Mail Merge Feature Of Ms Word

Do you want to send an email or letter to 1000 or say 10000 people and that too with their name and proper salutation or need to print Envelopes with different names and addresses; it’s going to be a very big task.

In this tutorial, we will learn how to use Mail Merge in MS Word to send an email or letter to N number of people with different salutations.

Let’s first find out what is mail merge and what is it used for.

Mail Merge

It’s a feature of Microsoft Word which enables users to send letters, emails or documents to N number of recipients with different recipient names, addresses and other predefined salutations.

Step-1 Set the document type and select it

To start the mail-merge process, you must first select the type of document you want to create.

Click the Mailings tab.
Click Start Mail Merge.
Select the step-by-step Mail Merge Wizard.
Follow the step-by-step process mail-merge pane that appears on the right side.
Select the type of document you want to create.
Click Next: Starting Document.

The wizard will take you to the next step.

Step 2 Select a document

1 Select a startup document.

You can use the current document as the basis for the circular, or you can select an existing template or document.

2 Click Next: Select recipients.

Step 3 Select Recipients

Now you need to choose where to get the address list. This example uses an existing list from a database, but you can select Outlook contacts or create your own list manually.
1. Select Use Existing List.
2. Click the Browse button.

3. Select a data file.

A data file of recipients can be in a database file, in an Excel spreadsheet, in another Word document, or in other types of data files.

4. Click Open.

The Mail Merge Recipients dialogue box displays the addresses you want to use. If you use an Excel spreadsheet as your data source, you may also be prompted to select a worksheet that contains names.

If there is an address you don’t want to use, uncheck it.

5. Make sure the correct recipients are selected, and then click OK.
6. Click Next: Write your Email message

Step 4 Write your e-mail message

After defining the main document and adding and editing the recipient list, you can insert the merge fields in the document.

Merge fields are a placeholder in a document for unique information which has to be inserted from the recipient list.

When you place a merged field into the main document, information in that merged field will be displayed in a document that is unique to the recipient.

1. Click where you want the information.
2. Select one of the placeholder options.
You can add related fields using the Wrap and paste field wizard on the ribbon:

Address Block: This is a collection of fields that includes the names and addresses of entrants.
Greeting String: The set of letters that the recipient’s name should enter in the greeting string.
Enter merge field: Click this button to see a list of additional integrated fields that you can enter.

Arrange the placeholders as and wherever required.
Click OK
Repeat the steps to include each merge field you want to include.
Click Next: Preview Your Emails messages

Step 5 Preview your e-mail messages

Sometimes it is helpful to see the preview of your data when you are using the merge fields to insert fields into a document before the completion of the mail merge.
Use the arrow buttons in the mail merge pane given on the right side to preview each email.
Click Next: Complete the merge.

Complete the Merge

There are several different ways to complete a mail merge:
Edit individual documents: Merge results into a new document. Feel free to edit, save, and print merge results just like any other document.
Print document: Merge the entries and send them straight to the printer.
Send Email Message:
Select the option you want to use to complete the mail.
You can also click Finish and Merge on the Ribbon and select the Merge option.
You can also select which entries to integrate. You can list all entries in the list, just the current entry, or you can specify a range.
Select the posts you want to merge.
Click OK

Word merges the main document and the information from the data source into a new Word document, or merges it and sends it to the printer, based on the option you chose.

How to Use Mail Merge in MS Word

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