Mail Merge in 6 Steps

Summary

This tutorial video from the Tech Help Today channel on YouTube, hosted by Rich Malloy, offers a step-by-step guide to using Microsoft Word's Mail Merge feature. The video demonstrates how to create customized letters for a charitable foundation's donors, detailing the process from preparing a data source in Excel to finalizing and printing the letters in Word. It covers addressing common issues like formatting numbers and zip codes, and highlights the efficiency of Mail Merge in saving time and effort. The video also provides practical tips for troubleshooting, such as dealing with missing commas in donation amounts.

Takeaways

• 😀 Mail merge is a powerful Microsoft Word tool that can automate the creation of customized documents like letters, envelopes, and mailing labels.
• 🔍 The Step-by-Step Mail Merge Wizard in Word guides users through the mail merge process, making it accessible even for those unfamiliar with the feature.
• 💼 To begin a mail merge, you need a data source, typically an Excel list containing names, addresses, and other relevant information.
• 📝 Excel must treat zip codes as text to preserve leading zeros, which can be achieved by adding a dash at the end of each zip code.
• 📑 A letter template in Word is required for the mail merge, with placeholders for personalized information like address, salutation, and donation amount.
• 🖥 The mail merge process involves six steps: selecting document type, choosing the document to merge, selecting the data source, writing the letter with merge fields, previewing the merged document, and finalizing the merge.
• 📍 Inserting merge fields manually allows for customization of the document layout, such as adding spaces and formatting addresses.
• 🔎 Previewing the merged document is crucial for identifying and correcting errors in formatting, such as missing spaces or incorrect number formatting.
• 🖨 After the merge, you can print the letters or save them as a file for further editing, providing flexibility in document handling.
• ⚠️ A common issue with mail merge is the incorrect formatting of numbers, such as missing commas for thousands separators, which requires additional attention and correction.

Q & A

What is the primary purpose of mail merge as described in the script?

Mail merge is used to create customized documents such as letters, envelopes, mailing labels, and reports by merging a main document with a data source containing variable information like names and addresses.

How does the mail merge feature save time according to the script?

Mail merge saves time by automating the process of inserting personalized information into a document, which would normally take hours to do manually.

What is the Step-by-Step Mail Merge Wizard and why is it useful?

The Step-by-Step Mail Merge Wizard is a feature in Microsoft Word that guides users through the mail merge process with a series of simple steps, making it easier to create customized documents without needing to know all the details of mail merge.

Why is Excel commonly used as a data source for mail merge?

Excel is commonly used as a data source for mail merge because it can store lists of names, addresses, and other data in a structured format that is easily accessible and manipulable for mail merge processes.

How does the script address the issue of leading zeros in zip codes when using Excel?

The script mentions adding a dash at the end of each zip code to signal Excel to treat the code as text, thus preserving the leading zeros.

What are merge fields and how are they used in mail merge?

Merge fields are placeholders in a document that will be replaced with actual data from the data source during the mail merge process. They are designated by double angle brackets and can include information like names, addresses, and salutations.

Why is it important to sort the recipient list in alphabetical order before performing a mail merge?

Sorting the recipient list alphabetically helps to ensure that the letters match up correctly with their corresponding envelopes or mailing labels, making the mailing process more efficient and reducing errors.

What is the 'Preview Results' button used for in the mail merge process?

The 'Preview Results' button is used to display how the merge fields will look with the actual data from the data source, allowing users to check for formatting issues or errors before finalizing the merge.

How can users customize individual letters after performing a mail merge?

Users can customize individual letters after a mail merge by choosing to create a file containing each letter. This allows them to edit the text further before printing, such as adding personal notes or correcting errors.

What is a common issue with mail merge regarding number formatting, as mentioned in the script?

A common issue with mail merge is that it sometimes does not correctly format numbers, such as not adding commas to separate thousands in large numbers, even if the data was correctly formatted in the Excel file.

Why is it recommended not to save the letters file created during mail merge?

It is recommended not to save the letters file created during mail merge because it can always be recreated by running the mail merge wizard again using the updated data source. Saving the original letter template ensures flexibility for future use.

Outlines

00:00

📝 Introduction to Mail Merge

The script introduces the concept of mail merge, a feature in Microsoft Word that simplifies the creation of customized documents like letters, envelopes, and mailing labels. The presenter, Rich Malloy, outlines a six-step process to use mail merge effectively. The demonstration uses a list of donor names and addresses to create personalized thank-you letters. The data source is an Excel file, and the script explains how to handle leading zeros in zip codes by formatting them as text. The letter template in Word is almost complete, except for the inside address, salutation, and the specific donation amount, which will be merged using mail merge fields.

05:02

🔍 Mail Merge Wizard Steps

The script details the steps involved in using the Mail Merge Wizard in Word. It starts with launching the wizard from the Mailings tab and selecting the document to merge. The wizard then guides through selecting an existing list, which is an Excel file in this case, and choosing the appropriate worksheet. The script emphasizes the importance of sorting the list alphabetically for organization. It also explains how to insert merge fields for the address block and greeting line manually, as well as how to adjust formatting to ensure proper spacing and presentation in the final documents.

10:04

🏁 Completing the Mail Merge Process

The final part of the script covers the last two steps of the mail merge process. It involves previewing the merged document to check for errors and making necessary corrections. The presenter demonstrates how to edit individual letters for further customization before printing. The script concludes with a warning about potential issues with number formatting during mail merge and suggests watching another video for solutions. The presenter encourages viewers to subscribe for more content on using Microsoft Office apps and thanks them for watching.

Keywords

💡Mail Merge

Mail Merge is a feature in Microsoft Word that allows users to create multiple customized documents such as letters, envelopes, and mailing labels by merging data from a list with a template. In the video, Mail Merge is the central tool being demonstrated for creating personalized letters to donors, showcasing its efficiency in handling large volumes of similar documents with unique data.

💡Data Source

A data source in the context of Mail Merge refers to the list or database containing the information that will be inserted into the merged documents. In the video, the data source is an Excel file with a list of donor names, addresses, and contribution amounts, which is crucial for personalizing each letter.

💡Merge Fields

Merge fields are placeholders in a Mail Merge document that will be replaced with actual data from the data source. The video explains how to insert merge fields for the recipient's title, first name, last name, and address, demonstrating how these fields are used to dynamically populate the letters with personalized information.

💡Wizard

The term 'wizard' in the video refers to the 'Step-by-Step Mail Merge Wizard' in Microsoft Word, a guided tool that simplifies the Mail Merge process by walking users through it step by step. The wizard is particularly helpful for users who are not familiar with Mail Merge, making the process more accessible.

💡Excel

Excel is a spreadsheet program used to create and manage data, such as the list of donor information in the video. It is mentioned as the tool used to create the data source for the Mail Merge process, highlighting its common use in organizing and storing data that can be utilized in various applications.

💡Salutation

A salutation in the context of the video is the greeting line at the beginning of a letter, such as 'Dear [Name].' The video describes how to insert a merge field for the salutation, which personalizes each letter by addressing the recipient by their name, adding a personal touch to the correspondence.

💡Zip Code

The zip code is a part of the mailing address used for sorting and delivering mail. In the video, there's a mention of preserving leading zeros in zip codes by treating them as text in Excel to ensure accuracy in the Mail Merge process, which is important for ensuring that letters reach their intended recipients.

💡Preview Results

Preview Results is a feature in Mail Merge that allows users to see how the merged document will look with the data from the data source. The video discusses the use of this feature to check for errors and formatting issues, such as missing spaces or incorrect number formatting, before finalizing the merged documents.

💡Formatting Numbers

Formatting numbers in the video refers to the correct display of numerical data, such as adding commas for thousands. The video points out a common issue with Mail Merge where the formatting of numbers from the data source might not be preserved, requiring manual adjustments to ensure the donation amounts are displayed correctly.

💡Edit Individual Letters

Edit Individual Letters is an option in the Mail Merge process that allows users to make changes to each merged document separately. The video explains how this feature can be used to further customize letters, such as adding a special note for a particularly generous donation, demonstrating the flexibility of Mail Merge for personalized communication.

Highlights

Mail merge is a powerful tool in Microsoft Word for creating customized documents.

It can save time by automating the creation of multiple documents like letters, envelopes, and mailing labels.

The tutorial is presented by Rich Malloy from the Tech Help Today channel on YouTube.

The video demonstrates how to use mail merge in six easy steps.

A list of names and addresses, called a data source, is required for mail merge.

Excel is commonly used to create data sources for mail merge.

To preserve leading zeros in zip codes, add a dash at the end when entering them in Excel.

The mail merge process begins with selecting 'Start Mail Merge' from the Mailings tab in Word.

The Step-by-Step Mail Merge Wizard guides users through the process.

The wizard helps to select the type of document to create, such as letters.

Users can choose to use an existing document or create a new one for the mail merge.

The wizard asks for the location of the address list, which should be an Excel file in this case.

It's important to ensure that the list is in alphabetical order for easy matching with envelopes or labels.

Merge fields are inserted into the letter to customize the inside address and salutation.

