Prepare the Data for Mail Merge
The Word mail merge feature works seamlessly with data from Excel.
you’ve got the option to use any Excel worksheet in a Wordmail merge functionwithout any special preparation.
However toavoid errors in the mail mergeprocess, it’s a good idea toorganize the data in the spreadsheet.
Once the merge has started, making any changes can cause errors with the mail merge.
Organize the Spreadsheet Data
Organize your Excel mailing list data into rows and columns.
This can be a new document or an existing document.
SelectMailings>Start Mail Merge.
Choose the kind of merge you want to run.
For this example, we’ll walk through the steps to create a mail merge manually.
Then, go to theMailingstab and selectSelect Recipients>Use an Existing List.
Navigate to and choose the Excel file you prepared for the mail merge, then selectOpen.
If Word prompts you, chooseSheet1$>OK.
If your Excel has column headers, select theFirst row of data contains column headerscheck box.
you could’t make changes to your data source in Excel at this time.
To make changes to the data, end the document in Word before opening the data source in Excel.
If you want to apply formatting such as italics, bold, or underline, do it in Word.
When viewing the merged data in the document, highlight the text you wish to change.
Preview the Merged Documents
To preview the merged documents, go to theMailings>Preview Results.
Navigate through the merged documents using the buttons on the Mailings tab.
Pay particular attention to punctuation and spacing around the merged data.
Choose the records you want to print, then selectOK.
