special characters that Word inserts; you cannot type these characters, and you cannot insert them by using the Symbol command on the Insert menu. You can copy, move, or format the whole merge field, but Word ignores any changes you make to the merge field itself.

If you are working with field codes displayed, each merge field is displayed as a MERGEFIELD field within the Word field characters, or braces -- for example, {MERGEFIELD FIRSTNAME}. With field codes displayed, you can select any merge field. However, you should take care to avoid accidentally changing a merge field. The merge field must exactly match the corresponding field name in the header row of the data source. How you view the main document -- with field codes displayed or hidden -- doesn't affect the way it is merged with the data source.

You can view the merged form letter before you print it to check for errors or add personalized information to each letter. For more information, see Checking and previewing a merged document before printing.

To merge the data source with the main document

2. To merge the main document with the data source, click one of the following buttons on the Mail Merge toolbar: