Word Processing Notes:Mail Merge

3.01 Understand business documents. 2

Mail MergeExample

Letter shows Merge Fields (placeholders)

Letter is Personalized after Merge

3.01 Understand business documents. 3

Mail Merge Description• Mail Merge is the process of mass-producing

letters, envelopes, mailing labels, and other documents so that the new documents appear personalized.

• A Mail Merge is actually an integration of Word Processing and Database applications.

• The document is created using word processing while a database stores the contact information. This information is later inserted into, or merged with, the document to mass-produce personalized documents.

3.01 Understand business documents. 4

Mail Merge ComponentsMain Document• The main document can be

any kind of Word Processing Document but is most often some kind of letter. Thus, this is generically referred to as a Form Letter.

• The Form Letter contains two types of information:− Information that will NOT

change: The main body of the document.

− Information that WILL change: The Recipient’s Address and Greeting Line. (variable information)

3.01 Understand business documents. 5

Mail Merge ComponentsData Source• A file that contains stored contact information like

Names, Addresses, and Phone Numbers.

• Information can be stored in many file types:− Database− Spreadsheet− Table in a Word Processing Document− Text-Delimited file like Comma Separated Values

(*.CSV)

• Merge Fields used in the document are automatically generated from the information stored in the data source.

3.01 Understand business documents. 6

Mail Merge Guidelines for Keying• Mail Merge works with many

types of documents, so follow the guidelines for the document type you’re creating.

• Business Letters and Personal Business Letters are probably the most common.

• The Main Document is sometimes referred to as the primary part and the Data Source as the secondary.

3.01 Understand business documents. 7

Mail MergeSteps for Creation1. Start the word processor.

2. Create the document:− Letters− Envelopes− Mailing Labels− Other documents…

3. Create the data source and add data OR open an existing data source.

4. Insert Merge Fields in the document. These correspond to the fields in the data source.

5. Merge the data source with the document. This generally results in a NEW document ready for mailing or printing.

6. Proofread the merged documents for errors.