1. Chapter 6 Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory
Microsoft Word 2013
Chapter 6
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

2. Objectives Explain the merge process
Use the Mail Merge task pane and the MAILINGS tab on the ribbon
Use a letter template as the main document for a mail merge
Create and edit a data source
Insert merge fields in a main document
Use an IF field in a main document
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

3. Objectives Merge form letters Select records to merge
Sort data records
Address and print mailing labels and envelopes
Change page orientation
Merge all data records to a directory
Convert text to a table
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

4. Project – Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

5. Form Letters
People are more likely to open and read a personalized letter than a letter addressed as Dear Sir, Dear Madam, or To Whom It May Concern
Types of form letter correspondence include announcements of sales to customers, notices of benefits to employees, invitations to the public to participate in a sweepstakes giveaway, and job application letters to potential employees
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

6. Generating Form Letters
To generate form letters you create a main document for the form letter, create or specify a data source, and then merge, the main document with the data source to generate a series of individual letters
Merging is the process of combining the contents of a data source with a main document
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

7. Mail Merge Process
The Mail Merge task pane displays a wizard, which is a step-by-step progression that guides you through the merging process
The first step in the mail merge process is to identify the type of document you are creating for the main document. Typical installations of Word support five types of main documents: letters, messages, envelopes, labels, and a directory
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

8. Identifying the Main Document for the Form Letter Using the Mail Merge Task Pane
When creating form letters, you either can type the letter for the main document from scratch in a blank document window or use a letter template
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

9. The Main Document
The main document is the portion of a form letter that is repeated from one merged letter to the next
It contains the constant text, punctuation, spaces, and graphics to the data in the data source
A main document is opened the same way that you open any other Word document
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

10. Content Control
A content control contains instructions for filling in areas of a document
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

11. Creating a New Data Source
The data source is a file that contains the variable, or changing, values from one merged document to the next
Word stores a data source as an Access table
Each row is called a record
The first row of a data source is called the header record because it identifies the name of each column
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

12. Creating a New Data Source
Each row below the header row is called a data record
Data records contain the text that varies in each occurrence of the merged document
Each column in the data source is called a data field
A data field represents a group of similar data
Each data field must be identified uniquely with a name, called a field name
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

13. Creating a New Data Source
The first step in creating a data source is to decide which fields it will contain
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

14. Saving a Data Source when Prompted by Word
By default, Word saves a data source in the My Data Sources folder
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

15. Inserting Merge Fields
In the main document, field names linked to the data source are called merge fields because they merge, or combine, the main document with the contents of the data source
When a merge field is inserted in the main document, Word surrounds the field name with merge field characters, which are called chevrons («»), that mark the beginning and ending of a merge field
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

16. Inserting a Merge Field in the Main Document
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

17. Merge Field Characters
Merge field characters are not on the keyboard; therefore, you cannot type them directly in the document
Word automatically displays them when a merge field is inserted in the main document
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

18. Inserting the AddressBlock Merge Field
The AddressBlock merge field contains several fields related to an address: Title, First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Suffix, Company, Street Address 1, Street Address 2, City, State, and ZIP Code
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

19. Inserting the Greeting Line Merge Field
The GreetingLine merge field contains text and fields related to a salutation
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

20. Inserting an IF Field in the Main Document
You can insert Word fields that are designed specifically for a mail merge such as an IF field
If a condition is true, then an action is performed; else a different action is performed
When the text in the “Otherwise insert this text” is used this indicates that the condition was false
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

21. Inserting an IF Field in the Main Document
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

22. Inserting an IF Field in the Main Document
The instructions in the IF field are not displayed in the document; instead, the field results are displayed for the current record
The instruction of an IF field are called field codes, and the default for Word is for field codes not to be displayed
Thus, field codes do not print or show on the screen unless you turn them on
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

23. Displaying a Field Code
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

24. Field Codes
You might want to turn on a field code to verify its accuracy or to modify it
Field codes tend to clutter the screen, thus, most Word users turn them off after viewing them
If a field code is turned on, it does not impact the merge process
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

25. Merging the Data Source
You have the option of merging all data in a data source or merging just a portion of it
You can also decide which records that you want to merge based on a condition that you specify
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

26. Previewing the Merged Letters
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

27. Merging to a Directory
One way to print the contents of the data source is to merge all data records in the data source into a single document, called a directory
A directory is a listing from the contents of the data source
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

28. Changing Page Orientation
When a document is in portrait orientation, the short edge of the paper is the top of the document
In landscape orientation the long edge of the paper is the top of the document
Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory