Microsoft ® Office Word 2003 Training

1. Chipping Sodbury School presents: Microsoft® Office Word 2003 Training Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

2. Course contents • Overview: One source, many documents • Lesson 1: Anatomy of a mail merge • Lesson 2: Set up and connect to your data files • Lesson 3: Perform a mail merge • Lesson 4: Perform a more complex merge Lessons 2–4 have suggestions for practice tasks. All lessons include a set of test questions. Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

3. Overview: One source, many documents • Creating individual letters, e-mail messages, flyers, or coupons separately could take hours. Learn how to use mail merge in Microsoft Office Word to produce envelopes and labels for mass mailings. With mail merge, you create one document with the information that’s the same in each copy, and add placeholders for the information that’s unique to each copy. Word takes care of the rest. Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

4. Course goals • Understand how mail merge works so you can get the results you want. • Set up a document for a mass mailing. • Perform a basic mail merge to add unique addresses to a set of otherwise identical documents. • Perform a more complex mail merge to merge several unique elements into a set of otherwise identical documents. Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

5. Lesson 1 Anatomy of a mail merge

6. Anatomy of a mail merge • In any mail merge, you'll deal with three different elements: • The main document that you start with • Information, such as names and addresses, that you want to merge into the main document to create a set of unique documents • The finished set of documents Elements of mail merge Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

7. Main document • The main document is your starting document. You set it up to be the same size and shape that you want the final letters, e-mail messages, envelopes, labels, coupons, or other documents to be. It contains: • Information that is identical in each copy, such as the main body text of a form letter. • Placeholders for unique information. Main document with placeholders Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

8. Main document • In the main document, you add the information that will be same in every copy. You also add placeholders to the main document. Placeholders indicate where the unique information will appear and what it will be. Main document with placeholders Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

9. Unique information • In a mail merge, the unique information is the information that is different in each merged copy that you create. When you perform a merge, a new document is created for each set of unique information. The unique information replaces the placeholders that you added to the main document. Merged letters with unique information Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

10. Unique information Examples of unique information: • Addresses on envelopes or labels • Names in the greeting line of a form letter • Salary amounts in e-mail messages that you send to your employees Merged letters with unique information Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

11. Unique information Examples of unique information: • Personal notes about favorite products in postcards that you mail to your customers • Numbers on redeemable coupons Merged letters with unique information Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

12. Data files • Data file is an umbrella term that covers a whole category of files you work with all the time. For example, your Microsoft Office Outlook® 2003 contacts list is a data file. Merging information from data file to document Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

13. Data files • When unique information is organized in a data file, you can control where specific pieces of that information appear in a mail-merge document. The structure of a data file makes it possible to match specific pieces of that information with placeholders in the main document. Merging information from data file to document Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

14. Finished set of documents • When you finish a mail merge, you have: • The set of individual documents that you print or transmit electronically. • The main document you started with. A finished set of documents Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

15. Finished set of documents • Because copies of the finished set of documents are not saved, you should save the main document. Word remembers which data file you connected to the main document—when you open the main document again, you can quickly complete a new merge. A finished set of documents Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

16. Test 1, question 1 • In a mail merge, what is the main document? (Pick one answer.) • The document you start with that contains both information that is identical for each merged copy and placeholders for unique information. • The first document in the set that gets created. • A document that contains only the information that is identical in each merged copy. Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

17. Test 1, question 1: Answer • The document you start with that contains both information that is identical for each merged copy and placeholders for unique information. The main document is your starting document, where you add all the information that will be the same in every copy as well as placeholders that indicate what the unique information will be and where it will appear. Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

18. Test 1, question 2 • When you complete a merge, you automatically save a file that contains a copy of each unique merged document. (Pick one answer.) • True. • False. Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

19. Test 1, question 2: Answer • False. The finished set of documents is not saved. You should save the main document, because Word “remembers” which data file you connected to the main document. When you open the main document again, you can quickly complete a new merge. Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

20. Test 1, question 3 • Why does the unique information you use in a mail merge have to be stored in data files? (Pick one answer.) • Data files are a special type of file you use only to work with mail merge. • Data files organize information in a way that lets you match specific pieces of that information with specific placeholders in the main document. • Data files are designed to hold a lot of information. Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

21. Test 1, question 3: Answer • Data files organize information in a way that lets you match specific pieces of that information with specific placeholders in the main document. It's the structured way that information is organized in data files that makes it possible for you to put information from one cell in that file into one unique document. Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

22. Lesson 2 Set up and connect to your data files

23. Set up and connect to your data files • Data files, such as Excel spreadsheets and Outlook Contacts files, along with fields, such as «Name» and «Street Address», are the heart and soul of mail merge. • They work together to get unique information into each merged copy. A data file and its fields Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

24. More about data files • A data file (sometimes called a data source or data list) is any file that organizes information into columns and rows. See the image on the left. • Columns in a data file represent categories of information. • Each row represents one complete record. Example data file Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

25. More about data files • The columns in a data file represent categories: • For example, in a customer data file, like the one on the left, you might have columns for Name, Last Name, and Street Address. Example data file Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

26. More about data files • Each row in a data file represents a complete record: • In the customer data file, for example, one row contains all the information about one customer: the customer's name and address. Example data file It's these columns and rows that make it possible to get unique information into documents during a mail merge. Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

27. More about data files • With the main document open, you: • Connect, or link, to the data file that contains the unique information. • Add placeholders, called fields, to the main document for each category (column) of unique information that you want to include. • Complete the merge to create a set of unique documents. Example data file Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

28. More about data files • See the image at left. • Columns in a data file represent categories of information. • Each row represents one complete record. Example data file Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

29. Where data files come from • In many cases, the data file that you want to use for a mail merge will already exist. For example, you might have access to a data file that lists: • Customer or contact names, addresses, and more. • The products or services your company offers. • Information about your employees. Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

30. Where data files come from • But don't worry if you don't have a data file yet. The mail-merge process includes a step where you can create a data file from scratch. • In the Mail Merge task pane, select the Type a new list option, and then click Create. • The New Address List dialog box appears with a list of column headings. Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

31. Where data files come from • The new file is saved as a mailing database (.mdb) file in the My Data Sources folder, which is located in your My Documents folder. You can reuse the file for future mail merges. Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

32. Fields, defined • Officially, a field is a set of codes that instructs Word to insert information into a document automatically. Informally, you can think of fields as placeholders. In a mail merge, you'll mostly use fields as placeholders for information that comes directly from a data file. A field representing data is surrounded by chevrons (« »). Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

33. Fields that insert data file information • Fields that insert data file information correspond to column headings from your data file. • By putting a field in a document, you indicate that you want a certain category of information, such as last name, city, or personal note, to appear in that location. Elements in an Address Block field Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

34. Fields that insert data file information • Some fields you might use in a mail merge are actually made up of other fields. You can combine fields and separate them by punctuation marks. For example, to create an address, you could set up fields in your document like this: Elements in an Address Block field «Name» «Surname» «Address» «City», «State» «Zip» Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

35. Fields that insert data file information • You can also control how unique information looks in merged documents by formatting fields. Elements in an Address Block field Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

36. Fields that insert data file information • For example, you might want names to be bold or colored red: • In the main document, select the field, including the surrounding chevrons (« »). • On the Format menu, click Font, Paragraph, or another command you want, and choose formatting options. Elements in an Address Block field Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

37. Other fields • There are a number of other fields in Word (called Word fields) that you can insert into a document, to: • Display information about the document, such as the document's creation or print date or the author's name. • Perform some calculation or action, such as counting and displaying the number of pages in one section of a document or prompting a document's user to fill in text. The Field dialog box Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

38. Other fields • For example, you could use: • A Date field to automatically add the current date to each merged copy of a form letter. • A PrintDate field combined with a Merged Record # field to add a unique number to each copy of an invoice. The Field dialog box Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

39. Other fields • For example, you could use: • An If...Then...Else... field to print a company address in a letter if there is information in the Company column of a data file for a particular record, or to print a home address instead if there is no company information. The Field dialog box Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

40. Suggestions for practice • Break the Name column into two columns. • Create a Personal Note column. • Save the Excel worksheet. • Set up a basic mail merge. • Experiment with fields. Online practice (requires Excel 2003) Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

41. Test 2, question 1 • What is the relationship between your data file and the fields you insert into the main document? (Pick one answer.) • There is no relationship. • Fields are equivalent to categories (column headings) in the data file. • Each field represents one cell in the data file. Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

42. Test 2, question 1: Answer • Fields are equivalent to categories (column headings) in the data file. Adding a field to the main document means that information stored in the corresponding column in your data file will appear in the merged documents. Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

43. Test 2, question 2 • How can you distinguish a data file field from other text in a main document? (Pick one answer.) • Data file fields are always formatted as bold text. • Data file fields are italicized. • Data file fields are surrounded by chevrons (« »). Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

44. Test 2, question 2: Answer • Data file fields are surrounded by chevrons (« »). Just scan for those chevrons when you're looking for the data file fields in your main document. Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

45. Test 2, question 3 • You must have an existing data file in order to perform a mail merge. (Pick one answer.) • True. • False. Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

46. Test 2, question 3: Answer • False. You can create a data file during the mail-merge process. Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

47. Lesson 3 Perform a mail merge

48. Perform a mail merge • In this lesson, you'll walk through the process of performing a mail merge. • While some details differ depending on what document type you're creating, the process remains essentially the same. An addressed envelope created with mail merge Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

49. Get set up • To perform a mail merge, start Word. Then: • On the Tools menu, point to Letters and Mailings, and then click Mail Merge. • The Mail Merge task pane opens. The Mail Merge task pane The task pane leads you through the steps to complete a merge. Use mail merge for mass mailings and more

50. Get set up • The task pane opens with a question, asking the document type into which you want to merge information: • Click the Next links at the bottom of the task pane to move through the mail-merge process. • If you need to back up a step, click the Previous link. The Mail Merge task pane Use mail merge for mass mailings and more