Mail Merge Tutorial

Creating a Mail Merge
for Letters, Envelopes & Labels
Ms. Dawn Bieser, M.Ed
Officeskills.org
Class Project – Seaside Realty Mail Merge
Problem Defined

Our class project is to create a Mail
Merge for Seaside Realty, a fictitious
Real Estate company located in San
Francisco, California.

Seaside Realty needs to send out a
large mailing each month to clients that
their Realtors have contacted regarding
selling their homes.

The variable information will be the
clients name and addresses, the
Realtor’s Name and the geographical
area that they work in. This information
will be stored in a Data Source Address
List that we will create from scratch.

We also need to create a form letter that
will contain the variable information that
will be propagated with the information
Result
Create your Main Document & Data Source

The first step in setting up a Mail Merge is to Create your
Main Document and specify a Data Source to use that you
will link to your main document. Remember that the Data
Source is where you will store the customer names,
addresses, telephone numbers, email numbers, etc.

For this project, you will open up an existing form letter for
Seaside Realty and then you will create a data source from
scratch using Mail Merge’s Address List feature. The
Address List stores the data in an Access Database table.
Let’s first take a detailed look at the Main Document and
Data Source we will be creating for this project.
The Main Document
This is the main document we will be creating that contains the standard text and merge
codes that have been inserted where the variable text will be.
The Merged code fields are
highlighted in bold and
include the
• Address Block
• Greeting Line
• Realtor Name
• Area
The Data Source (Cont’d)
This is the Data Source. To keep our project manageable, we will start out
entering just six clients. Keep in mind that you may have hundreds of clients
in a real life project.
The address list comes with default fields but you can
customize it to contain just the information you need for your
merge. Let’s get started!
Creating the Main Document

Please Open the Customer Letter Main from your Lesson 3
folder or Assignment area. The file contains placeholders
where you will be adding in your merge fields.
6
Create the Main Document (Cont’d)
1.
Click the Mailings tab > Start Mail Merge from the
Ribbon
2.
Choose Letters from the drop down menu
1
2
Create a New Address List
3.
Click the Mailings tab > Start Mail Merge Group >
Select Recipients button from the Ribbon
4.
Choose Type New List. The New Address List dialog box
will appear.
4
3
Remove Fields
5.
In the New Address List, click the Customize Columns button to
display the Customize Address dialog box
6.
In the Customize Address List dialog box, choose the Company Name
field
7.
Click the Delete button and then click Yes to the pop up message
8.
Please also delete the Address Line 2, Country or Region, Home Phone,
Work Phone and E-mail address fields
6
7
5
Add a New Field
1.
Click on the Zip Code field and then click the Add button in
the Customize Address List Dialog Box
2.
In the Add Field dialog box, type Realtor Name. It should be
added after the Realtor Name field.
3.
Click the OK button
1
2
3
Add two More Fields
1.
Click on the Title field
2.
Click the Add button in the Customize Address List Dialog Box
3.
In the Add Field dialog box, type Position
4.
Click the Move Down button until the Position field is located
under the Realtor Name field
5.
Follow the above procedure and add in one more field called Area
and then click the OK button
2
1
3
4
Add the Customers
1.
With the New Address List dialog box still open, type Ms. And then tap
the Tab key to move to the next field
1
2.
Type Betty and then tap the Tab key to move to the next field
3.
Type Parker and then tap the Tab key to move to the next field
4.
Type 16 24th Street and then tap the Tab key to move to the next field.
Finish adding the City, State, Zip Code, Realtor Name, Position and
Area from the table below.
2
3
4
Add new Customers (Cont’d)
5.
After you finish entering the first record, click the New Entry button or tap the
Tab key to create a new blank row.
6.
Enter the remaining 5 records shown in the table below and click OK.
5
7.
6
Your will be prompted to save your data source in the My
Documents, My Datasources folder. Name the document Seaside Realty
Data Source. Make note of where you saved your file.
Edit the Data Source
1.
Click the Mailings Tab > Start Mail Merge Group and click on the Edit
Recipient List. The Mail Merge Recipients Dialog box will appear.
2.
Click on the Data Source name to select it and then click the Edit button.
The Edit Data Source Dialog Box will appear.
1
2
Edit the Data Source (Cont’d)
3.
In the Edit Data Source dialog box, click to select Scott Fuller in the
6th record and type Susan Brown.
4.
Click OK to close the dialog box.
5.
Click Yes to the message asking you if you want to update your
recipient list.
6.
Click Ok again to close the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box.
3
4
Setting up the Form Letter
1.
Click the Home Tab > Paragraph Group and click the Show/Hide
display formatting characters
1
button to
2.
Select the [date] placeholder tap the delete key on your keyboard
3.
Click the Insert Tab > Insert Date and Time button from the Ribbon.
4.
Select the third date option and click the Update Automatically checkbox
5.
Click the OK button and then Tab ENTER three times after the date
3
4
2
5
Add the Address Block
1.
Select Recipient Name and Address placeholders in the letter and click tap the
delete key on your keyboard to delete them.
2.
Click the Mailings Tab > Write & Insert Fields Group and click on the Address
Block button
3.
Choose the first format called Mr. Joshua Randall Jr. Notice the preview in the
pane on the right.
4.
Click OK to accept the Address Block options
2
3
1
4
Insert the Greeting Line
1.
Select the Dear [Name] placeholder in the letter and click the delete key on
your keyboard to delete it.
2.
Click the Mailings Tab > Write & Insert Fields Group and click the Greeting
Line button
3.
Click the down arrow and select the colon(:)
4.
Select the first greeting style
5.
Click OK to insert the greeting line code and the tap ENTER
2
3
4
1
5
Insert Merge Fields
1.
Double click the Realtor Name placeholder in the first paragraph and press
the Delete key on your keyboard to delete it.
2.
Click the Mailings tab > Write & Insert Fields Group and click the Insert
Merge Field button. You will see a list of merged fields from your Data
Source.
3.
Choose Realtor Name from the merge field
2
3
1
list
Insert Merge Fields (Cont’d)
1.
Double click the Geographical placeholder in the second paragraph and press
the Delete key on your keyboard.
2.
Click the Mailings tab > Write & Insert Fields Group and click the Insert
Merge Field button. You will see a list of merged fields from your Data Source.
3.
Choose Area from the merge field list
2
3
1
Insert Merged Fields (Cont’d)
1.
Double click the Realtor Name placeholder in the salutation line and press the
Delete key on your keyboard.
2.
Click the Mailings tab > Write & Insert Fields Group and click the Insert
Merge Field button. You will see a list of merged fields from your Data Source.
3.
Choose Realtor Name from the merge field list
2
3
1
Check and Save the Form Letter

Check your form letter. It should look like the picture below. Make any
necessary adjustments to your form letter.

Save the letter in your Demo Exercises Folder, Word Level 2, Lesson 3
folder as Seaside Realty Letter Main
Conducting the Merge
1.
Click the Mailings tab > Preview Results Group > Preview
Results button. Your merged letters will appear.
2.
Use the navigation buttons in the Preview Results group to scroll
through your merged documents to check to make sure all your
fields propagated properly.
1
2
Conducting the Merge (Cont’d)
1.
Click the Mailings tab > Finish Group > Finish & Merge button
2.
Choose Edit Individual Documents from the menu to merge the letters to a
new document
3.
Click the OK button in the small pop-up window to merge all records
4.
You should have six letters in one file. Scroll through the letters in the
document and scan their contents for errors
1
2
3
Results of Merge
If your merge executed successfully, you should have one document containing 6
letters. Check the letters for accuracy and make any necessary adjustments to your
form letter or data source.
Fixing Main Document Mail Merge
Problems

Be sure to scan the entire document from beginning to
end to check for errors.

If you detect errors in all your merged documents, you
may need to close the merged file, fix the problem in the
main document letter and then run the merge again.

If the problem occurs in just one letter such as a comma
or space, you can just fix that error on just that page.

To re-run the merge, close the merged document file and
conduct the Finish & Merge process again.
Editing the Data Source
Fixing Data Source Merge Problems

Occasionally, you may make a mistake when setting up
your Data Source such as a missing field, spelling error,
etc. To fix the data source.

