Can i do a mail merge using two different workbooks
Yes, you can do a mail merge using two different workbooks in Microsoft Excel. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you achieve this:
Prerequisites:
- Both workbooks should be in the same format, with the same column headers.
- The data in both workbooks should be organized in a similar way, with the same columns and rows.
Step 1: Prepare the data
- Open both workbooks and select the entire data range (including headers) in each workbook.
- Copy the data from one workbook and paste it into a new worksheet in the same workbook. This will create a new worksheet with the combined data.
- Repeat the same process for the second workbook, copying the data and pasting it into a new worksheet in the same workbook.
Step 2: Create a new workbook for the mail merge
- Create a new workbook for the mail merge.
- In this new workbook, create a new worksheet for the mail merge data.
- Go to the "Data" tab in the ribbon and click on "From Other Sources" > "From Microsoft Query".
- In the "Query Wizard", select the first workbook as the data source and the worksheet with the combined data as the table.
- Repeat the same process for the second workbook, selecting the worksheet with the combined data as the table.
Step 3: Set up the mail merge
- Go to the "Mailings" tab in the ribbon and click on "Start Mail Merge" > "Step-by-Step Mail Merge Wizard".
- Select "Use an existing list" and choose the new workbook you created in Step 2.
- Select the worksheet with the mail merge data as the list.
- Choose the document type (e.g., Word document, PDF, etc.).
- Click "Next" and then "Finish" to complete the setup.
Step 4: Merge the data
- Go to the "Mailings" tab in the ribbon and click on "Merge" > "Merge to Document".
- Select the document type you chose in Step 3.
- Choose the output location for the merged document.
- Click "Merge" to start the mail merge process.
Tips and Variations:
- You can also use VBA macros to automate the mail merge process between two workbooks.
- If you have a large dataset, you may want to consider using a database or a cloud-based solution for the mail merge.
- You can also use other mail merge tools, such as Microsoft Word's built-in mail merge feature, to merge data from two workbooks.