In addition to creating personalized form letters for a mass mailing, you can use the merge feature to create mailing labels for each mass mailing recipient.
Click Tools.
Click Letters and Mailings.
Click Mail Merge.
The Mail Merge task pane appears.
Click the Labels option ( changes to ).
Click the Next: Starting document link.
Click the Change document layout option ( changes to ).
Click the Label options link.
The Label Options dialog box appears.
Click an option to select the type of printer ( changes to ).
Click to select a label product.
Click the label’s product number.
Information about the label dimensions appears here.
Click OK.
What happens if I click Details in the Label Options dialog box?
A dialog box appears, displaying the margins and dimensions of each label, the number of labels per row, and the number of rows of labels, along with the page size. While you can change these dimensions, you run the risk of having label information print incorrectly if you do.
What happens if I click New Label in the Label Options dialog box?
A dialog box appears. Word bases the appearance of this dialog box on the settings selected in the Label Options dialog box. You can use this dialog box to create your own custom label. Type a name for the label and then adjust the margins, height and width, number across or down, vertical or horizontal pitch, and page size as needed.
Using the label options you specify, Word sets up a document of labels to which you add merge information.
Word sets up the document for the labels you selected.
Click the Next: Select recipients link.
Click Type a new list ( changes to ).
Click the Create link.
The New Address List window appears.
Type information for the first recipient in these boxes.
Click New Entry.
Repeat steps 15 to 16 for each recipient.
Click Close.
The Save Address List window appears.
If necessary, click or use the buttons to navigate to the folder where you want to save the mailing list file.
Type a name for the mailing list file.
Click Save.
If I already have a mailing list file set up, can I use it?
Yes. Simply follow these steps:
In step 13, click the Use an existing list option ( changes to ).
Click the Browse link.
Using the Select Data Source dialog box that appears, navigate to the location of the mailing list file.
Click Open.
If the file is an Excel workbook, click the type of Data Source in the Select Table dialog box and click OK. Then, select the appropriate sheet.
When the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box appears, continue with step 21.
You can create labels for only some of the recipients in the mailing list file. You set up the first label to include the merge fields you want on all labels.
The Mail Merge Recipients dialog box appears.
A check box () appears beside each person’s name, identifying the recipients of the form letter.
Click beside any addressee to whom you do not want to mail a form letter ( changes to ).
Click OK.
Click the Next: Arrange your labels link.
You Set up the first label to include the merge fields used for all labels.
Click the first label where you want the first merge field to appear.
Click the Address block link.
The Insert Address Block dialog box appears.
Click a format for each recipient’s name.
You can preview the format here.
You can use these boxes ( changes to ) to add other options to the inside address.
Click OK.
Word adds the merge field to the first label.
Note | When you complete the merge, Word replaces the merge field with information from the mailing address file. |
Click Update all labels.
Click the Next: Preview your labels link.
I cannot see the Next: Preview your labels link; what am I doing wrong?
Nothing. You need to scroll down in the Mail Merge task pane. When you position the mouse pointer () over the down arrow () at the bottom of the Mail Merge task pane, the Mail Merge task pane shifts downward and disappears. You can then shift the Mail Merge task pane contents upward by moving the mouse over the upward-pointing arrow () at the top of the task pane.
You can preview the labels before you print them. When you complete the merge, you can merge all records in the mailing list file or only those you select.
Word displays a preview of one page of labels, replacing the merge field with information from the mailing list file.
You can click to preview the next label and to move back and preview the previous label.
Click the Next: Complete the merge link.
Word is ready to produce the labels.
Click the Edit individual labels link.
The Merge to New Document dialog box appears.
Click an option to identify the recipients of the letter ( changes to ).
The All option creates a letter for all entries on the mailing list; the Current record option creates only one letter for the recipient whose letter you are previewing; the From option creates letters for recipients you specify.
Click OK.
Word creates the labels in a new Word document named Labels1.
The new document contains individual labels for each mailing list recipient.
Click to print the labels.
The labels print.
What happens if I click Print on the Complete the merge pane?
The Merge to Printer dialog box appears. After you select the records you want to print, Word merges the information, allows you to select a printer, and then prints the merged label information without creating a separate document. This approach is useful if you know you do not need to make any changes to the labels.
If I merge to a document, should I save it?
Because you can re-create the merge whenever you need the labels, saving is not necessary. However, if you expect to print the labels often, you can save time if you save the labels.