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Mail merge lets you create a batch of documents that are personalized for each recipient. For example, a form letter might be personalized to address each recipient by name. A data source, like a list, spreadsheet, or database, is associated with the document.
To be able to send bulk email via mail merge, you must already have installed a MAPI-compatible email program such as Outlook or Gmail. The following process assumes that you already have the message you intend to send created and open in Microsoft Word.
Here are some tips to prepare your Excel spreadsheet for a mail merge. Make sure: Column names in your spreadsheet match the field names you want to insert in your mail merge. For example, to address readers by their first name in your document, you'll need separate columns for first and last names.
Use mail merge rules such as fil in, if/then, next, previous, or skip record to customize your mail merge.
Here are few examples of data sources you can use for mail merge in Word. Excel spreadsheet. An Excel spreadsheet works well as a data source for mail merge. Data should be on one sheet and well formatted so that it can be read well with Word. For more information, see Prepare your Excel data source for mail merge.
Use mail merge to create and send bulk mail, labels, and envelopes Mail merge - A free, 10 minute, video training If you've built a contact list in an Excel spreadsheet, it's important to format any zip codes or postal codes as text to avoid losing data.
For example, you can use the Insert Word Field menu on the Mail Merge toolbar to insert Word fields for controlling the merge process. For example, you can insert an IF field that inserts text only if a particular merge field has a specified value.
Use Address Block, Greeting Line, and other merge fields to create a mail merge file from your mailing list.
In Introduction to Mail Merge you learned the basics: how to set up mail merge with the wizard, create a list of recipients, add basic mail merge fields, and print envelopes. But there is a lot more you can do.
So now that you have the basics of mail merge, let’s try some different options, including printing letters. You can find everything you need on the Mailings tab. Want more? Mail merge using an Excel spreadsheet. Insert mail merge fields. Create and print mailing labels for an address list in Excel. Use Word mail merge for email