Creating Personalized Form Letters Using Mail Merge

Last month I discussed using a simple mail merge in Word 2000 to create mailing labels and printed envelopes. This month I will discuss how to create a personalized form letter using the mail merge feature in Word 2000. Please note that if you are using a version of Word prior to 2000, these steps may vary slightly.

Remember, a mail merge is the process of merging a document with a database. In this example, the document is a personalized letter containing the addressee's name and title, and the database is a set of mailing addresses.

The first thing you want to do is type up the document. Put in any information that will be common to all the letters, such as the main body of the letter, and the closing. When you are done with this, save your document. Then go to the Tools menu, and select Mail Merge. The Mail Merge helper will appear. Click the Create button. Several choices will appear. Choose the Form Letters option. It will ask you to choose the Active Window or a New Main Document. Choose Active Window. Now click the Get Data button and choose Open Data Source. Browse to the folder where your address file is at and select the file (Note: you will probably have to change the "files of types" dropdown at the bottom of the dialog box to the kind of file your addresses is--Excel or Access--before you can select it). A box will show up asking for "named or cell range," with the answer "entire spreadsheet" already typed in. If you are using Access a list of tables will appear below it. You can type in a cell range (for Excel), choose a table (for Access), or use the entire spreadsheet simply by clicking OK (if you are using an Excel address book that has multiple sheets, you might want to "cut and paste" the addresses you want into a single sheet first, to make life easier).

You should now get a warning telling you that Word found no Merge fields in your document, and present you with a Edit Main Document button. Click it. Now it's time to add our merge fields. Let's assume we want the addressee's title and last name to appear after the word "Dear" in the salutation (e.g. - Dear Mr. Wood, Dear Dr. Laughlin). Go to the word "Dear." Add a space. You will notice that a Mail Merge toolbar has appeared in the upper part of the screen, just below your other toolbars. Click the Insert Merge Field button. All the fields in your database (title, firstname, lastname, address, etc. - you may have named them differently) will appear. Choose the title field. Add a space. Choose the last name field. Add a colon. The salutation should now read

Dear <<title>> <<lastname>>:

To preview your work, click the View Merged Data Button (it has <<>> symbols, with ABC underneath, just to the right of the Insert Word Field button). The fields will now be replaced with text from the database. Use the Previous Record and Next Record buttons to view more records.

If you are satisfied with how the letters look, click the Merge button in the Mail Merge helper. One last dialog box will appear, asking you if you want to merge to a new document. You do. Click the Merge button, and your letters will be created. Save the file, or just print it for a one-time use.

If you are not happy with the letters, click the Edit button under the "Main Document" heading on the Mail Merge Helper (to the right of the Create button). Once you have edited the letter to your satisfaction, go to the Tools menu and choose Mail Merge to get the Helper back on the screen. Click Merge, then Merge again in the next dialog box, and you are done!

You can use this technique to add any text to you letters that resides in a database, not just names and addresses. If, for example, they are taking a class from you, and the name of the class is in the database, you can mention which class they are taking in the body of the letter (e.g. - Our records indicate you are taking <<classname>> with us this spring). You can even add more specific information (e.g. - Your <<classname>> class will meet on <<classdate>> at <<classtime>>), provided it is stored in the database.

Again, if you are using versions of Word previous to Word 2000, the steps may vary slightly. If you have any questions about this process, or want me to walk you through it, please don't hesitate to call me at 719-549-2045, or email me at jeffrey.wood@colostate.edu.