Via laterlife.com Jackie aims to particularly help those new to IT and the web to
build up knowledge and confidence, so no question is too basic. At the same time she will
cover Q&As for the more experienced user.
So if you
would like to ask a question of Jackie, why not email her jackie@laterlife.com
or if you
have discovered something which may be of interest to others in making the most of the
web, then she would love to hear about that too jackie@laterlife.com
Q: Everyone I speak to says that mail
merge is very difficult. I haven’t
tried it yet, but can you explain it in simple terms for those of us who are not very
confident with our computers.
A: If you have ever received a letter addressed
something like “Dear Mrs Jackie” you will see the effects of a mail merge that
has gone wrong! So what is it?
Well, mail merge allows you to write one letter to
lots of different people and, instead of each letter starting “Dear Sir/Madam”,
they can be personalised by drawing names, addresses, telephone numbers etc. from a
database you set up during the process. (If you have previously created and saved a
database e.g. in a spreadsheet or database application, you can use this instead.)
There are two files that must be
created and saved: the
letter/memo/invitation/demand etc. received by everyone and known as the main document, and the details of all the people
on your mailing list known as the data source. Both files can be saved and stored on your
computer and will be linked whenever the main document is opened. You can print out all the letters straight away or
at a later date, or you can create a new, merged document e.g. to save on a floppy disk
ready to take away and print from a different machine.
(The following instructions apply
to Microsoft Office Word 2000):
Step 1 Open
Word and then go to Tools - Mail Merge. Select the first option to create the main
document and pick Form Letter as this
covers everything except labels or envelopes. If
you now select Active Window you will simply base the document on the blank
document you opened with Word.
Step 2 Before
you can work on the main document, you must set up the database, so go to Step 2: Data source - Get Data - Create Data source. You will be offered a long list of categories
(technically known as fields) likely to be used
in letters, and you can keep as many as you like. To
remove unwanted field names e.g. Zipcode, click it and press the Remove button. To add any e.g. Initials (no spaces or
punctuation marks allowed in field names), type them in the Field Name box and click the
Add button. This data source file is the structure
for your database, and must be saved with a recognisable name e.g. tennis club members.
Step 3 Adding
the names on your mailing list is known as editing
so click the Edit Data Source button. For
each person (known as a record), click in the
boxes displayed as a form and type their details. When
you have finished adding all the details for the first person - record 1 - click Add New and type in record 2. Do not
click OK or you will close the form you are filling in.
(If this happens, open it again by clicking Alt + Shift + E.) Only click OK when all your records have been
completed.
Step 4 After
closing the data form, you will be back in your main document with an extra toolbar
showing across the top of the page. One button
will be labelled Insert Merge Field and if you click it you will see a list of all
the field names you have entered your mailing list details under. You can now type your letter in the normal way, but
do NOT type any personal details. When you get
to the point to add any (e.g. after Dear or when starting an address) click the
field name showing on the Insert Merge Field list. Field names will then appear
like this:
Dear
<<Title>> <<Surname>>
On merging
your letters, this will then show the details for each record in turn e.g. Dear Mrs Jones
(record 1), Dear Mr. Smith (record 2) etc. etc.
To see the
merged letters, click the button labelled <<ABC>> (View merged data) and click
it again to return to the view of the field names.
Step 5 There
are ways to select only a few letters to print (e.g. if you want to write only to people
living in Bristol, or owing more than £20,000 etc.) that you can set up using the Query
option, but for a straightforward mail merge, simply click the Merge to Printer button
(Alt + Shift + M) to print all the letters, or Merge to New Document (Alt + Shift + N) to
save them as a new, merged file. Note that
the main document is still open if you do this.
Finally,
when you close you will have 2 things to save: the
main document and the records you added to the data source file that have not yet been
saved.
Jackie Sherman`s new book:
 This work provides all
necessary computer skills an individual may need and presents them in a straightforward
and intelligent way. It demystifies computers and is ideal for those wishing to develop
their skills and confidence in the subject.
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