Mail merge from excel to word for labels

A classic task!

To perform a mail merge from Excel to Word for labels, you'll need to follow these steps:

Step 1: Prepare your data in Excel

1. Open your Excel spreadsheet and select the data you want to use for the mail merge. This should include the columns for the label information, such as Name, Address, City, State, ZIP, etc.
2. Make sure the data is organized in a table format, with each row representing a single label.

Step 2: Create a Word document template

1. Open Microsoft Word and create a new document.
2. Design the label layout in Word, using the "Label" tool (or "Table" tool if you prefer). You can choose from various label sizes and shapes.
3. Insert the fields for the label information, such as [Name], [Address], [City], [State], [ZIP], etc. These fields will be replaced with the corresponding data from your Excel spreadsheet during the mail merge process.

Step 3: Save the Word document template

1. Save the Word document as a template file (.dotx or.dotm) with a name like "Label Template.dotx".

Step 4: Perform the mail merge

1. Open your Excel spreadsheet and go to the "Data" tab in the ribbon.
2. Click on "From Other Sources" and then "From Microsoft Query".
3. In the "Query Wizard", select "Use an existing worksheet" and choose the worksheet containing your label data.
4. Click "Finish" to create the query.
5. Go back to Word and open the label template file (.dotx or.dotm) you created earlier.
6. Click on "Mailings" > "Start Mail Merge" > "Step-by-Step Mail Merge Wizard".
7. Select "Use an existing list" and choose the Excel query you created in step 4.
8. Click "OK" to start the mail merge process.
9. Word will merge the data from your Excel spreadsheet with the label template, replacing the fields with the corresponding data.

Step 5: Print the labels

1. Once the mail merge is complete, you can print the labels by clicking on "Mailings" > "Print" > "Print Documents".
2. Choose the printer and paper settings as needed, and then click "Print" to print the labels.

Tips and Variations:

• To use a specific label size or shape, you can use the "Label" tool in Word to create a custom label layout.
• If you have a large dataset, you may want to consider using a more advanced mail merge tool, such as Microsoft's "Mail Merge Manager" add-in.
• You can also use other software, such as Avery Label Maker or Labeljoy, to create and print labels from Excel data.