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Using MSOffice Mail Merge to Create Reports with Data Director
Thumb Data Director Institute
Huron ISD, March 30, 2011Cynthia Compton, Supervisor for Curriculum, Port Huron Area Schools
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Student Data
• Data Director stores many types of student data pulled from multiple places.– You can create a report for a class, a
school, or a district.– You can pull a complete individual profile
for a student.• Data Director has the built-in
capability to compile this type of information easily.
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Sharing Student Data
• Why not use the data and technological capabilities provided to make individual student reporting easier?–Use the data to automatically fill
in required forms, letters, and reports.
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Student Data In Data Director
• Address & Phone Number
• School & Teacher• Class Schedule• Attendance• Participation in
Federal/State Programs
• Demographics• Grades• Class Schedules
• ELPA scores• MEAP scores• MME/ACT scores• District Assessments• Classroom
Assessments• Anything else you
would like to input…
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Possible Uses for Mail Merging Data
• Enrollment Forms• Parent Letters• Address Labels• Program Invitation Letters• Individual Monitoring Forms• Individual Score Reporting• Student Evaluation Forms• Custom Reporting Forms• Customized Student Reports
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Examples
• Title I Parent Labels• After School Program Invitations• Summer School Material Requests• FLEP Student Forms• K-2nd Grade Literacy Profiles• PLAN/EXPLORE/ACT Parent Reports
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Getting Started…
• What information do you want to share?• Who will be receiving the information?• What will your Microsoft output will be?
– Letter– Labels– Form
• What Data Director Information will you need?
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Let’s Try It…
• We will go through the steps of the process together.* Slides 9- 21 of this presentation
have step by step instructions for you to refer back to later.
• First, let’s look at our information in Data Directorwww.achievedata.com/sccresa
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1. Build a Custom Data Director Report
For detailed instructions on how to build a custom report go to the “Tools for Schools” section of the St. Clair County website and choose “Data Director”.
http://www.sccresa.org/toolsforschools/datadirector/
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1a. Save the Report
Choose to save the report as an Excel file.
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1b. Save the Report
Choose the location to which you want to save the report.
Renamethe file
something easy to identify.
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2. Create Your Microsoft Word Document
•Open Microsoft Word.•You can choose to
•create the document first •begin with the merge wizard•use a previously saved document
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Go to the "Mailings" tab in the toolbar.
Click“Start Mail
Merge”.
Go down to the“Step by Step Mail Merge
Wizard”.
3. Start the Mail Merge Process
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Choose the type of document you will
use then click "Next: Starting document" at the bottom right
of the page.
At this point you can choose to:• Use the current
document• Open another
document
Choose the document then click
“Next: Select recipients”.
3a. Choose the Document
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You will use the Excel file saved from Data Director, so you want to “Use an existing list” and click “Browse…”
• This will open up a "Select Data Source" box.
• Find your previously saved Excel document.
• Then "Open".
3b. Select Recipients
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3b. Select Recipients
*If you want to delete any students or sort the list, you
can do it here.
Click “OK” for both pop-up
boxes.
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*The type of document you are creating will show here…i.e. “labels” instead of “letter”
3c. Select Recipients
Then click"Next: Write your letter“at the bottom right of the
page.
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A. In the Word document, click the place you want to insert
data.
4a-b. Insert Data Into the Document
B. Then click "More items..." from the right Mail Merge
menu. This will give you a box with a list of data fields.
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C. Choose the fields you want to put in the spot where you placed the
cursor.
D. Click "Insert".
*You will repeat steps 4 A - D for each piece of data
you want to insert into the document.
4c-d. Insert Data Into the Document
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Once you have inserted all of the data fields that you need, click "Next: Preview
your letters" from the bottom right of the page.
You will be able to preview the letters.
As you change the recipient, the information (student
name and scores) will change.
5. Preview Your Merged Documents
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From the bottom right of the page, click on "Next: Complete the
merge".
You are ready to print your merged documents.
*You can even add notes toindividual students by clicking
"Edit individual letters...".
6. Merge & Print
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Time to Apply…
• Think of one, simple thing you could apply this to for this year.–Student information cards for
grouping or substitutes.–Parent letters–Student Labels
• Follow the same steps to practice.
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For More Information…
Cindy Compton, Supervisor for Curriculum• Port Huron Area School District• [email protected]• (810) 984-3101 x282
You can find this presentation at:• www.protopage.com/ccompton
– “Data Director” tab
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/294683 (letters)http://support.microsoft.com/kb/294684 (labels)
Resources for using the MS Mail Merge Feature: