How to make a mail merge from excel to word
A mail merge! A classic technique to automate the process of sending personalized documents to a large number of recipients. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to make a mail merge from Excel to Word:
Prerequisites:
- Microsoft Excel 2010 or later version
- Microsoft Word 2010 or later version
- A list of recipients in an Excel spreadsheet
- A Word document template with placeholders for the merge fields
Step 1: Prepare your Excel spreadsheet
- Create a new Excel spreadsheet or open an existing one.
- Enter the list of recipients in a table format, with each column representing a field (e.g., Name, Address, Email, etc.).
- Make sure the first row contains the field names (headers).
Step 2: Create a Word document template
- Open Microsoft Word and create a new document or open an existing one.
- Design the document with placeholders for the merge fields. Use the "Insert" tab > "Quick Parts" > "Field" to insert a merge field.
- For example, if you want to insert a merge field for the recipient's name, type
= MERGEFIELD Name
and press Enter.
Step 3: Set up the mail merge
- In Excel, go to the "Data" tab > "From Other Sources" > "From Microsoft Query".
- In the "Query Wizard", select "Excel Files" and then "Browse" to select your Excel spreadsheet.
- In the "Query Wizard", select the table with the recipient data and click "Finish".
- In Word, go to the "Mailings" tab > "Select Recipients" > "Use an Existing List".
- Browse to the Excel spreadsheet and select the table with the recipient data.
Step 4: Merge the data
- In Word, go to the "Mailings" tab > "Merge" > "Merge to New Document".
- Word will create a new document with the merged data. You can customize the layout and formatting as needed.
Tips and Variations:
- To merge data from multiple Excel spreadsheets, use the "Combine & Manage Data" feature in Excel.
- To merge data from a database, use the "From Database" feature in Excel.
- To use conditional formatting or logic in your mail merge, use Excel formulas and conditional formatting.
- To save time, use the "Merge to PDF" feature in Word to create a PDF document with the merged data.
That's it! With these steps, you should be able to create a mail merge from Excel to Word. Happy merging!