How to do mail merge for labels from excel

Mail merge is a powerful feature that allows you to combine data from an Excel spreadsheet with a template to create personalized labels. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to do a mail merge for labels from Excel:

Prerequisites:

1. Microsoft Excel 2010 or later version
2. Microsoft Word 2010 or later version
3. A template for your label (you can create one from scratch or use a pre-designed template)

Step 1: Prepare your Excel data

1. Open your Excel spreadsheet and create a table with the following columns:
   • Column A: First name
   • Column B: Last name
   • Column C: Address
   • Column D: City
   • Column E: State
   • Column F: ZIP code
   • Column G: Label text (optional)
2. Enter your data in the respective columns. Make sure the data is accurate and consistent.

Step 2: Create a label template in Word

1. Open Microsoft Word and create a new document.
2. Go to the "Insert" tab and click on "Label" in the "Text" group.
3. Select the type of label you want to create (e.g., Avery 5160).
4. Customize the label template as needed (e.g., change the font, font size, and layout).
5. Save the template as a Word document (e.g., "Label Template.docx").

Step 3: Set up the mail merge

1. Open your Excel spreadsheet and go to the "Data" tab.
2. Click on "From Microsoft Query" in the "Get & Transform Data" group.
3. In the "Query Wizard", select "Excel Query" and click "OK".
4. In the "Query Editor", select the table you created in Step 1.
5. Click "Finish" to create the query.

Step 4: Merge the data with the label template

1. Open your label template in Word.
2. Go to the "Mailings" tab and click on "Select Recipients" in the "Start Mail Merge" group.
3. Select "Use an existing list" and then "Excel Query" as the data source.
4. Browse to the query you created in Step 3 and select it.
5. Click "OK" to merge the data with the label template.

Step 5: Customize the label layout

1. In the "Mailings" tab, click on "Label Options" in the "Label" group.
2. Select the label layout you want to use (e.g., Avery 5160).
3. Customize the label layout as needed (e.g., change the font, font size, and layout).

Step 6: Print the labels

1. Click on "Print" in the "Mailings" tab.
2. Select the printer and paper type you want to use.
3. Click "Print" to print the labels.

Tips and Variations:

• You can use different label templates and layouts depending on your needs.
• You can also use other data sources, such as a database or a text file, instead of an Excel spreadsheet.
• You can customize the label text by using formulas or conditional formatting in Excel.
• You can also use other mail merge features, such as inserting images or tables, to enhance your labels.

By following these steps, you can create personalized labels using mail merge from Excel.