How to perform a mail merge.

Mail Merge

Mail merge is a feature in Microsoft Word that you can use to create and send a similar letter or document
to multiple recipients, without having to type each one individually. You can customize certain portions
of the documents such as the recipient’s title, (for e.g. Mr., Mrs. and Dr.), name and address.

There are two files that necessary to perform a mail merge: the Main/primary document, and the data
source/secondary document.

Main/Primary Document – is the file containing the letter or other document that is meant for each
recipient. It also contains the merge fields, which are placed at the points where the information from the
data source will appear. When the mail merge begins, the merge fields are replaced with the information
from the data source.

The Data source – also called the secondary file, contains the personalized information that would vary
in each document and that is needed to complete the overall document. It can be an existing data source,
or you can create a new one.
 It is organized in the form of a table. The first row, known as the header row, contains the merge
fields (the data that will be stored in data source and will later be merged into the main document.)
 Some common field names are Title, FirstName, Address, PhoneNo. etc. Each row after the header
row contains the information that is unique to each document, and is known as a data record. The
collection of data records is called a data file.
How to perform a mail merge
1. Create the main document, inserting placeholders e.g., <<Firstname>>, at the appropriate location,
then save it.
2. Select the “mailings” tab, then Start Mail Merge
3. Select “Letters”
4. Click “select recipients”
5. Click “Type a new list” if you will be creating your data source at that point
a. Select customize columns.
b. Rename columns where necessary
c. Delete all unnecessary columns
6. Enter your first record
7. Click new entry, then enter your next record
a. Repeat this step until all your records have been entered
8. Click OK, then SAVE YOUR DATA SOURCE.
9. Select your first placeholder/ substitute fieldname (for e.g. <<title>>), then go to
insert merge field
a. Select the correct field name from the list.
b. Repeat this step until all placeholders have been replaced.
10. Click preview results to see what your final document will look like. Make any adjustments, if
necessary; for example, inserting a space between field names.
11. Select Finish & Merge, then Edit Individual Documents
12. Select All when asked whether to merge to new document?
a. You should then see a new document containing your customized letters.
13. Save the document.