Word 97 Mail Merge

Microsoft Word 97 has all of the tools you need to set up merge documents for form letters, reports, envelopes, and labels that can be used again and again with data that only needs to be entered one time.

If your data (e.g., customer information such as names, addresses, salutations, etc.) is already in an Excel spreadsheet or Word table, you may need to make a few changes to the way it's set up before using it as a merge data source (see Setting up Your Database). It's worth the effort: if your data is set up properly, you'll be able to use it in many different ways. If you do it the easy way, you might be limited as to how you can use it.

Having your data in an Excel spreadsheet might make easier to manage than data in Word tables. Tables work very well with a relatively small amount of data or a limited number of fields. For example, Word allowed me to create a table with 63 columns. If your table needs to include more columns than that, you'll almost have to use Excel.

In deciding which to use, consider the total amount of data you currently have, as well as the amount you anticipate having in the future. If you think that the number of customers, employees, or products will increase over time, your lists will be easier to sort, edit, and manipulate in a worksheet. Whichever you choose, you can always change your mind later. If you begin with your data in a Word table and the table becomes large and difficult to manage, you can copy it and paste it into an Excel worksheet.

Creating a Merge Document

1. Prepare a document, such as a form letter, including all the standard text (text that will remain the same in every document). Do not include any variable information (specific names, addresses, etc.) and don't insert place holders for information that will be inserted by the merge process. Format the document as you want the final version to appear, including headers, footers, page numbers, and graphics. Be sure to spell check and save it when you're done.
    
2. Click on Tools, then on Mail Merge to open the Mail Merge Helper. Click on Create under Main Document and select the type of merge document you want to create: Form Letters, Mailing Labels, Envelopes, or Catalog.
    
3. If you've already created the document, select Active Window. Or select New Main Document and create your merge document after accessing the Mail Merge Helper.
    
4. Click on the Mail Merge Helper button in the tool bar or select Mail Merge from the Tools menu. Select Get Data. A dropdown list will give you a choice of creating a new data source, opening an existing data source, or selecting header options (in Word Help, enter 'mail merge' in the Index, then double-click 'header sources' if you want to use column headers from a source other than your data table, or to learn more about this option).

If you've already set up your data, either in a Word table or in Excel, choose number 2, Open Data Source, to display the Open File dialog box. Specify the location of the file (drive and directory), the file type (.doc for a Word document or .xls for an Excel spreadsheet), then select the file and click OK (or double click the file name.)

When you open the data source, Word will notify you that your merge document contains no data fields. Click on the Edit Main Document button to insert data fields.

Mail Merge Toolbar

Insert Merge Field

The Mail Merge toolbar will now be open in the document screen. Scroll through your document until you find the first place where you want to insert a merge field and click to insert the cursor exactly where you want the field to be. Click on the button at the left end of the Mail Merge toolbar - Insert Merge Field - and scroll through the list, if necessary, to locate the appropriate field name; click on it to insert it in the document.

When you insert merge fields, treat them as if they are actual text, and insert punctuation and spaces accordingly. For instance, make sure that you insert a space between a merge field and the word that follows it or the merged data and the next word will run together.

There may be times when you want to create a merge document, but have not yet created a data file. For example, all contract packages for sales of a particular product may contain the same seven or eight basic documents. They can be set up in advance as a package, with merge fields already in place. For each new buyer, the particulars of the sale can be entered in the data entry form (see Excel Basics): customer name and address, purchase price, serial or registration numbers, monthly fees, etc.

The Create Data Source option lets you create your own fields, use a list of predefined fields, or use a combination of those provided by Word and those you create yourself (see Setting Up Data).

Before you begin to create your data source, go through the merge document very carefully to determine every place where you'll want to insert data from your data source. Give each field a unique and meaningful name that will make it obvious what kind of data it contains.

Field names can be up to 40 characters long; they must start with a letter; they can contain letters, numbers, and underscore characters. Field names cannot contain spaces. If you want to separate words in a field name, use the underscore: Last_Name, First_Name, Business_Address, Serial_Num, etc., or capitalize the first letter of each word: LastName, FirstName, BusinessAddress, etc.

Do not create a separate field for each occurrence of a particular piece of information. For instance, if the customer's company name occurs 10 times throughout the document, DO NOT create 10 fields named Company_Name_1, Company_Name_2, Company_Name_3, Company_Name_4, etc. Each time you need to insert the company name in the document, you will insert the same Company_Name field. When you perform the merge, the name of the company will be entered everywhere the Company_Name field appears in your merge document.

Read these brief descriptions of Word Fields, how you might use them, and where to find additional information, instructions, and examples.

More Toolbar Buttons

• View Merged Data Button: Click this button to see the main merge document with the merged data.
• First Record: Displays the first record in the database.
• Previous Record: Displays the record just before the current one.
• Go To: Type in a number to go to a specific record.
• Next Record: Displays the next record in the database.
• Last Record: Displays the last record in the database.
• Mail Merge Helper Button: Opens the Mail Merge Helper dialog box. Use to create or edit a merge document or data source, to merge data into the merge document, and to set up queries (see below).
• Check for Errors Button: Use to check for errors before merging, or if you've already tried to merge and have had problems. The choices for error checking are:
  • Simulate the merge and report errors in a new document.
  • Complete the merge, pausing to report each error as it occurs.
  • Complete the merge without pausing. Report errors in a new document.
• Merge to New Document Button: Merges all of the specified records into a new Word document, which can then be saved as a regular file and edited, checked for accuracy, printed, etc.
• Merge to Printer Button: This option merges all of the specified records directly to the printer. If there are errors, the records involved will have to be reprinted. There's no chance to check the merged records before printing unless you use the Check for Errors button. The errors reported will not include things like failure to capitalize or misspelling an important customer's name! Use this command with caution and check the printed documents before mailing or distributing.
• Mail Merge Button: Opens the Merge dialog box, where you can specify which records you want to merge, etc.
• Find Record Button: Use to search for a particular record. Specify the field to look in (LastName, FirstName, etc.) and enter the particular text to search for.
• Edit Data Source Button: Opens the data entry form. You can either edit or view individual records in the form or open the data source itself (the Word table or Excel worksheet).

