How to Use Mail Merge in Microsoft Word

This article provides a detailed guide on how to use the "Mail Merge" feature in Microsoft Word. Mail Merge allows you to automatically insert contact information such as addresses, names, and other details into each document copy. This is particularly useful when you want to personalize letters or forms without having to manually write out each person's name or address at the top of each document.

Open Microsoft Excel. The Microsoft Excel program has a white "X" icon on a green background. A new Excel sheet will appear right away.

• If you already have an Excel contact table, move on to step importing contact information from Excel.

Click on Blank workbook (New spreadsheet). This option is located at the top-left corner of the "New" page. The new Excel sheet will automatically appear once this action is completed.

Enter contact headers. Proceed by filling in the following headers into their respective cells, starting from cell A1 moving to the right:

• FirstName - The first name of the contact is entered here (cell A1).
• LastName - The last name of the contact is entered here (cell B1).
• Tel - The contact's phone number is entered here (cell C1).
• StreetAddress - The contact's street address is entered here (cell D1).
• City - The city the contact resides in is entered here (cell E1).
• State - The state the contact lives in is entered here (cell F1).
• ZIP - The contact's ZIP code is entered here (cell G1).
• Email - The contact's email address is entered here (cell G1).

Input contact information. Starting from row 2 of column A, input the contact details for each person you plan to use in a mail merge.

• Ensure the accuracy of the entered data before proceeding.

Save the document. Follow these steps:

• Windows - Click on File, then select Save As, double-click This PC, choose the save folder from the left panel, type the document name into the "File name" field, and click Save.
• Mac - Click on File, select Save As..., type the document name in the "Save As" field, choose the destination folder by clicking on the "Where" field, select a folder, and click Save.
• Be sure to remember the save location, as you'll need to locate the Excel sheet in the next step.

Close Excel. Click the X at the top-right corner of the Excel window (on Windows) or the red circle at the top-left corner (on Mac). You are now ready to proceed with the mail merge step in Microsoft Word.

Open Microsoft Word. This is the application with the white "W" icon on a blue background. Similar to Excel, the "New" page will appear immediately.

• If you already have a Microsoft Word document prepared to input the Excel information, simply double-click to open the file and skip the next step.

Click on Blank document (New document). This is the white box at the top-left corner of the page. A new Microsoft Word document will appear on your screen immediately after clicking.

Click on the Mailings tab. This tab is located at the top-left corner of the Microsoft Word window. A toolbar will appear directly beneath the tab line.

Click on Select Recipients. This is the option found under "Start Mail Merge" in the Mailings toolbar. This will open up another menu.

Click on Use an Existing List... (Use an Existing List…). You will see this option in the dropdown menu. A new window will appear immediately.

• If you wish to use your Outlook contacts, select Choose from Outlook Contacts in the menu that is showing.
• You can also manually type a new contact list into Word by selecting Type a New List. This method is useful when you only need to enter information for a few people.

Select the Excel spreadsheet containing your contacts. On the left side of the window, click on the folder where your Excel file is stored, then select the spreadsheet you want to use.

Click on Open (Open). This option is located at the bottom-right corner of the window.

Confirm your choice. Click on the name of the Excel worksheet in the window that appears, then click OK at the bottom of the window. Your Excel worksheet will now be selected as the source for your contact data.

• Ensure that the "First row of data contains column headers" option is checked at the bottom of the window.

Move to the location where you want to insert the contact information. Find the spot where you'd like to insert the contact details (for example, above the text) and click to position the cursor there.

Click on Insert Merge Field (Insert Merge Field). This option is found under the "Write & Insert Fields" section in the Mailings tab. A menu will appear here.

• You may need to click on the Mailings tab again before proceeding.

Select the type of information. In the menu that appears, click on the name of one of the headers from your Excel spreadsheet.

• For example, click on FirstName if you want to insert the first name field for the contact.

Add other information in the appropriate spots. This includes details such as the contact's address, last name, or phone number.

Click on Finish & Merge (Finish & Merge). This option is located at the far right of the toolbar in the Mailings tab. A menu will appear here.

Choose your merge option. You need to click on one of the following options:

• Edit Individual Documents (Edit Individual Documents) - This option opens a document for each recipient, allowing you to customize the information.
• Print Documents... (Print Documents…) - This option lets you print a copy of the document for each person listed in your contact information table.
• Send Email Messages... (Send Email) - This option allows you to send the document via email. The email address in the contact table will be used as the recipient's address for the document.

Follow the on-screen instructions. Depending on the option you select, additional prompts will appear for review (for example, if you choose Email, you'll need to enter a subject and click OK). This will complete the mail merge process.

• The mail merge feature is extremely helpful when creating invoices, forms, reports, or when you need to generate a large volume of documents that require personal details such as names, addresses, and other information for each individual.

Always double-check your contact information before entering it into Word. Failing to do so could lead to issues such as entering incorrect names or sending documents to the wrong email address.