WD98: How to Create a Merge Document Using a Word Data Source

• Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition

SUMMARY

This article provides detailed instruction about creating a mail merge using data stored in a Word document. By following these instructions, you will create a form letter (main document) and a data document, and you will merge the information from the two documents.

CREATING THE MAIN DOCUMENT

To create the main document, follow these steps:

1. Start Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition by double-clicking the Microsoft Word icon in the Microsoft Office 98 folder.

   The insertion point should be blinking in Document1. This indicates that Document1 is the active document.

2. On the Tools menu, click Mail Merge.

3. Under Main Document, click Create, and select Form Letters.

4. Click Active Window.

5. Under Data source, click Get Data.

CREATING OR SELECTING THE DATA SOURCE

If the data source exists, follow the steps in the "Selecting the Data Source" section of this document. If you need to create a data source, follow the steps in the next section, "Creating a Data Source."

Creating a Data Source

To create the data source, follow these steps:

1. From the list of commands under Get Data, click Create Data Source.

   The Create Data Source dialog box offers you a list of suggested field names. If you want to modify this list by adding a new field name, type the new field name in the Field Name entry area and click Add Field Name (this option becomes available when you type a legal field in the Field Name box).

2. To remove a field name from the list, select the field name in the list and Click Remove Field Name.

   NOTE: When you merge data, you can use as few or as many of the data fields as you need to and you can use them in any order. Also, each field can be used more than one time.

   TIP: Combining information in separate fields in a merge document is easy; however, separating information in a field is difficult. So, when you create a data document, create as many fields as is practical. For example, you may want to put the first name in a field separate from the last name to make it easy to sort the records in the data document by last name. Keeping the first and last name separate will also make it easy to use only the first name in a salutation.

3. When the list is acceptable, click OK.

4. In the Save As dialog box, type a name for the data document, choose the folder to store it in, and then click Save.

   TIP: The name should indicate that this is a data document (for example, you might want to name the document "My Merge Data"). Store the data document in the same folder where the main document will be stored.

5. Click Edit Data Source. Enter some information into the form and click Add New to start a new record and add some information for the new Record, and then click OK.

   NOTE: You can add, delete, or edit the information in the data document at any time once it has been created and saved.

Selecting the Data Source

If a data source was created previously, follow these steps:

1. From the list of commands under Get Data, click Open Data Source.

2. Navigate to the folder that contains the data document.

3. Change the List Files Of Type selection if necessary, and then select the data document and click Open.

4. In the Mail Merge Helper, click Close.

EDITING THE MAIN DOCUMENT

The insertion point should be back in Document1 (that is, Document1 should be the active document) and the Mail Merge toolbar should be visible.

To edit the main document (Document1 in this case), follow these steps:

1. Type some text in the document.

2. On the Mail Merge toolbar, click Insert Merge Field, and select a field name from the list.

   Repeat steps 1 and 2 as many times as necessary to create the appropriate text and desired number of merge fields in the main document.

3. To save the main document, click Save As on the File menu.

   TIP: The name should indicate that this is a main document (for example, name the file "My Main Document"). The document should be stored in the same location (folder) as the data document.

MERGING THE MAIN DOCUMENT AND THE DATA DOCUMENT

To perform the merge, click the Merge To New Document button on the Mail Merge toolbar. This creates a new document containing the results of the merge. This new document can be printed, saved, or deleted without affecting either the main document or the data document.

REFERENCES

For information about how to do this in other versions of Word, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q142756
   TITLE     : WD: How to Design and Set Up Mail Merge Data Sources

   ARTICLE-ID: Q141922
   TITLE     : WD: How to Start a Mail Merge

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar. If Word Help is not installed on your computer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q120802
   TITLE     : Office: How to Add/Remove a Single Office
               Program or Component