Mail Merge in Microsoft Word

To begin a mail merge, open Word and click Tools|Mail Merge.  On the window that opens, click the Create button.

On the next window, the user is asked what sort of mail merge is being done.  For the purposes of this viewlet, a form letter is used.  Once the choice is made, the user is asked what to use as the main document.  If a document has already been created, it can be selected.   Otherwise, as is the case with the viewlet, Document1 (the document that is currently opened) is chosen.

The next step is to specify a data source.  If a database of names and addresses exists, it can be chosen here.  Otherwise, select the Create Data Source... option.  This option is the one used in the viewlet. 

The Create Data Source window displays a list of default fields for the database.  Any of these that aren't needed can be deleted by clicking to select them, then clicking the "Remove Field Name" button.  If additional fields are required, they can be added by typing the new field name in the box provided and clicking the "Add Field Name" button.  After all fields have been specified, click the OK button to exit the Create Data Source window.  A new window will open in which the user can enter the name of the data source file and save it to the hard disk.  (The data source is actually a table whose first row is comprised of the field names and whose subsequent rows contain the field values.  It is saved as a .doc file to preserve the table formatting.)

Once the file is saved, a window appears advising that the data source contains no records and offers the opportunity to add them by clicking the "Edit Data Source" button.  After this button is clicked, the Data Form window appears.  Each line of this window corresponds to a field specified in the Create Data Source window.  After each record's information is filled in, click the "Add New" button to bring up a blank window to enter the next record's information.   When all the records have been entered, click OK.

The user is returned to the Document1 window, where the boilerplate text for the form letter can be entered.  After the text is entered, place the various fields from the data source into the document using the "Insert Merge Field" button which, when clicked, will display the list of available fields to insert.  After all the fields have been entered, click Tools|Mail Merge.

The Mail Merge Helper window appears.  Since the data source has been created and the active document has been written and had the merge fields specified in it, click the Merge... button.  The field values will be inserted into the main document after which the main documents can be printed.  Once the main documents are printed, the same data source can be used to address envelopes to mail the finished documents (by opening Tools|Mail Merge again and selecting "Envelopes" after clicking the Create button under Main Document.