The 'Insert Merge Field' dialog allows for the manual creation of the inside address.

The donation amount can be inserted into the letter using a merge field.

The preview feature can help identify formatting issues with the merge fields.

After finalizing the letter, users can choose to print or create a file with all the merged letters.

Individual letters can be edited before printing to add further customization.

The final step is to print the customized letters or save them as a document.

The video warns about potential issues with number formatting during mail merge.

The tutorial concludes by encouraging viewers to subscribe for more office app tips.

Transcripts

here's the problem you have to create 20

customized letters each with a different

insight address and salutation

and here's the solution mail merge mail

merge is this incredibly powerful tool

included with microsoft word that

enables you to create dozens of

customized letters envelopes

mailing labels reports and all sorts of

other documents and these documents

would normally take you hours but with

mail merge you can do all this in just a

few mouse clicks

hi i'm rich malloy here at the tech help

today channel on youtube in this video

i'm going to show you how you can use

mail merge in just six easy steps i hope

you find this information useful and if

so please consider subscribing so you

can keep up with our other videos on

getting the most out of your office apps

in this demonstration we're going to

perform a fairly typical mail merge task

we're going to start with two things a

list of a dozen names and addresses and

the letter and we're going to use mail

merge to create a dozen customized

letters to make it as easy as possible

we are going to use a feature in the

windows version of word called the

step-by-step mail merge wizard wizards

are wonderful features that guide you

through certain difficult tasks

unfortunately the wizard is not

available in the macintosh version of

word if you're using a mac take a look

at our video on easy mail merge for the

mac i will be using the latest microsoft

365 version of word but the procedure is

practically identical for almost all

older versions of word before we get

started let's make sure we have

everything we need first as i mentioned

before we need a list of names and

addresses i'm going to pretend that we

are working for a charitable foundation

and we need to send out letters thanking

a list of donors for their recent

contributions this list is technically

called a data source most people use

excel to create their data sources so

that's what we will do here's a list of

12 donors each with names addresses and

a recent contribution to get a copy of

this excel file just click on the link

in the description below because we are

using excel we had to do a little fancy

footwork with the zip codes in some

states in the us the zip code starts

with zero but excel thinks the zip code

is a number and it automatically deletes

the leading zero thinking it is

unnecessary to preserve the leading

zeros i added a dash at the end of each

zip code which signals to excel that the

code should be treated as text and not

adjusted you can tell that the zip codes

are now text because they are on the

left sides of the cells the other thing

we need is a letter to send to our

donors here's a letter i already created

in word it simply thanks to donors and

tells them how great they are again you

can download the word file by clicking

the link below in the description note

that this letter is pretty much complete

all that is missing is the inside

address the salutation or greeting line

you know the part that says dear

jennifer

and in the first paragraph there is even

some space for the actual amount of the

donor's contribution okay we have our

letter open in word let's get started

with the first of the six steps so we go

to the mailings ribbon and you guessed

it we click start mail merge the menu

lists all the different documents we can

create with mail merge but we want the

bottom choice the step-by-step mail

merge wizard the wizard opens a task

pane on the right side of the window in

the first step the wizard is just asking

us what type of document we are working

on as i mentioned before we have a

number of choices by default it chooses

letters which is exactly right so all we

need to do is click the next button in

the lower right corner that was easy one

down five more steps to go in step two

the wizard wants to know which word

document we want to use the third choice

lets us create a new document based on

the previous one that could be kind of

handy but we already have our document

open so all we need to do is accept the

default choice which is use the current

document so we click the next button and

go on to step three that was easy two

steps two mouse clicks not bad in step 3

the wizard is asking us about the people

we want to send our letter to as you can

see if we don't already have a list you

can use the third choice to create a

list right here but we do have a list so

we'll accept the default choice of use

an existing list and now we must tell

the wizard where that address list is we

click the browse button and just browse

to the excel file i showed you earlier

by default mail merge always looks in a

new folder it creates called my data

sources but our excel file is located

somewhere else so we just browse to that

folder and choose the file now because

it is an excel workbook the wizard asks

us which worksheet we want to use and

there is really only one worksheet in

our excel file so if the wizard was

really a real wizard it would have

already known the answer but remember

it's only a computer program so we just

click the ok button then we get to

choose which of the recipients in our

list should get our letter we could

select individuals by just using the

check boxes or

we can select groups of individuals by

clicking the arrows in the column

headers for example we can choose to

send the letter only to people in

connecticut and massachusetts but let's

undo that and send it to everybody also

note that we can sort our recipients if

we have a large list we can save on

postage by sorting our recipients by zip

code our list is small so we don't care

about that but we do want to be sure our

list is in alphabetical order this will

make it easy to match up our letters

with their corresponding envelopes or

mailing labels we sort a list first by

first name and then by last name all we

need to do now is click the ok button

and go on to step 4.

