Word
2001
Macintosh

USING MAIL MERGE IN WORD 2001 FOR THE MAC


Introduction

This document outlines many of the new features of mail merge in Microsoft Word 2001 and how it differs from Word 98. The document is designed for people who are familiar with Word 98 and who are starting to use or wish to use Word 2001. Office 2001 will be distributed to faculty and staff offices based on upgrade requests made through calls to the Helpdesk (x3333). Specific differences between Word 98 and 2001 are detailed below.


Getting Started

To launch Microsoft Word, go to the Apple menu and choose Microsoft Word.


Creating the main document -- Letters, Labels Preview your letters
Selecting recipients Complete the merge
Format your letter Save the merged letters

Creating the main document

If you already have a document which you want to use for your mail merge, open it before you begin any of these steps. You can make these changes directly to your document. If you do not already have a document, proceed with a new document.

  1. On the menu bar, click on the Tools menu.
  2. From the pull down menu, select Data Merge Manager. The Data Merge Manager window will open. It will remain open throughout the mail merge process unless you close it. At any point, you can reopen the Data Merge Manager by going to Tools > Data Merge Manager.
  3. If the arrow to the left of the heading Main Document points to the right, click once on it to drop the menu down. The arrow should now point down.

The most common types of documents are letters and labels.

Letters:

To create a letter, click Create and select Form Letter. Move on to select recipients.

Labels:

  1. To create labels, click Create and select Labels. A Label Options window will appear.
  2. You may choose a specific type of label by selecting items in the Label products and Product number fields.
  3. You can adjust the height and width of the label by clicking on Details... Click OK when you are finished adjusting.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Move on to select recipients.

 

Selecting recipients

To select your recipients, click the Get Data button in the Data Merge Manager to reveal a drop-down menu with your options.

Open Data Source will allow you to use files and addresses from an existing file or database.

New Data Source will allow you to create a new contact list.

Formatting letter and label

If you are working with a file you have already begun, make sure it is open.

If you are creating a form letter, type the text you want to have in every form letter in the document.

Insert merge fields where you want to merge names, addresses, and other data from the data source (i.e. recipient list) by dragging and dropping from the Data Merge Manager as follows:

  1. If the arrow to the left of the heading Merge Field in the Data Merge Manager points to the right, click once on it to drop the menu down. The arrow should now point down.
  2. Click on the specific field you wish to insert.
  3. Hold the mouse button down and drag the mouse until the cursor is over the point where you wish to insert the field, then release. The merge field will be inserted, and denoted by <<Merge Field>>.
  4. If you are working with labels, be sure to click the Propagate Label Document button when you are done editing. This copies the changes to all labels.

 

Preview letters and Labels

  1. If the arrow to the left of the heading Preview in the Data Merge Manager points to the right, click once on it to reveal more options. The arrow should now point down.
  2. Click the View Merged Data button .
  3. To preview the items, click the arrows under the Preview heading.

Complete the merge

Now that you have edited your data source and inserted your merge fields and text, you are ready to complete your mail merge document.

 

Save the Document

    To save your mail merge main document, go to File > Save and save the document normally. Your saved mail merge document will allow you to update it by altering the data source or changing the merge fields included.

Edit Individual letters/labels

    1. Click the Merge to New Document icon .
    2. Microsoft Word will create a new merged document.
    3. To personalize individual documents, scroll to the information you want to edit, and make your changes.
    4. Print or save the document just as you would any regular document.

Print the letters/labels

  1. Under the Merge heading, select Merge to Printer.
  2. Click Print.

Save the merged letters/labels

Under most circumstances, you do not need to save the merged document. It is simpler and more useful to save the main document and merge it again if you need another copy. Below are examples of times when you might wish to save the merged document:

If you do wish to save the merged document, begin by merging the forms to a single file by clicking the Merge to New Document icon . Microsoft Word will open one new document that contains all the individual letters. Save the document just as you would any regular document.


How to Quit

Go the the File menu and select Exit from the pull down menu.


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