Word 2002 Office XP Windows

CREATING LABELS WITH AN EXISTING DATA SOURCE

This document outlines how to create a mail merge for mailing labels and with an existing data source. For more information on mail merge and a more detailed explanation of the terms listed here, please click on the General Mail Merge XP Information button above. Please keep in mind that there are several possible variations of mail merges and only one way is outlined below.

Before Starting

1. Make sure you are using Microsoft Office XP

• Open Microsoft Word.
• Go to the Help menu and select About Microsoft Word.
• In the About Microsoft Word window it will tell you what version of Word is installed on your computer. It should say Microsoft Word 2002.

2. Check your data source

• Open your data source in Microsoft Excel.
• Ensure that the first row contains the merge field names (headers) such as Name or Street that describe the data in that column.
• If the first row does not contain the merge field names, delete any blank rows or titles and insert the merge field names in Row 1.

Creating Labels with an Existing Data Source

1. Open Microsoft Word 2002.
2. Go to the Tools menu > Letters and Mailings > Mail Merge Wizard. If the task pane was closed, it will open the Mail Merge task pane.

Step 1: Select Document Type

1. Select Labels under Select document type.
   
   
   
2. At the bottom of the Mail Merge task pane, click Next: Starting document. Note that currently we’re in Step 1 of 6 and the wizard will guide us through all the steps.You can click on these links throughout the process to go back and forth between the steps.

Step 2: Starting Document

1. Select Change document layout. Once you select this option, the task pane will change slightly.
   
   
   
   
2. Click Label Options. The Label Options window will appear for you to select the type of label you will be using.
   
   
   
3. Select the brand in the Label products drop down list and the exact type of label in the Product number menu. You can customize the already existing labels by clicking on Details or you can create your own by clicking on New Label…
4. Click OK once you have selected the appropriate label.
5. Click Next: Select recipients. Note that you can always go between steps by clicking on the Next and Previous links at the bottom of the task pane.

Step 3: Select Recipients

1. Select Use an existing list.
   
   
   
2. Click on Browse to open your data source.The Select Data Source window will appear allowing you to find your data source file.
3. Click Open.
4. If you use an Excel file as your data source, the Select Table window will appear asking you to select which Sheet from your Excel workbook you would like to use. Highlight it by clicking on it once. At the bottom of the window, make sure that First row of data contains column headers is checked if this is true of your data source. Click OK.
5. A Mail Merge Recipients window will appear. Here you can view all your recipients and decide which recipients you would like to create a label for. You can use filters, sort and organize your recipients by clicking on the black triangles in the header fields. Click OK.
   
   
   
   
6. Click Next: Arrange your labels.

Step 4: Arrange Your Labels

1. Click once in the first label where you would like the first mail merge field to be inserted.
   
   
   
2. You can use the categories such as Address block to insert mail merge fields in a predetermined way. However, if your data source has fields named slightly different, it is necessary for you to match your fields with the Microsoft Word field names. To do so, click once on the category and then select the Match Fields... button in the lower left-hand corner of the window.
3. Click More items…to find the individual mail merge fields in your data source.
4. In the Insert Merge Field window, make sure Database Fields is selected in the Insert area. Under Fields you should see all the fields in your database. Select the one you want and click Insert. Then click Close to move your cursor to the next place you would like to insert your merge field.
   
   
   
5. Continue inserting fields until all the fields are inserted. Format as you would like them to appear on every label, including spacing and styles.
6. Click the Update all labels button to insert the fields on all the labels. If you ever make any modifications to the first label again, you must click this button to update all the changes on all the labels.
7. Go to the File menu > Save As to save your labels if you would like to use them again in a future mail merge.
8. Click on Next: Preview your labels at the bottom of the task pane.

Step 5: Preview Your Labels

1. This step will show you a preview of only one sheet of labels. To see more labels, click on the arrows in the upper portion of the task pane to move among the recipients. However, this will only move the labels one recipient at a time instead of the a page of label recipients. If the first page of labels looks correct, it is better to select Edit Individual Labels in Step 6 ro preview all the labels.
2. Check to make sure that the fields are properly placed and formatted. If they aren’t click Previous: Arrange your labels at the bottom of the task pane to make the modifications in Step 4. Remember to click the Update all labels button to make changes to all the labels.
   
   
   
3. Click on Next: Complete the merge at the bottom of the task pane.

Step 6: Complete the Merge

1. You are ready to complete the merge!
   
   
   
2. If you wish to view all the mail merged labels before printing them out, click Edit Individual labels….
• In the Merge to New Document window, select which recipients/records you would like and click OK.
  
  
  
• A new document will appear called Labels1. You can use the scroll bar to see all the labels. However, please note at the bottom of the document that no matter how far you scroll down, it says Page 1. This means that if you send this document to the printer, it will print every single label without giving you the option to select certain recipients. This is why it is necessary to select recipients during the merge. This is also why we strongly discourage saving this document unless it is for archival purposes since it will also not possible to edit easily (it would be necessary to edit every single label individually) or print out one page of labels.
• Once you have verified that your labels are correct, go to the File menu > Print to print them out.
3. You can also select Print... to print out the labels without previewing them.

Save the Merged Labels

Under most circumstances, you do not need to save the merged document, Labels1. 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:

• You wish to keep an archived copy of mailings, including to whom they were sent.
• You have personalized individual labels within the merge, and want to save those changes.

If you do wish to save the merged document, collect the merged files into a single document by clicking Edit individual labels... In the Merge to New Document window, select one of the following:

• To merge all the documents, click All.
• To merge only the document that you see in the document window, click Current record.
• To merge a range of documents, click From, and then type the record numbers in the From and To boxes.

Click OK.

Microsoft Word will open one new document that contains all the individual labels. Save the document just as you would any regular document.

• Erin Foti
• Information Services
• Date Created: August 5, 2003
• Last Modified: October 14, 2003
• Page Expires: July 1, 2004