Mail merge with multiple rows per recipient

The classic challenge of mail merge with multiple rows per recipient!

In a traditional mail merge, you typically have one row of data for each recipient, and the merge process replaces placeholders in a template with the corresponding values from the data row. However, when you have multiple rows of data for each recipient, you need to use a different approach to merge the data.

Here are a few ways to achieve mail merge with multiple rows per recipient:

1. Use a nested loop: In Microsoft Word, you can use a nested loop to iterate through the data rows for each recipient. This involves creating a loop that runs for each recipient, and then another loop that runs for each row of data for that recipient. You can use the FOR loop feature in Word to create the nested loop.
2. Use a table: Create a table in your document with columns for each field you want to merge, and rows for each recipient. Then, use the INSERT INTO TABLE feature in Word to populate the table with the data. You can use the ROW function to repeat the same row for each recipient.
3. Use a mail merge with a query: If you're using a database as your data source, you can create a query that joins the recipient data with the data for each row. Then, use the mail merge feature to merge the data into a document.
4. Use a programming language: If you're comfortable with programming, you can use a language like Python or VBA to create a script that reads the data, loops through the recipients, and merges the data into a document.

Here's an example of how you might use a nested loop in Microsoft Word to achieve mail merge with multiple rows per recipient:

Suppose you have a table with the following structure:

You can create a mail merge document with the following structure:

Header: Recipient: [Recipient] Body: Field1: [Field1], Field2: [Field2], Field3: [Field3]

To merge the data, you can use the following code:

1. Create a loop that runs for each recipient:

   FOR each recipient IN "Recipient" DO
   // Loop through each row of data for this recipient
   FOR each row IN "Field1", "Field2", "Field3" DO
    // Merge the data into the document
    INSERT INTO "Body" ([Field1], [Field2], [Field3]) VALUES ([row.Field1], [row.Field2], [row.Field3])
   NEXT
   NEXT

   This code will create a document with the following output:

Header: Recipient: John Body: Field1: Value1, Field2: Value2, Field3: Value3 Body: Field1: Value4, Field2: Value5, Field3: Value6

Header: Recipient: Jane Body: Field1: Value7, Field2: Value8, Field3: Value9 Body: Field1: Value10, Field2: Value11, Field3: Value12