in step 4 the wizard wants us to write

our letter well you say we've already

written our letter but not quite here is

where we get to add the special mail

merge parts a couple of these parts are

listed in the task pane on the right

there is the address block which gives

us the inside address

and the greeting line

note that mail merge has created these

merge fields designated by double angle

brackets let's click the preview results

button in the mailings ribbon to see

what they really look like

if these two buttons work fine for you

okay that's great but most of the time

they don't as in this case look at the

mistakes here and here

so let's undo that and turn off the

preview results button

now let's try it again using a more

traditional approach this will take a

little longer but will give you a better

idea of how mail merge works

now what we're going to do is click more

items instead of creating the inside

address automatically we're going to

build it ourselves and in the first line

of the inside address is the title and

name of our recipient so we click title

notice that a merge field called title

appears in our letter this simply tells

mail merge to insert an item from the

title column of our excel list in this

location

then insert first name and then last

name and now we can close or cancel the

insert merge field dialog

you might notice there's something

missing between the merge fields and

spaces it would be so nice if mail merge

would automatically insert those spaces

but no we have to do it ourselves just

click between the double angle brackets

and tap the spacebar let's do the same

thing between the first and last names

now we tap the enter or return key and

go on to the next line sometimes the

second line of the inside address is a

company name but our recipients all have

home addresses so it's simply the street

address to insert the street address

we'll use a different technique which is

a little easier up in the mailings

ribbon there is a button for insert

merge field but this is one of those two

part buttons be sure to click the bottom

half

that shows a menu of items and we can

just click on street and tap the enter

key

the next line is the city comma space

comma state space and zip

don't forget those spaces

word will usually put some space after

each line which is unnecessary here so

we will remove the space by selecting

the first two lines and setting the

after space to zero on the layout ribbon

now we have to do the greeting line or

salutation we'll type deer and insert

the title again

a space and the last name

make sure there is a colon after the

last name and finally one more thing we

have to insert the donation amount

we will click right after the dollar

sign in the first sentence and insert

the donation field it looks a little

strange of all these merge fields but

here's the good news we're all finished

with step four that was the hard step

the last two steps are a piece of cake

so let's click the next button and go on

to step 5.

look at this much better right now mail

merge has replaced the merge fields with

actual data from our excel file to see

how each address will look we can use

the arrow button in the task pane at the

right or the button in the mailings

ribbon above our job here is simple just

look for problems and here's one we

somehow forgot to put a space between

the state and the zip code no problem we

just click and tap the space bar oh

here's another problem there should not

be a space between the dollar sign and

the number again no problem we'll just

delete it let's check the addresses

again

pretty good

now just one more step

now on to the last step step six here is

where we actually merge our address list

with our letter as you can see in the

task pane on the right there are two

choices we can print all of our letters

or we can create a file containing each

of the letters

this last choice will enable us to edit

the individual letters to customize them

even further before printing them

click edit individual letters mail merge

then asks if we want to merge all the

records arose in our address list

usually we click ok

now mail merge creates a new document

entitled letters which consists of

several pages each page is a different

letter to see each letter we can simply

scroll down in the document

let's say that one of the donations was

particularly generous in the last letter

we can modify the text in the first

sentence to signify that we are

especially grateful for this donation

another advantage of creating this new

document is that it gives us another

chance to check for errors

everything looks good so all we need to

do is print the file just click file and

print

once we have finished printing we can

close the letters file note that we do

not need to save it we can always

recreate it by clicking the edit

individual letters button but we

definitely need to save our letter

document we can use it again when we get

a new batch of donations

all we need to do is update all the rows

or records in the excel file and then

run the mail merge wizard again

so that's it mail merge in six steps not

too bad right you now have a dozen

customized letters printed all you need

now are some printed envelopes or

mailing labels which can also be done

with mail merge but that's the subject

for another video

before we end this i do have to warn you

about one of the most annoying problems

with mail merge this amazingly powerful

feature sometimes doesn't know how to

format numbers

if you click the preview results button

to turn it on and go to the last letter

you will notice that the donation amount

is lacking a comma to separate thousands

the comma was in the excel file but now

it's gone

there is a way to fix this in fact there

are three ways to fix this which i

outline in another video check the link

in the description below

so that's it now you know mail merge

personally i'm a big fan of mail merge

it has a few rough edges but i love how

it can save me countless hours of

drudgery i hope you will enjoy using it

too if you found this video helpful

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watching