Mail merge and data bases

We are going to create a data base in Excel and then use the data in word.

The steps for this are as follows.

1.      Open excel,  and go to sheet1, (In theory you should be able to do this from any sheet - in practice I have found only sheet1 works) across the top row enter the names of your fields.

2.      Now start to enter the data. ( as shown right) Widen the columns if you want to. Enter about 10 names and addresses. ( Just make them up)

3.      Save your spreadsheet.

4.      Start word and follow this process:

5.      Select TOOLS, MailMerge, Create, Labels, (if you were doing form letters you would select form letters here instead), Active Window.

6.      (Now option 2) Get Data, Open Data  Source.

7.      You now have to look for the spreadsheet you saved above.

8.      You will have to change the file type in the window that pops up to Excel Spread sheet to find your Document.  So do this by going to the "Files of Type" Box ansd choosing Excel Spreadsheets., locate your document, click on it to select it and the click on Open.

9.      Now select Entire spreadsheet

10.  You will now be asked to setup the main document, click on the button.

11.  Choose the label format that you want to use and click OK

12.  Now we have to insert the merge fields  we want in the labels.

13.  Do this by clicking on the insert merge field button, and then selecting the fields you want in your labels.

14.  Once finished click in OK and you will go to the merge itself.

15.  We are now on step three, the merge. Select merge, this takes you to the following screen.

16.  From this next screen under the merge to option you can select where you want your document to get merged to.

17.  Your options are basically either directly to the printer or to another document first.

18.  Make your options, select merge and the process starts.

So, to summarise the above. We are creating and saving a data base in Excel. Opening Word and then selecting the type of mail merge we want, what data we are using for it and then merging.

Note that at point 15 you do not have to merge immediately.  You can click close. This takes you to the document window. Here you have various options on how to merge.

Filtering and sorting:

From the merge document window, select tools and mailmerge. Select Query options under Item 3. Here you can now sort and filter using similar controls to Excel.

The filter section allows you to specify criteria to restrict the records, the sort option determines the sequence that the records will be printed in.