The Data Merge Manager

Word's Data Merge Manager (Figure 1) is a floating palette that helps you create or identify the main document and data source for a merge and merge the files.

Figure 1. The Data Merge Manager.

To open the Data Merge Manager

Choose Tools > Data Merge Manager (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Choose Data Merge Manager from the Tools menu.

Tip

• The Data Merge Manager appears automatically when you open a main or data source document.

To use the Data Merge Manager: an overview

1.	Open the Data Merge Manager (Figure 1).
2.	Choose an option from the Create popup menu in the Main Document area (Figure 3). Figure 3. The Create pop-up menu.
3.	If desired, edit the main document's static text.
4.	Choose an option from the Get Data pop-up menu in the Data Source area (Figure 4). Figure 4. The Get Data pop-up menu.
5.	If desired, edit the data source's contents.
6.	If necessary, edit the main document to include fields from the data source.
7.	Click a Merge button to perform the merge.

Tips

• I provide details for all of these steps throughout this chapter.

• To use the Data Merge Manager for an existing main document, open the main document first, then follow these steps.