How to do mail merge in libreoffice writer

Mail merge in LibreOffice Writer! It's a powerful feature that allows you to create personalized documents by combining a main document with a data source. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to do a mail merge in LibreOffice Writer:

Prerequisites:

1. LibreOffice Writer version 4.0 or later.
2. A data source (e.g., a CSV file, an ODS file, or a database).

Step 1: Prepare your data source

1. Create a data source file (e.g., a CSV file) containing the information you want to use for the mail merge. Each row in the file should represent a single record, and each column should represent a field (e.g., name, address, phone number).
2. Save the data source file in a location that's easily accessible.

Step 2: Create a new document in LibreOffice Writer

1. Open LibreOffice Writer and create a new document.
2. Type the main content of your document, including placeholders for the fields you want to merge (e.g., [Name], [Address], [Phone Number]).

Step 3: Set up the mail merge

1. Go to Tools > Mail Merge (or press Ctrl + Shift + M).
2. In the Mail Merge dialog box, select Data source and choose the file you created in Step 1.
3. Choose the Data source format (e.g., CSV, ODS, or database).
4. Click Next.

Step 4: Map the fields

1. In the Map Fields dialog box, you'll see a list of fields from your data source.
2. Match each field in your data source with the corresponding placeholder in your document (e.g., [Name] with the "Name" field).
3. Click Next.

Step 5: Set the merge options

1. In the Merge Options dialog box, you can choose how to handle duplicates, blank fields, and other merge-related settings.
2. Click Next.

Step 6: Perform the mail merge

1. In the Mail Merge dialog box, click Merge to start the mail merge process.
2. LibreOffice Writer will create a new document for each record in your data source, replacing the placeholders with the actual data.

Step 7: Review and save the merged documents

1. Review the merged documents to ensure they're correct and complete.
2. Save each merged document in a separate file (e.g., [Name].docx).

Tips and Variations:

• You can use the Mail Merge feature to create envelopes, labels, and other documents as well.
• To use a database as your data source, you'll need to create a connection to the database using LibreOffice's built-in database connectivity features.
• You can also use the Mail Merge feature to create a single document with multiple records, rather than separate documents for each record.

That's it! With these steps, you should be able to perform a mail merge in LibreOffice Writer.