COMPUTER

STD 6

LESSON 4: MAIL MERGE IN MS WORD 2010

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Mail merge and its advantage

Components of mail merge

Apply mail merge feature to generate document with varying addresses

Steps to be followed during mail merge

Printing merge letters

Mail merge is one of the most dynamic and useful features of MS word 2010. It

allows you to print several documents with almost identical or little varying

content. Let us consider the following situation.

Suppose you have an invitation letter to be sent to 100 recipients including

your friend and relatives. In each letter only name and address of the recipient

will be different.

How would you take the printout of these 100 letters?

One possible solution is given below:

Type the letter to the first recipient.

Sent the letter to the printer for printing.

When printing the current letter is over, edit the letter and change the

name and address for the second recipient.

Send this letter to printer.

Repeat these steps for all the remaining recipients.

Though the above-mentioned algorithm will solve the given problem, however

it is highly inefficient. Imagine the time and effort required for the whole

operation!

Mail merge offers an extremely easy solution. This feature can be effectively

used in situation such as :

Creating letters for multiple recipients

Composing and sending email messages to multiple recipients

Printing envelopes for multiple recipients

Printing lables

Components of mail merge

In Mail merge, basically there are two documents ( fig 1).

1. Main document: The letter or text to be sent to all the recipients.

2. Data storage: The file where the addresses of all the recipients are stored.

The procedure of combining the main document with the data source is known

as Merging and final document is called the Merged document.

Mail merge requires you to type the letter (or the main document) and the

recipient list only once. It produces the individual documents automatically.

All the relevant tools are grouped in the Mailing tab (fig.2). These tools are

very powerful.

Mail Merge through wizard

Click on the Mailing tab and then click on the start Mail Merge option. On the

menu, click on the Step by Step Mail Merge Wizard…. Option (fig.3). The Mail

Merge dialog box appears (fig.4).

Step 1 of 6

Select the type of document you would like to create.

As you click on different document type, a brief explanation of that

document type is displayed in the middle section of the dialog window.

You may create a letter, email message, envelope, label or a directory.

Step 2 of 6

In this step, you need to specify your main document. You have three

choices—use the current document or a template or use an already existing

document.

If you select Use the current document, then the word document

opened in the active window will be taken as your main document (fig.

5a).

Template is a pre-designed form of a document which can be used with

minor or no changes. To create document using a template, select Start

from a template option (fig. 5b). Select a template from the list of

templates.

To use an already existing document, select Start from existing

document option. A list of existing files is displayed from which you can

select one.

Click on the Next: Select recipients to move to the next step.

Step 3 of 6

This step helps us specify a data source from where Mail Merge will read data

and insert the same into the main document. There are three options available

for specifying recipients (fig 6).

Use an existing list: To use an existing list of recipients, click on the

Browse…. Link (fig. 6a) and in the Select Data Source dialog box, locate

and click the data source you want.

Select from Outlook contacts: MS Word 2010 permits you to select the

recipients’ particulars from the contact list of Outlook express. Outlook

Express is an email client software installed on your windows system. To

connect to Outlook Express contact list, click on the Select from Outlook

Contacts and then click on the Choose Contacts Folder to specify the

folder in which your contacts file reside (fig.6b). In the Select Contact

List Folder dialog box , click on the contact list you want, and then click

the OK button.

Type a new list: you should use this option when you want to create a

new list of recipients. Click on the Type a new list option and then click

on the Create…link. The New Address list dialog box opens up (fig 8).

In the New Address list dialog box, type the detail of the recipients. You

may leave entries blank if you wish. As you can see, there are six

command buttons in this dialog box.

New Entry: This command button adds a new blank row in the list.

Find…: This command button opens a Find Entry dialog box. You can

search an entry in the list using this option.

Delete Entry: This command enables you to remove a selected entry

from the list.

Customize columns….: This command allows you to work with the

columns of the list.

OK and Cancel: OK saves the list while Cancel the data entry.

In this manner you can enter the details of all the recipients and then

click the OK button.

Deleting a Column

To delete a particular column, follow the steps given below:

Step 1 : In the New Address List dialog box, click on the Customize Columns

button. the Customize address list dialog box appears.

Step 2: Click on the Company Name entry and then click on the Delete button.

confirmation dialog box appears(fig.10).

click on Yes if you want to delete and click on NO if you want to remain that

field.

Step 3: Click the OK button to delete the specified column.

Adding a column

To do so, follow the steps given below.

Step 1: Click on the Customize columns button.

Step 2: In the Customize Address list dialog box, click on the Add button. The

Add field dialog box appears.

Step 3: Fill in the desired column name in the Add field dialog box, i.e., Nick

Name. Click OK button to add the column.

Renaming a column

To do so, follow the steps given below.

Step 1: click on the Customize Columns button.

Step 2: select the column “Title’ to be renamed.

Step 3: click on the Rename button. The Rename field dialog box appears.

Step 4: Fill in the desired column name in the dialog box, i.e., Salutation. Click

the OK button to rename the column (fig.12).

Moving a column Up or Down in the list

You can change the order of appearance of a column. Select the column to be

moved up or down. Move the column up the list by clicking on the Move Up

button or move the column down by clicking on the Move Down button in the

Customize Address List window.

Editing an existing Address list

MS Word 2010 allows you edit an already existing address list.

To do so, follow the steps given below.

Step 1: Click on the Use an existing list in the Select recipient window.

Step 2: Click on the Edit recipient list. The Mail Merge recipients box opens up

(fig. 13).

Step 3: You can select (or Unselect) recipients in the list by clicking on the

check boxes given in front of the entries.

Step 4: You can sort the address list using the Sort option. You can include or

exclude recipients depending on certain condition using the filter option. You

can look for a recipient using the Find recipient option. You can detect

whether an entry has been made more than once using the Find duplicates

option. You can also check whether addresses have been correctly entered

(requires address validator software installed) using the Validate addresses

option.

Having prepared the recipients list, move on to next step by clicking on Next:

Write your letter link.

Step 4 of 6

In this step you have to write the content of the main document.

After completing the content of the main document, you are supposed to

insert merge fields at appropriate places. Merge Field is a placeholder that is

inserted in the main document. These placeholders are replaced with the data

from the selected data source at the time of taking the printout.

A merge field can be inserted in the letter where you want to insert name,

address and other data from the data source that you just created.

Inserting Merge Fields

To insert a merge field in main document, follow the steps given below.

Step 1: Place the cursor at the location in the main document where you want

to insert a merge field.

Step 2: Click on:

Address block… to insert a block of address (fig.15) . An address block is

a placeholder in which the data from data source can be embedded.

In the Insert Address Block dialog box, select the address elements you

want to include and the formats you want to apply on them, and then

click on the OK button(fig.15).

Greeting line… to insert a line of greeting (fig 16.). Select the greeting

line format, which includes the salutation, name format, and so on.

Select the text that you want to appear in cases where Word can’t

interpret the recipient’s name.

Greeting line is the placeholder where a line of greeting will appear in

the main document. To prepare a greeting line follows the steps given

below.

Step 1 : Click on the Greeting line… in the Mail Merge window. The

Insert Greeting line window will appear. Create your choices to form a

greeting line.

Step 2: Click the OK button to insert the placeholder (fig 16).

Electronic Postage… to insert an electronic postage stamp. To insert this

field you must first install Electronic postage software.

More items.. to insert other fields from the selected data source.

To insert a field from a data source, follow the steps given below:

Step 1 : place the cursor at the desired location in the main document.

Step 2: Click on the More items… link. These opens the Insert Merge Field

dialog box (fig 17.)

Address fields automatically mapped to corresponding fields in your data

source even if the data source’s fields don’t have the same name as your fields.

For such fields click on the Address Fields option.

To select from fields that take data directly from the existing data in a data

source, click on the Database Fields option.

Step 3: Click on the Insert to insert merge field and then click on the Close

button.

Merge field appear in the main document enclosed within << << and >> >>

symbols called merged field characters.

Formatting the Merged Data

To apply format effect on a merge field, follow the steps given below:

Step 1: In the main document, select the field that you want to format,

including the surrounding merged field characters ( << << >> >>).

Step 2 : on the Home tab, apply formatting effects using the Font menu.

Changed format will be reflected and maintained in every copy of the merged

main document.

These complete the Mail Merge basic documents. You can now save the main

document by clicking on the Save or Save As option in the File tab. Name the

document as per your choice, and then click on the Save button.

Move to the next step by clicking on Next: Preview your letters link on the

Mail Merge wizard.

Step 5 of 6

The next step allows you to preview the individual letters created by the Mail

Merge (fig. 19).

