INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER STUDIES – CMPS 140

NOTES FOR ON-LINE DELIVERY

Mail Merge

UNIT VIII
Integration

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 What is a Mail Merge?
¾ Mail Merging is the process of Envelope mail merge samples
combining the contents of a data
source with a main document. It is
used to create form letters, mailing
labels, envelopes, directories, and
mass e-mail and fax distributions.
¾ The Data Source is a file that
contains the information to be
merged into a document. For
example, the list of names and
addresses to use in a mail merge.
¾ The Main Document contains the
permanent or unchanging text,
punctuation, spaces, and graphics.
For example, the return address or
salutation in a form letter.

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 Creating a Mail Merge for Envelopes
Task Pane
¾ First click the Tools
menu, point at Letters
and Mailings, and select
Mail Merge. The Mail
Merge task pane appears.

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 Mail Merge for envelopes in 6 Steps

¾ Step 1: Select document type

¾ Step 2: Select starting document
¾ Step 3: Select recipients
¾ Step 4: Arrange the envelope
¾ Step 5: Preview the envelope
¾ Step 6: Complete the merge
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 Select Document Type
¾ Under the Select
document type section
there are 5 choices. Letters
is the default but either
one can be selected. Click
on Envelopes.
¾ At the bottom right there
is a list of steps that can be
followed through.

Click on Next:
For starting document.
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 Selecting Starting document
¾ Under the Select starting document
heading, click Change document layout.
¾ Under Change document layout, Click on
Envelope Options, an Envelope Options
dialogue box opens to select the envelope
size, to format the delivery address or to
format the return address.

Envelope Option
Dialog Box

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 Continued for step two:
¾ Click on the Printing options tab,
The default printer is listed and the
feed method is selected. If for some
reason this is not correct, choose the
right Printer. Then Click OK.

An Envelope is
displayed. After
you went threw
the envelope
option and the
printer option

Click Next:

Select recipients

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 Select Recipients
¾ Under the Select recipients section,
locate or create a data source. There
are 3 choices: an existing list, new
list, or Outlook contacts.
¾ Use an existing list – Click "Use an
existing list" to use a database or list
that is already saved. Click Browse
to Select the saved spreadsheet or
database file:
¾ Select from Outlook contacts-
Click “Choose Contacts Folder”. In
the Select Contact List folder
dialogue box, click the contact list,
and then click OK.
¾ Type a new list – Click Create, to
set up a list of recipients. In the
New Address List dialogue box,
type the information to include.

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¾ Under the heading use an existing list, click Browse. In
the Select Data Source dialog box that appears,
navigate to the file to use, confirm data source and
then select the table.

Select the data source Confirm Data Source

Select the table

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¾ After the table was selected, a Mail Merge
Recipients dialog box opens, this window has all the
fields and information the data source contains. If
the name is checked an envelope will be created for
that record, if unchecked it will not.

¾ Click in the
down arrow of
any field, to sort
and filter the data.

¾ To eliminate all the

records, click on
Clear All, then select
the few you might
want.

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 Select from Outlook contacts
¾ Under the heading Select
from Outlook contacts, click
Choose Contacts Folder. A
contact List Folder will appear
and then select the Contact
list you want to use and click
OK.

¾ Example:

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 Type a new list
¾ Under the heading Type a new
list, click on Type a new list and
then click on Create to set up the
list of recipients. A new address
list dialog box will open. Type the
name and address of the person
that will appear on the Envelope.
Then click New Entry.

Click Next:
For Arrange your envelope.
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 Arrange the Envelope
¾ An envelope is displayed. Click on the top left corner of the
envelope and type the returning address. It will appear on
each envelope. If you don’t want a return address, leave it
blank. Click in the center of the envelope and a box appears
to type the recipients addresses.

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 Choosing the Address Block

¾ Click the Address block –

where are several fields
grouped together and
inserted as one field.
¾ When the address block was
clicked an Insert dialogue
box opens. Select the format
wanted for the address, Click
in Match Fields and a box
opens with a list of field
names that Microsoft
generated, click in the down
arrow and select the
matching field name
generated in the database.

