How to send a mail merge

Mail merge! A powerful feature in Microsoft Word that allows you to send personalized letters, emails, or documents to multiple recipients with ease. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to send a mail merge:

Prerequisites:

1. Microsoft Word 2010 or later version
2. A list of recipients (e.g., a CSV file or an Excel spreadsheet)
3. A template document with placeholders for the recipient information

Step 1: Prepare your recipient list

Create a list of recipients in a CSV file or an Excel spreadsheet. The list should include the following columns:

• Name
• Address
• Email (if you want to send an email)
• Other relevant information (e.g., phone number, company name)

Step 2: Create a template document

Create a new document in Microsoft Word and add placeholders for the recipient information. Use the following syntax to create placeholders:

• & (ampersand) followed by the field name (e.g., &Name&, &Address&, etc.)

For example, if you want to insert the recipient's name, you would type &Name&.

Step 3: Set up the mail merge

1. Go to the "Mailings" tab in the ribbon.
2. Click on "Select Recipients" and choose "Use an existing list" or "Create a new list".
3. If you choose "Use an existing list", select the CSV file or Excel spreadsheet you created earlier.
4. If you choose "Create a new list", enter the recipient information manually.

Step 4: Merge the documents

1. Click on "Finish & Merge" in the "Mailings" tab.
2. Choose "Edit Individual Documents" to merge the documents one by one.
3. Word will create a new document for each recipient, replacing the placeholders with the actual information.

Step 5: Send the merged documents

You can now send the merged documents as:

• Printed letters or documents
• Emails (if you added the email address column to your recipient list)
• Attachments to an email (if you want to send the documents as attachments)

Tips and Variations:

• Use the "Update all fields" button to update the placeholders with the new information.
• Use the "Merge to PDF" option to create a single PDF file with all the merged documents.
• Use the "Merge to Email" option to send the merged documents as an email.
• Use the "Merge to SharePoint" option to save the merged documents to a SharePoint library.

That's it! With these steps, you should be able to send a mail merge with ease.