Choosing Your Recipients

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When you get to the task pane view in which you choose the recipients for your merge operations, it's time to select your data list, which was referred to as the data source in previous Word versions. You can use an existing list, choose Outlook Contacts, or type a new list.

Using an Existing Data Source

To select a list you've already created, click the Browse link in the Use An Existing List section of the Mail Merge Wizard. If you're using the Mail Merge toolbar, click the Open Data Source button. The Select Data Source dialog box appears so that you can choose a data list you've already created. Navigate to the folder containing the file you want, and then click Open. (If the file includes more than one data table, the Select Table dialog box will appear so that you can choose the one you want.) The Mail Merge Recipients dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 30-4.

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Figure 30-4: You can work with and modify the data in your data source in the Mail Merge Wizard.

If you don't want to change the recipient information in any way—in other words, you want to use the entire list just as it is—simply click OK to close the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box and continue using the Mail Merge Wizard.

Tip 

Check data again later  If you decide to pass up your opportunity to change the data in your recipient list now, don't worry—before you complete the merge operation you'll have a chance to preview and modify the recipients you've selected.

Choosing and Sorting Recipient Information

You use the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box to choose, sort, and edit the information in your data source file. If you plan to make changes, such as updating the address of a particular client, changing a company name, or deleting a customer you no longer work with, you can use the commands in this dialog box to carry out those tasks. Table 30-1 lists the various ways you can work with merge data.

Table 30-1: Working with Merge Data

Action

Result

Clear the check mark in the first column to deselect the recipient row.

Removes a recipient from the merge operation.

Select the check box in the first column.

Adds a recipient to the merge operation.

Click the arrow in the heading of the column by which you want to sort (for example, Last Name or City).

Reorders recipient records based on a particular field (if the listing was A to Z, clicking the heading will arrange the list Z to A).

Click an existing entry and click Edit. When the address list dialog box appears, click New Entry and enter the new recipient data. Click Close to close the dialog box.

Adds a new recipient to the list.

Click the Find button and type in the Find What box the data you want to locate. Click Find First to search for the recipient.

Finds a specific recipient (the first recipient record with the found data is highlighted in the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box).

Click the Select All button.

Selects all recipients (check marks appear in the left column in the dialog box).

Click the Clear All button.

Deselects all recipients (removes the check marks in the left column in the dialog box).

Click the Refresh button.

Updates the data displayed in the Mail Merge Recipient dialog box.

Click the Validate button.

Checks the data validity for your address data if you have a validation program installed.

Editing Your Data List

Once you've added the data list to the merge document, you can edit it at any time during the merge procedure by clicking the Edit Recipient List link in the Mail Merge Wizard or by clicking the Mail Merge Recipients button on the Mail Merge toolbar. You might want to edit your list, for example, by selecting or deselecting fields to include, sorting data records, changing data entries, or modifying the order of fields.

When you click the Edit Recipient List link, the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box appears. Make any needed changes here and click OK to return to the wizard. Your changes are automatically saved.

Choosing Outlook Contacts

Perhaps the most seamless way of integrating up-to-date contact information with your main document for mailings and email broadcasts is to use your contact manager, Outlook. Since Outlook's contacts are kept up-to-date as you work, with smart tags that enable you to insert and update contact data on the fly, your Outlook contact information might be more current and complete than static data lists. Email addresses are added automatically from messages you receive and send, which means data is gathered for you while you go through your daily routine. Of course, the most complete data records—for example, client information that includes name, address, home and office phones, email address, Web pages, and spouse names and birth dates—are available only because you entered them. This means that the degree to which Outlook can actually help you will depend on how consistently you've entered contact information.

To select your Outlook Contacts list, simply click Select From Outlook Contacts in the Select Recipients section of the Mail Merge task pane. Click the Choose Contacts Folder link, choose a profile name if prompted and click OK. The Select Contact List Folder dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 30-5. Select your Contacts list and click OK. The entries in your Contacts list appear in the Mail Merge Recipient dialog box.