Merging

When you have set up your merge document, inserted all of the merge fields, spell checked it, and proofed it thoroughly, you're ready for a test run.

Click on the Mail Merge Helper button on the toolbar or click on the Tools menu, then on Mail Merge...

Under #3 in the Mail Merge Helper, select Merge... In the dialog box, you can choose to merge either to a new document or to the printer. It is strongly recommended, at least until you have tested both your merge document and your data, that you merge to a new document. Once the merge is completed, you can go into the new file and check for spacing errors, wrong field placement, etc.

You can also specify whether you want to merge all records or only a limited range. The first time you use your new merge document, do a merge to a new document using only 5 or 10 records.

To merge all records, click on the button to the left of All; to merge a range of records, type the number of the first record in the From field and the number of the last record in the To field.

Most of the time, you'll want to select Don't print blank lines when data fields are empty. That means that if you print an inside address with a single address line in a merge document that has been set up to accommodate an address with two or more lines, there won't be any blank spaces in the fields that aren't used.

Click on Merge.

Queries

Click on Query Options in either the Mail Merge Helper or in the Merge dialog box to choose which records to merge when you don't want to merge all the records in your data source.

To do a query, select a field name from the drop-down box, then select an operator from the Comparisons list. Operator choices include:

• Equal to
• Not equal to
• Less than
• Greater than
• Less than or Equal
• Greater than or Equal
• is Blank
• is Not Blank

You can use the operators in the top three rows to compare either numeric or alpha fields. For text entries, the program uses something called the ANSI international sorting order, which considers A less than B, B less than C, and so forth. So if you wanted to merge all of the records for customers with last names beginning with A-G, you could specify Last_Name to be Greater than or Equal to A AND Less than or Equal to G. Or you could specify Last_Name Less than H.

Using The AND/OR Operators

When you do a query, you can specify up to six rules for data selection by using the AND and OR operators.

If you wanted to do a mailing to all of your customers in Columbus, Ohio you would specify, in your query "City Equal to Columbus" AND "State Equal to OH". If you just specified "City Equal to Columbus", your mailing would go to all of your customers in Columbus, Ohio AND Columbus, Georgia AND Columbus, Montana AND... you get the idea! The AND operator requires that both conditions be true before a particular piece of data is selected.

If you select "City Equal to Columbus" OR "State Equal to OH", your merge will include all of your customers in every state with a city named Columbus AND all of your Ohio customers as well. The OR operator allows data to be selected if either of the conditions is true.

For a more detailed explanation of record selection rules: in Help, enter mail merge in the index, double-click on data records, then on Select data records from a data source.

Merge Envelopes: Use Mail Merge to Print Envelopes

Using Mail Merge to generate and print envelopes is not really much different from creating a letter or memo with Mail Merge. Obviously, you'll need to select the correct envelope size.

Most of the options available in Envelope Options and Printing Options should be self-explanatory. For any that you're uncertain about, click the question mark in the upper right corner of the dialog box, then click on the item you don't understand (for instance, if you choose to, you can print bar codes on your envelopes but need to specify which field contains the zip code and which one contains the address. Use the Help button to make sure you're putting the right code in the right field).

Once you've selected all appropriate options, click on OK. The Envelope address dialog box will open. Use the Sample envelope address: to insert the merge fields (from the Insert Merge Field list) just as you would in any merge document, as described earlier in this document.

If you want to use bar codes, position the cursor where you want to insert the code, then click on Insert Postal Bar Code... From the dropdown lists, specify which fields contain the zip codes and the street addresses.

If you plan to print on envelopes that have a preprinted return address, make sure that you remove your return address before beginning to set up the merge. Otherwise, you'll have to delete it from each envelope when you're done. To remove return address information, select Options from the Tools menu. On the User Information tab, delete the return address information.

When you're ready to print the merged envelopes, print one or two first to make sure you've placed the envelopes correctly in the printer and that they're printing correctly.

Merge Labels: Use Mail Merge to Print Labels

Printing mailing labels from the Mail Merge function isn't significantly different from printing envelopes or Word documents. However, when you set up the labels, be careful to select the correct label size.

Set up the label in the window provided, and be sure to select whether you want a single page filled with the same information on each label or a different address on each label. You can set up the label on the page as you would any other document. Just be sure that, before attempting to print the actual labels, print one sheet on a piece of plain paper to see if the layout is satisfactory. If it isn't, start over.

Use the [Enter] key to move the address down on the page. You can use tabs to shift it to the right (if you're using the company labels with the diagonal logo in the upper left corner): just hold down the [Ctrl] key, then press the [Tab] key. Once you've done the merge, you can select each column (it puts the labels in a table) and adjust the tab stops to suit you.