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 Choosing More Items
¾ Another method of entering the ¾ The Insert Merge Field
address on the envelope is with box opens. Select the field to
More items. enter from the list and click
insert or double click the
¾ Click in the center of the field.
envelope, a box appears. Click on
More items from the list on the
right. Click Next: To preview your
envelopes.

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 Preview your Envelopes
¾ Under Preview your Envelopes there are arrows that will take you forward
and back through the envelopes.
¾ Under make changes recipients can be excluded if the exclude button is
selected when the recipient’s envelope is showing. To get the recipient
back, click edit recipient list and recheck the record. If you want to edit
the envelope click in the envelope and make changes.
¾ If all looks well click Next: Complete the merge. If it’s not right, click
Previous: Arrange your envelope and make the necessary corrections.

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 Complete the Merge
¾ Select Print and a Merge to
Printer dialog box appears.
You can print all the Envelopes
or a range.

¾ Select Edit individual Envelopes

and a Merge to New Document
dialog box appears. All the
envelopes or a range of them can be
saved to a new document. This
allows to save the document and
print at another time.
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 Mail Merge for Letters
™ A sample of Mail Merge For Letters

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Creating a Mail Merge for Letters
Task Pane
¾First click the Tools menu, point
at Letters and Mailings, and
select Mail Merge. The Mail
Merge task pane appears.

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 Letter Mail Merge in 6 Steps.

¾ Step 1: Select document type

¾ Step 2: Select starting document
¾ Step 3: Select recipients
¾ Step 4: Arrange the Letter
¾ Step 5: Preview the Letter
¾ Step 6: Complete the merge
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 Select Document Type
¾ First click the Tools menu,
point at Letters and
Mailings, and select Mail
Merge Wizard. The Mail
Merge task pane appears.
¾ Under the Select document
type section, click Letters.
The active document
becomes the main
document, even if the active
document is blank.

Click Next:
For starting document at the
bottom of the task pane

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 Selecting Starting document
¾ Under the Select starting
document section, choose how
you want to set up the letter.
¾ Use the current document – Start
with the document currently shown
on the window.
¾ Start from a template – Click
Select template. On the Mail
Merge tab in the Select Template
dialogue box, select a template.
Then click OK.
¾ Start from existing document –
Start with any other existing
document.

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 Select Recipients
• Under the Select recipients section,
locate or create a data source and
then select recipients.
• Use an existing list – Click Browse,
In the Select Data Source dialogue
box, locate and click the desired
data source.
• Select from Outlook contacts –
Click Choose Contacts Folder. In
the Select Contact List folder
dialogue box, click the desired
contact list, and then click OK.
• Type a new list – Click Create, In
the New Address List dialogue box,
type the information you want to
include for the first entry under
Enter Address Information.

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 Type in your Letter
¾ Now recipient information can be
added to the Mail Merge letter. Take
the time to type in the text in the
document. Several items are displayed
on the task pane.
¾ The Address block item allows to
choose a certain format for displaying
the recipient’s address.
¾ The Greeting line item provides with
different formats for displaying a
greeting line to the recipient.
¾ The Electronic postage item allows to
add an electronic postage after
installing a special software program.
¾ The Postal bar code item inserts a
postnet barcode.
¾ The More items item allows to choose
the fields to include in the document.

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 Preview the Letter
¾ View each individually merged
letter by clicking on the arrows
next to the Recipient: number.
¾ If there is a specific recipient
that you want to view, click
Find a recipient, Enter the
search criteria in the Find Entry
dialogue box.
¾ Click Edit recipient list, if you
need to make changes to the
recipient list.
¾ Click Exclude this recipient to
exclude a particular recipient
from the merge.
¾ When finished previewing the
letters, click Next: Complete
the merge.
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 Complete the Merge
¾ Select Print and a Merge to
Printer dialog box appears.
You can print all the letters or
a range.

¾ Select Edit individual letters and a

Merge to New Document dialog box
appears. You can save all the letters
or a range to a new document. This
allows to save the document and
print at another time.