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Figure 30-5: You can easily import your Outlook Contacts for use in your Word mail merge operations.

Tip 

Get more data by importing personal address books  Even if your Address Book in Outlook is incomplete, there is hope: Since you can create and load new address books in Outlook, you can work from others' data and use that information in your merge operations. If you have address book files saved in Microsoft Exchange Server, Outlook Express, Microsoft Internet Mail and News, Eudora Light and Pro, Netscape Mail and Messenger, or any other Messaging Application Programming Interface (MAPI)–compatible program, you can import them directly into Outlook and then use them in your Word merge operations.

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Using an E-mail Distribution List as a Data Source

If you want to use a subset of your Outlook Contacts as the basis for your mail merge operation, you first need to export the selected data from Outlook in a way Word can recognize. This is a simple process. Here it is in a nutshell:

  1. In Outlook, click Contacts.

  2. Create a new folder for your distribution list (you can also do this with a selected subset of contacts that aren't part of a specific list) by choosing File, New, Folder. Name the folder (be sure the Contacts folder is selected) and click OK.

  3. Copy the distribution list (or selected contacts) to the new folder by pressing and holding Ctrl while dragging the list (or contacts) to the new folder.

  4. Select the new folder, choose File, Import And Export, and choose Outlook if more than one choice is available.

  5. When the Import And Export Wizard dialog box appears, choose Export To A File and then click Next.

  6. Choose the type of file you want to create and then click Next (typically, Access and Excel files are convenient for data lists and are saved in a form that can easily be used with other Office applications). If you are prompted to install the Translator, click Yes.

  7. Choose the folder to export from, and then click Next.

  8. Click Browse to choose the name and location for the destination file. You might want to store the exported file in your My Data Sources folder so the files will appear by default when you are ready to select the source file for your merge procedure. Click OK, Next, and then click Finish.

  9. Back in Word, click the Select A Different List link and choose your new file from the list in the Select Data Sources dialog box.

  10. Click Open to bring the contacts into Word for your mail merge project.

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Creating Your Own New Data Source

Word gives you the option of entering your own data as part of the Mail Merge Wizard, if you're so inclined. When you're choosing the recipients for your document in the Mail Merge Wizard, click Type A New List in the Select Recipients section.

Note 

Any data you create in the New Address List will be saved in its own .mdb (mailing database) file, which means that you can use it with other mailings as well.

Click the Create link to display the New Address List dialog box (shown in Figure 30-6). You can now enter the information for the person or company you are adding.

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Figure 30-6: You can easily add your own data as you prepare your files for merging.

To add recipient information to the data source file, simply click in the field you want and type the information. Press Tab to move to the next item or scroll down through the list as needed. When you've finished entering information for that entry, click New Entry to display another blank form or, if you're completely finished, click Close to close the dialog box.

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Customizing Address List Items

If you want to change the items listed in the New Address List dialog box, click Customize. The Customize Address List dialog box appears. You can make the following changes to the Field Names list:

  • To add a field name, click Add. The Add Field dialog box appears. Type the name for the field you want to create and click OK.

  • To delete a field and all the field information, select the field, click Delete, and then click Yes in the confirmation message box.

  • To rename a field, select it and click Rename. Then enter a new name for the field and click OK.

  • To move a field, select it and click either Move Up or Move Down to change its position in the list.

When you're finished making modifications to the field list, click OK to return to the New Address List dialog box. Add or edit your data as needed, then click Close to return to the wizard.

When you click Close, the Save Address List dialog box appears, with My Data Sources selected as the current folder, as shown in Figure 30-7. Enter a name for the file, and then click Save. The information is now displayed in the Mail Merge Recipients list, where you can sort, rearrange, and select or deselect recipients. Make any necessary selections, and click OK to close the dialog box and return to the wizard.

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Figure 30-7: Microsoft Office Address List files are stored by default in the My Data Sources folder, where they can be accessed by all Office applications.



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Microsoft Office Word 2003 Inside Out
Microsoft Office Word 2003 Inside Out (Bpg-Inside Out)
ISBN: 0735615152
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 373

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