Preview option allows you to view the various letters that have been

generated using the Mail merge feature (Fig: 20).

To preview the letters, click on the arrows to navigate through all the

letters of recipients in the list one by one.

To locate and preview a specific letters, click on the Find a

recipient…link, and then enter the search criteria in the Find Entry dialog

box.

Step 6 of 6

The merged letters are ready to be used. The letters can be edited to

personalise individual documents, printed or saved for future use.

You can print the merged letters by clicking on the Print command and

following the procedure.

Mail Merge without Wizard

In the previous section. We learnt how to do mail merge using the wizard.

Wizards are very useful in learning the steps and concepts for beginners.

However, as you gain experience and confidence you can start using individual

and tools manually to carry out mail merge operations.

Printing Emails, Labels and envelopes

Emails (Electronic Mails) are messages in electronic form which can be

exchanged between various people around the world through internet.

Label is a small rectangular piece of paper containing relevant information.

Labels are often pasted on delivery packages or desks or any other place where

a little identification information is required.

Envelopes are thin paper bags over which an address is printed. Envelopes

often carry letters, documents and any other flat object.

Emails, labels and envelopes can be printed just as you print letters using Mail

Merge tool. You just have to specify the right document type in the

appropriate step of the Mail Merge Wizard. A little practice will make these

processes clear.

Useful links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13ErZxwVecg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UusH-4DvFaw

WORKSHEET

Ex. A Choose the correct option.

1. Which of the following tab has options to work with Mail Merge ?

a) Review b) Insert c) Mailings d) Home

2. How many steps are there in the Mail Merge Wizard?

a) 3 b) 4 c) 5 d) 6

3. In which folder is the recipient list saved ?

a) Mega Data Source b) Mine Data Source

c) More Data Source d) My Data Source

4. In which step do you need to specify your main document in the mail merge

wizard?

a)Step 1 b)Step 2 c)Step 3 d)Step 4

5.This is small rectangular piece of paper containing relevant information for

identification.

a)email b)label c)envelope d)letter

Ex.B State True or False and correct the false statements.

1. Mail Merge Wizard can be used to send letters to any number of people.

2. The data source of the Mail merge can be an Excel spreadsheet.

3. Merge field characters can be inserted from the keyboard.

4.Buttons like First, Previous ,Next and Last are provided to navigate between

the records of

the recipients.

5. A recipient can be removed individually from the mail merged document.

Ex.C Arrange the following steps in the proper sequence of

Mail Merge.

1. Complete the letter and add merge fields. Step:___

2. Set up and display your letter. Step:___

3. Select document type. Step:___

4. Preview your letters and fine-tune the recipient list. Step:___

5. Print the letters. Step:___

6. Locate or create a data source and then select recipients. Step:___

Ex.D Answer the following questions.

Q:1 What is Mail Merge?

Q:2 Define Main Document and Data Source in context of mail merging.

Q:3 How many steps are primarily involved in Mail Merge? Write about them.

Q:4 List the various utilities that are provided in MS Word 2010 to work with

data source.

WORKSHEET - SOLUTIONS

Ex. A

1. c) Mailings

2. d) 6

3. d) My Data sources

4. b)Step 2

5. b) label

Ex.B

1.True

2.True

3.False

T.S – Merge field character can not be inserted from the keyboard.

4.True

5.True

Note: T.S –True Sentence

Ex.C

1. Select document type. Step: 1

2. Set up and display your letter. Step: 2

3. Locate or create a data source and then select recipients. Step:3

4. Complete the letter and add merge fields. Step:4

5. Preview your letters and fine-tune the recipient list. Step:5

6. Print the letters. Step:6

Ex.D

1. Mail Merge is a utility that allows you to send letters with similar

information to a number of persons who reside at different locations.

2. Main document: It is a document which has the standard text to be sent all

the recipients.

Data source: It is the file where the addresses of all the recipients are stored.

3. There are 6 primarily involved in Mail Merge.

Step 1: Select document type

Step 2: Set up and display your letter.

Step 3: Locate or create a data source and then select recipients.

Step 4: Complete the letter and add merge fields.

Step 5: Preview your letters and fine-tune the recipient list.

Step 6: Print the letters.

4. The various utilities that are provided in MS Word 2010 to work with data

source are:

1.New Entry

2.Find

3.Delete Entry

4.Customize Columns

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