Activity 3.2. Selecting the Data Source for the Mailing Labels
The data source contains the name and address information for the mailing labels. The data source you will use is an Excel worksheet.
1.
Under Step 2 of 6, click Next: Select recipients.
Mail Merge Step 3 of 6 displays.
2.
Under Select recipients, click the Use an existing list option button. Under Use an existing list, click Browse.
The Select Data Source dialog box opens and displays the default folder, My Data Sources, which the Mail Merge Wizard uses. You want to use an Excel file that was not created as a data source in a Mail Merge process. You are familiar with the Excel file that you want to use, and you know that it has a header row to label last name, first name, and so on.
3.
From the Look in list, select the folder that contains your project files. Click on the file Address_List_1, and then click Open.
The Select Table dialog box displays, the sheet name Address List$ is highlighted, and the First row of data contains column headers check box is selected.
4.
Click OK. In the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box, click OK.
Your document should show all the labels, except the first one, with Next Record in each label space. The file path of the data source displays in the task pane under Use an existing list. Compare your screen with Figure 3.3.
Figure 3.3.
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5.
Save your file.
Information about the Excel file as the data source is also saved with the Word file. This creates a main document for a mail merge. When you use the main document again, the Mail Merge Wizard will open with the label and data source information already selected.