Handy Holiday Mail Merge Tips

Are you looking to send out a quick holiday greeting? Save time by using built in mail merge tools in Office.

This article assumes you already have your data (names, addresses, emails, etc.) in an Excel spreadsheet. Your mail merge will run more smoothly if all the information is formatted properly so check the following:

1. The columns in your spreadsheet must match the fields you want to use in your merge. For example, to address readers by their first name, make sure you have separate columns for first and last names. If you want to sort by city, be sure you have a separate City column.
2. Be sure all the data you want to merge is in the spreadsheet. If you want to add more names or other information, it's best to make those changes now - before you start the merge.
3. Also be sure any number formatting won't change. If your spreadsheet includes dates, times, currency values, or postal codes that begin or end in 0, you might need to format the cells.

1. In Word, open a new document.
2. Click Mailings > Start Mail Merge, and then click the kind of merge you want to run.
3. Click Select Recipients > Use Existing List.
4. Browse to your Excel spreadsheet (where data is located), and then click Open. If Word prompts you, select Sheet1$ and click OK. Now the Excel spreadsheet's connected to the mail merge document you're creating in Word. To include only some of the people or items from your spreadsheet, click Mailings > Edit Recipient List. The Mail Merge Recipients box opens. Here, you can select just the rows you want to include. To make them easier to find, you can sort and filter the information.
5. Next, you can insert mail merge fields that pull the information from your spreadsheet into your document. For example, to add a greeting line to an email message or a letter, click Mailings > Greeting Line. Or add addresses from your list by clicking Mailings > Address Block.
6. When your document's ready, click Preview Results and click the arrows to see each specific copy of the document.
7. To finish the merge, click Finish & Merge, and then click Print Documents or Send E-mail Messages.