mail merge - baylor university · nonprofit technology collaboration last updated 7/26/2012 mail...

Nonprofit Technology Collaboration

Last Updated 7/26/2012 Mail Merge of 10

Mail Merge

What is Mail Merge? Mail merge is a process to create personalized letters and pre-addressed envelopes or mailing labels

for mass mailings from a word processing document which contains fixed text, which will be the

same in each output document, and variables, which act as placeholders that are replaced by text

from the data source. Mail merge allows the user to create a set of documents that are

fundamentally the same but contain some diverging elements.

Why use Mail Merge? Creating each letter, message, fax, label, envelope, or coupon individually would take hours. That's

where mail merge comes in. Mail merge allows you to create one document that contains the

information that applicable to each version. Then you just add placeholders for the information that

is unique to each version.

Creating Mail Merge Documents 1. Find and select the mailing tab to display the “mailings” toolbar.

2. Select “Start Mail Merge”.

3. Scroll down the drop down menu.



4. Select “Step By Step Mail Merge Wizard”.

5. Choose your document type from the list under the “Select document type” heading.

6. Click on “Next: Starting document”.



7. Select an option under the “Select starting document” heading.

8. Click on “Next: Select recipients” at the bottom of the toolbar.

9. Select “Type a new list” from under the “Select recipients” heading.

10. Click the “Create…” button under the “Type a new list” heading.



11. A pop-up box entitled “New Address List” will appear. Fill in any the identifying information for

your addressees.

If you would like to customize the informational fields , click the “Customize Columns” button in

the bottom left corner.

A popup box will appear where you can customize your address list.



12. A “Save Address List” dialog box will appear. Give a descriptive file name (for example, “Mail

Merge Recipients”). Then click Save.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You can also import Excel Spreadsheets and Access Databases for recipient

information.

13. Pick your recipients by checking the boxes to the left of their names. (Make sure you’re

selecting from the correct data source)



14. Check to make sure that you have selected a list of recipients .

In this example, the line “[Office Address List] in ‘Mail Merge’…” (shown below) shows that we

are using the file we saved earlier.

15. Click on “Next: Write your letter”.

16. Here, you can add an address block and greeting line using the recipient list.

17. Click on “Address block…”



18. In the “Insert Address Block” pop-up box, you can select different styles of displaying recipients’

contact information. Once you are satisfied, click “OK”.

19. Notice that <<AddressBlock>> has been added to the body of the document. Click on “Greeting

line…” under the “Write your letter” heading.

20. Customize your greeting line.



21. Click “OK” when satisfied.

22. Notice that <<GreetingLine>> has also been added to the body of the document under

<<AddressBlock>>.Click “Next: Preview your letters”. Here, you can preview what the document

will look like when filled in.



23. Click the “<<” or “>>” buttons to change the recipient in the preview.

24. When you are finished previewing the document, click: “Next: Complete the merge”.

25. Click on “Print” in the right hand “mail merge” column.

IMPORTANT NOTE: DO NOT use the “File �� Print” or “Ctrl + P” methods to print



26. Choose which records to print. “All” will print all the letters; “Current Record” will print only the

letter currently being displayed. Then click OK.

Once you click “OK”, the print dialog will show up, and you can proceed to printing it like a normal

document.

Sources: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/CH010062628.aspx

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/use-mail-merge-to-create-and-print-letters-and-

other-documents-HA101857701.aspx


Last Updated: 7/29/2012 Word Templates Page 1 of 5

Microsoft Word Templates

What is a Template?

A template is a document you create with pre-defined formatting information such as headers,

enclosures, or logos. Creating Word templates enable the ability to bypass the initial setup and

configuration time necessary to create standardized documents.

Why use a Template?

Templates provide an easy way to achieve consistency in your organization’s documents (letters,

envelopes, memos, etc.). By using a template, you can focus your time on the content of the document,

rather than document formatting or appearance.

Creating a Template

1. Create your document with the formatting you need.

Be sure not to include any variable information! Only include information that can be placed on

every document, regardless of recipient.



2. Click the File button in the top left

3. Scroll down the File menu and click on “Save As”

4. Select the “.dotx” file type and click “Save”

5. Save your template file with a descriptive name.



Important Notes about Naming Files

• A file name should have importance. Naming files like “Document1.docx” and “Template1.dotx”

is NOT a good practice.

• Our example template file could be named “Templates_Letter” because it is a template for a

letter.

• Using meaningful names is important because when you have multiple files, it will be much

easier to sort through them and find the file you need later on. See Naming Files and Folders

topic for more information.



Using a Template to Create a Letter

1. Locate and double-click the “Templates_Letter.dotx” file that you saved in order to open it.

Whenever the template (the “.dotx” file) is opened, notice that the file is opened as “Document 1” and

not the template file name you saved it under. When you open a template file (.dotx), it opens a copy of

the document, and not the template itself. Every time you create a new file from your template, it is a

brand new file, with the formatting and generic information already in place, ready for you to modify as

needed.

2. Edit the template-based document as needed. Any changes made to “Document 1” will not

affect the template you created.



3. Save your document with a descriptive name. When you save the file, both the document and

template are still intact. The template can be used over and over again, saving the user time by

eliminating the formatting steps.