Mail merges are how people generate things like name tags or the user information sheet we give new employees. There are several ways to do them but we recommend using an excel sheet as the database, creating a template in Word, and then sending the merge from Word. This process relies on having Excel, Word, and Outlook Desktop all signed in to the same profile on the computer.
Start with the excel sheet, it should have column labels at the top for each field.
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Then make the word doc and format it the way you want the email. Choose Mailings from the menu ribbon and then select Use an Existing List. Choose the Excel sheet with the recipient data. Make sure the check box that says First row of data contains column headers.
Merge Fields are the dynamic information in the merge. The data that will change for each entry. Move to one of the locations where a Select Insert Merge Field. I'm adding a field to the greeting for the Name here so I'll select the Name column.
I'll also add a field for whatever info I want to be unique to each recipient as part of the body. I can see each field formatted as <<Field>>. If I select Preview Results, I'll see the data for each record and I can look through them with the navigation buttons or search for a specific record to make sure the data matches up.
Once you're satisfied, select Finish & Merge from the menu ribbon. If sending immediately, you can select Send Email Messages. You can also continue to edit documents individually or print each record (also allows you to save each record as a PDF).
Merge to E-mail will auto detect if you have a column header called Email but you can select which column you're using in the To: field. Add a subject line and select which records you want to send to (default is all). Select OK when ready.
Outlook will open if it isn't already and it will take several seconds to process. You'll be able to see your emails in your list of Sent items afterwards.
Final notes:
- When documents are set up for mail merges, their ability to auto-save is removed. If you make any changes to your word doc template or your Excel data set, they'll need to be saved manually.
- While setting up the mail merge from the template, the data set is being actively accessed from the template. If you need to change anything in the data set, you'll need to first close the template and then open the data set to edit it.