First, let’s figure out what a mail merge is. Mail merge is when you take a document (such as an e-mail message, a letter, or a label) and merge it with a data source (such as a list of addresses). The finished result is customized to each entry in the data source.
For example, let’s say you want to send a Christmas newsletter summing up the events of the year to all the members of your family. You would like to have it personalized for everyone, but you have 50 people on your mailing list! You can use mail merge to create the letter and then merge it with your address list so that each letter is addressed to the recipient.
Here’s a list of terms you’ll hear in relation to a mail merge: - Merge fields: These are the places where Word will insert your data. For example, the <<Address Block>> merge field marks where each person’s address will go. - Data Source: This is the file that contains the personalized information, such as a list of addresses. Data sources can be existing files (such as Access databases), pulled from an application (such as your Outlook contacts) or created during the mail merge. - Record: A record is one set of data in your data source. For example, a record from your Outlook contacts could contain the person’s first and last name, mailing address, and e-mail address.
The easiest way to perform a mail merge is by using the Mail Merge wizard, so we’re going to devote this whole section to the various options in the wizard. You can access this particular task pane by clicking the Tools menu, choosing Letters and Mailings, and clicking Mail Merge.
The wizard is in a task pane on the right hand side of your screen, so remember the basics about task panes: - You can resize and move them. - You can close them using the X in the top right hand corner. - You can change what task pane you are viewing by clicking the name of the task pane.
The bottom of this task pane will tell you what step you are on. You can click Next or Previous to advance a step or go back a step to change options.
There are six main steps to a mail merge: - Choosing Your Document Type: Pick what kind of document you want to create. - Choosing Your Starting Document: You can work from an existing document or a new one. - Select Recipients: Select who you’re going to send this document to and where this list is. - Customize Your Document: Customize what your document will contain. - Preview Your Document - Finalize Your Document
During all steps of the mail merge you can still type in, edit, and format your document.
These steps are all a bit different depending on the document type you’re creating, so we’re going to look at each type separately. In all the lessons, we’re going to start from the point of opening the task pane. |