Click the Mailings tab > Start Mail Merge group and click
the Edit Recipient List button

When the Mail Merge Recipient Dialog box appears, click
the Data Source title in the bottom-left corner of the dialog
box and click the Edit button.

Fix any errors you have identified and then click OK to
close the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box.

Execute the Merge again.

Print or save your merged document.
Creating Envelopes & Labels

Mail Merge can generate envelopes
and labels from your data source or
address list.

Word 2010 comes preloaded with
many envelope sizes and formats,
and you can create custom ones as
well.

Labels have a vendor code which
matches the format number in Word.

Creating envelopes or labels is just
like creating letters with Mail Merge.
The envelope or label is your main
document.

Therefore, it is possible to create
letters, envelopes, and labels from
the same data source. Let’s try it
out!
Envelopes from Mail Merge
Labels from Mail Merge
Creating Envelopes
1.
Click New File button on the Quick Access Toolbar to start a new blank
document.
2.
Click the Mailings tab > Start Mail Merge Group > Start Mail Merge button
3.
Choose Envelopes. The Envelopes Options Dialog Box will appear.
4.
Choose Size 10 from the Envelope Size List
5.
Click OK to Apply the settings to the document.
1
2
4
3
5
Creating Envelopes (Cont’d)
1.
Click the Mailings tab > Start Mail Merge group > Select
Recipients button
2.
Choose Existing List
3.
Navigate My Documents/My Data Sources where you saved
your Seaside Realty Data Source. Click on the file and then
click Open.
1
2
3
Setting up the Main Envelope Document
1.
Type the Return Address as shown below
2.
Now position the insertion point next to the paragraph
symbol you see in the center of the envelop document.
The address block placeholder should appear and your
document
should look like the following:
1
2
Setting up the Main Envelope Document
3.
Click the Mailings tab > Write and Insert Fields > Address
Block
4.
Click Ok to accept the default block settings
1
2
Conducting the Merge
1.
Click the Mailings tab > Finish Group > Finish & Merge button
2.
Choose Edit Individual Documents from the menu to merge the
letters to a new document
3.
Click the OK button in the small pop-up window to merge all
records
1
2
3
Check your Merged Envelopes
1.
Scroll through the envelopes in the documents and scan their
contents for errors. If necessary, fix any problems.
2.
Save the document as Seaside Realty Envelopes
Creating Labels
1.
Click New File on the Quick Access Toolbar to start a new blank document.
2.
Click the Mailings tab > Start Mail Merge Group > Start Mail Merge button
3.
Choose Labels. The Labels Options Dialog Box will appear.
4.
Choose Avery US Letter from the Label Vendors drop-down List
5.
Choose 5160 Easy Peel Address Labels from the Product Number List and
click OK to Apply the settings to the document.
1
2
4
3
5
Creating Labels (Cont’d)
1.
Click the Mailings tab > Start Mail Merge group > Select
Recipients button
2.
Choose Existing List
3.
Navigate My Documents/My Data Sources where you saved your
Seaside Realty Data Source. Click on the file and then click
Open.
1
3
Creating Labels (Cont’d)
3.
Click the Mailings tab > Write and Insert Fields > Address
Block and click Ok to accept the default block settings and insert
the address block code in the first label
4.
Click the Mailings tab > Write & Insert Fields group > Update
Labels button to insert the address block in all labels
3
4
Creating Labels (Cont’d)
3.
Click the Mailings tab > Finish Group > Finish & Merge button
4.
Choose Edit Individual Documents from the menu
5.
When the Merge to New Document dialog box appears, click OK
to merge all the records
3
4
5
Creating Labels (Cont’d)
Your Merged Labels

Your labels should look like the following picture. Save
the labels as Seaside Realty Merge Labels and then close
the document.
Summary

Congratulations on completing the Mail Merge Class Project for Seaside
Realty

In this lesson you:
 Created
Main Documents for a letter, envelop and labels
 Created
a Data Source to store the clients information.
 Conducted
a Mail Merge