Creating Salary Notices Using Mail Merge

Overview You can use the Mailings Toolbar to create: Form letters Mailing labels Envelopes The Mailings Tab guides you through: organizing the data merging it into a generic document printing the resulting personalized documents

Creating the SAFARI NEWCNT Spreadsheet for Recipients

Open MS Excel…Click on Data Tab…From Other Sources…From Microsoft Query

Under Data Source select USPS (or the area you want to export from)…then click OK Enter your State Software/Reflections Username and Password…then click OK

The Query Wizard will appear…scroll down to the NEW_CONTRACTS view. Click on the Plus Sign for the NEW_CONTRACT view to expand the field names as show below.

Select fields by highlighting the field name and clicking on the >sign. Click Next to go on to the next step. (To select all fields under NEW_CONTRACT, click on “NEW_CONTRACTS” to highlight and then the >sign).

You will probably want all your staff to appear in your spreadsheet so you can just click next.

You may choose how you want your data sorted before it is extracted…Click Next after making any sort choices. Click on the Return Data to Microsoft Office Excel button…Click Finish.

This Spreadsheet will be used as the data for your mail merged document. Save spreadsheet.

Creating your Mail Merge Document

Starting a mail merge document: Open or create a main document, which contains the generic information that you want to repeat in each form letter, mailing label, or envelope. In this case, the District’s Salary Notice. Click on the Mailings Tab & select Start Mail Merge

Select Data Source The data source can be an existing spreadsheet, database, text file, or a word table that you have previously created. By using the Select Recipients option: You can type a new list Use an Existing List to select a file (i.e.NEWCNT spreadsheet) Choose from Outlook Contacts

We will be using the SAFARI NEWCNT spreadsheet we created as our data source in this example. Click on Select Recipients > use an existing list Browse for your file > Open > OK

Selecting Recipients Edit Recipient List (this is where you select who will receive a letter) When check/uncheck the box next to the data source, this will effect the entire worksheet. The spreadsheet defaults by selecting all records. If you have a record that shouldn’t have a letter created, simply uncheck that row item/name. Click OK to continue once you have made your selections.

Insert Address Block To insert the recipients address, click on the Address Block option You can select the recipients name format You can preview the address block based on the recipient list used. If fields are missing (i.e. street address), select the Match Fields button. This will allow you to define the Word fields based upon your spreadsheet column headings. Click on the arrow next to the field you want to match & select the spreadsheet header that defines that field.

Matching Fields Original Matched

Address Block with Matched Fields

Inserting Greeting Line Click Greeting Line option to insert the greeting format If there is an invalid recipient name you can select an alternate greeting You can preview how the greeting line will appear for each of your recipients by clicking on the arrows If you have missing fields you can select the Match Fields Click OK to continue and to insert the greeting line into your document

Insert Merge Field Click on the Insert Merge Field Button A list will be displayed based on your spreadsheet headers Insert these fields into your letter by selecting the field Finish typing your letter or if you started with a template, make sure the inserted fields match the headers in your current spreadsheet. Use the Match Fields button on the menu if needed.

Preview Results Click on Preview Results to view the inserted data (from the spreadsheet) within the letter. To view proofs of all letters, click on the arrows.

Finish & Merge You can choose how you want to complete the mail merge: Open a new window to see each copy of the document and make edits if necessary You can save the documents for your files Send the document(s) directly to the printer Send the document(s) by email

Merge to New Document If you select to merge to new document (recommended) you can: Process all records The current record you are looking at Process a range of records Save your new merged document for your files and/or printing.

Questions??