How to get mail merge to keep excel formatting

The age-old problem of mail merge formatting woes!

When you use mail merge to combine data from an Excel spreadsheet with a Word document, the formatting from the Excel cells can sometimes get lost or altered. Here are some tips to help you preserve the formatting:

  1. Use the "Preserve formatting" option: In Word, go to the "Mailings" tab, then click on "Select Recipients" and choose "Use an existing list". In the "Select Data Sources" dialog box, select the Excel file and click "Edit". In the "Edit Query" dialog box, click on the "Options" button and check the box next to "Preserve formatting". This will help preserve the formatting from the Excel cells.
  2. Use a template: Create a template in Word with the desired formatting, and then use that template as the basis for your mail merge. This way, the formatting will be preserved and you can easily update the template as needed.
  3. Use a mail merge field with formatting: Instead of using a plain text field for your mail merge, use a field with formatting. For example, if you want to merge a date field, use a "Date" field with the desired formatting (e.g., MM/DD/YYYY). This will help preserve the formatting from the Excel cells.
  4. Use a third-party add-in: There are several third-party add-ins available that can help preserve formatting during mail merge, such as DocxMerge or Mail Merge Toolkit.
  5. Use VBA code: If you're comfortable with VBA programming, you can write code to preserve the formatting during mail merge. For example, you can use the Range.Text property to preserve the formatting of the text in the Excel cells.
  6. Use a workaround with tables: If you're using a table in your Word document, you can try using a workaround by creating a table in Excel with the desired formatting, and then using the "Insert Table" feature in Word to insert the table into your document. This can help preserve the formatting from the Excel cells.
  7. Check the "Merge field" settings: In Word, go to the "Mailings" tab, then click on "Select Recipients" and choose "Use an existing list". In the "Select Data Sources" dialog box, select the Excel file and click "Edit". In the "Edit Query" dialog box, click on the "Options" button and check the box next to "Merge field". This will help preserve the formatting from the Excel cells.

By following these tips, you should be able to preserve the formatting from your Excel spreadsheet during mail merge.