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 Mail Merge for Labels
A Sample of Mail Merge for Labels

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 Creating a Mail Merge for labels
¾ First click the Tools menu,
Task Pane
point at Letters and
Mailings, and select Mail
Merge. The Mail Merge
task pane appears

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 Label Mail Merge in 6 Steps.

¾ Step 1: Select document type

¾ Step 2: Select starting document
¾ Step 3: Select recipients
¾ Step 4: Arrange the Label
¾ Step 5: Preview the Label
¾ Step 6: Complete the merge
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 Select Document Type
• Under the Select document
type section there are 5
choices. Letters is the
default but either one can be
selected. Click on Labels.
• At the bottom right there is
a list of steps that you are
lead through.

Click Next:
For starting document at the
bottom of the task pane

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 Selecting Starting document
• Under the Select starting document Label Option
Dialog box
heading, click Change document layout
• Change Document Layout – is where
the type of labels can chosen. Click
Label Options, a Label Option
dialogue Box opens to select the brand
and size of labels. Click OK.

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 Continued for step three:
• After OK is clicked from
the Label Option, a sheet of
Labels is displayed.
• If the lines don’t show up,
click in Tools – Options
Under Print and Web layout
options – check Text
boundaries, click ok.

Click Next:
For Select Recipients.

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 Select Recipients
¾ Under the Select recipients section,
locate or create a data source. There
are 3 choices, an existing list, new
list, or Outlook contacts.
¾ Click use an existing list –to use a
database or list that you have
already saved. Click Browse to
Select the saved spreadsheet or
database file:
¾ Select from Outlook contacts-
Click “Choose Contacts Folder”. In
the Select Contact List folder
dialogue box, click the contact list
you want, and then click OK.
¾ Type a new list – Click Create, to
set up your list of people. In the
New Address List dialogue box,
type the information you want to
include for the first entry.

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¾ Under the heading use an existing list, click Browse. In
the Select Data Source dialog box that appears,
navigate to the file to use, confirm data source and
then select the table.

Select the data source Confirm Data Source

Select the table

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After selecting the table, a Mail Merge Recipients dialog
box opens, this window has all the fields and information
the data source contains.

¾ Click in the down

arrow of any field, to
sort and filter the data.

¾ As you can see, there

are several checkmarks
to include/exclude
recipients, drop down
arrows for filtering, and
sorting. Clicking on a
column name sorts the
list by that field

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 Continued for step three:
¾ Under the heading Select
from Outlook contacts,
click Choose Contacts
Folder. A contact List
Folder will appear and
then select the Contact list
to use and click OK.

Example:

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 Type a new list
¾ Under the heading Type a new
list, click on Type a new list and
then click on Create to set up the
list. A new address list dialog box
will open. Type the name and
address of the first person of your
list. Then click New Entry.

Click Next:
For Arrange your envelope.
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 Arrange your labels
¾ On this step of the Wizard, the Merge
information is placed on the page.
¾ Click Address block – there are several fields
grouped together and inserted as one field., and
an Insert dialogue box opens. Select the format
wanted for the address, Click in Match Fields
and a box opens with a list of field names that
Microsoft generated, click in the down arrow and
select the matching field name generated in the
database.

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 Preview your labels
¾ Under Preview your labels
you will then see what your
labels will look like on the
page.
¾ Under make changes, the
recipient list can be edited
or, by clicking on a label,
changes can be made to a
label.
¾ If all looks well click Next:
Complete the merge. . If
it’s not right, click Previous:
Arrange the label and make
the necessary corrections.
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 Complete the Merge
¾ Select Print and a Merge to
Printer dialog box appears. All
the labels or a range can be
printed.

¾ Select Edit individual labels and a

Merge to New Document dialog box
appears. All the labels or a range of
them can be saved to a new
document. This allows to save the
document and print at another time.

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 Remember:
) In order to understand better these
topics it is necessary that you read
the notes from the course content
area.

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 Have any doubts ??

) Go to the Chat area and

clarify them with your
classmates or your instructor.

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