How to: Create a mail merge using Excel data.
Solution:
Use the 'Mail Merge...' command on the 'Tools' menu to create a main
document and attach a Microsoft Excel Worksheet data source using the 'Get Data'.
NOTE: The Excel database MUST be created BEFORE beginning this
procedure.
1) Select the 'Tools' menu and select 'Mail Merge...'. (The Mail Merge Helper dialog box appears.)
Mail Merge Helper
2) Click 'Create' from the 'Main Document' group.
3) Select 'Form Letters' from the 'Main Document' drop-down menu.
4) Click 'Active Window' to use the currently active document as the main document.
5) Click 'Get Data' from the 'Data Source' group.
6) Select 'Open Data Source...'. (The Open Data Source dialog box appears.)
7) Select the appropriate drive and directory.
8) Select the filename from the desired Excel worksheet from the 'File Name' list box.
9) Click 'Open'. (The dialog box appears.)
10) Select 'MS Excel Worksheets via DDE (*.XLS)'. (The Microsoft Excel dialog box appears.)
11) Select 'Entire Spreadsheet' from the 'Named or Cell Range'.
12) Click 'OK'. (The Microsoft Word dialog box appears.)
13) Click 'Edit Main Document'. (The Database toolbar appears.)
14) Type the form letter.
15) Insert merge fields:
a) Click in the main document where the merge field is to be inserted.
b) Click 'Insert Merge Field' from the 'Mail Merge' toolbar. (A drop down list appears.)
c) Select the desired field to be inserted. (The merge field appears in the main document.)
NOTE: Word displays merge fields with brackets.
EXAMPLE: Dear Mr. <<Last Name>>
d) Repeat steps 15)a) through 15)c) for each field to be inserted.
16) Merge the main document and the data source:
a) Select the 'Tools' menu and select 'Mail Merge...'. (The Mail Merge helper dialog box appears.)
b) Click 'Merge...' from the 'Merge the Data with the Document' group. (The Merge dialog box appears.)
c) Select 'New Document' from the 'Merge To' drop down list.
d) Click 'Merge'.
NOTE: Word creates a new document that contains one complete copy of the main document for each record in the data source, with data from the data source substituted for each merge field. The merged copies are separated from one another by section breaks.
