How to perform a mail merge with an Outlook Contacts list in Word

This article explains how to perform a mail merge with a Microsoft Outlook Contacts list in Microsoft Word.

Verify that contacts are displayed

To use the mail merge feature with an Outlook Contacts list, you must select the Show this folder as an e-mail Address Book check box in the Outlook Contacts Properties dialog box.

If no contact files are listed in Outlook, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the contacts subfolder that is not being displayed, and then click Properties.
2. On the Outlook Address Book tab, click to select the Show this folder as an e-mail Address Book check box, and then click OK.

For more information about how to start a mail merge from Microsoft Outlook, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Mail merge with Outlook Contacts list

To perform a mail merge with an Outlook Contacts list in Word, follow these steps, as appropriate for the version of Word that you are running:

1. Microsoft Word 2002
   
   On the Tools menu, click Letters and Mailings, and then click Mail Merge Wizard.
   
   Microsoft Office Word 2003
   
   On the Tools menu, click Letters and Mailings, and then click Mail Merge.
   
   Microsoft Office Word 2007
   
   On the Mailings tab, click Start Mail Merge, and then click Step by Step Mail Merge Wizard.
2. In the Mail Merge task pane, click Letters under Select document type, and then click Next: Starting document.
3. Use one of the following procedures:
   • If you want the want the body of the letter to be the document that is currently open, click Use the current document under Select starting document. Go to step 5.
   • If you want the want the body of the letter to be an existing template, click Start from a template under Select starting document, and then click Select template.
   • If you want the want the body of the letter to be an existing document, click Start from existing document under Select starting document. Click Open, and then select the file that you want to use as your main document.
4. Click Next: Select recipients.
5. Under Select recipients, click Select from Outlook contacts. Under Select from Outlook contacts, click Choose Contacts Folder.
6. In the Select Contact List Folder dialog box, select the contact list that you want to use, and then click OK.
7. In the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box, make any changes that you want, and then click OK.
8. Click Next: Write your letter. Type your letter, if you have not already done so. Click where you want to insert the first field. In the Mail Merge task pane, click the field that you want to insert under Write your letter.
   
   Alternatively, click More Items to display the Insert Merge Field dialog box, and then insert the field that you want. When you have finished writing your letter and inserting merge fields, click Next: Preview your Letter.
9. Click the left arrow or the right arrow to preview the way that the merged document will look for each recipient. Make any changes that you want. When you are finished, click Next: Complete the merge.
10. Click Print.

For more information about mail merge, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: