WD98: How to Create a Mail Merge Document Using a Word Document as the Data Source

This article provides detailed instructions about how to create a mail merge that uses data stored in a Word document. By following these instructions, you create a main document and a data document, and then you merge the information from the two documents into a final merged document.

Create the Main Document

To create the main document, follow these steps:

1. Start Microsoft Word by double-clicking the Microsoft Word icon in the Microsoft Office 98 folder.
   
   Word opens a blank document (Document1), in which the insertion point is blinking. This indicates that Document1 is the active document.
2. On the Tools menu, click Mail Merge.
3. Under Main Document, click Create, and select Form Letters.
4. Click Active Window.
5. Under Data source, click Get Data.

Create or Select the Data Source

If the data source exists, follow the steps in the "Selecting the Data Source" section of this document. If you need to create a data source, follow the steps in the next section, "Creating a Data Source."

How to Create the Data Source

To create the data source, follow these steps:

1. From the list of commands under Get Data, click Create Data Source.
   
   The Create Data Source dialog box offers you a list of suggested field names. If you want to modify this list by adding a new field name, type the new field name in the Field Name entry area and click Add Field Name (this option becomes available when you type a legal field in the Field Name box).
2. To remove a field name from the list, select the field name in the list and Click Remove Field Name.
   
   NOTE: When you merge data, you can use as few or as many of the data fields as you need to and you can use them in any order. Also, each field can be used more than one time.
   
   TIP: It is easy to combine information in separate fields in a merge document; however, it is difficult to separate information in a field. So, when you create a data document, create as many fields as is practical. For example, you may want to put the first name in a field separate from the last name, to make it easy to sort the records in the data document by last name. If you keep the first and last names separate, it also makes it easy to use only the first name in a salutation.
3. When the list is acceptable, click OK.
4. In the Save As dialog box, type a name for the data document, choose the folder to store it in, and then click Save.
   
   TIP: Use a name that identifies this files as a data document (for example, you might want to name the document "My Merge Data"). Store the data document in the same folder where the main document will be stored.
5. Click Edit Data Source. Type some information in the form and click Add New to start a new record. Type some information for the new Record, and then click OK.
   
   NOTE: You can add, delete, or edit the information in the data document at any time after it has been created and saved.

How to Select the Data Source

If a data source was created previously, follow these steps:

1. From the list of commands under Get Data, click Open Data Source.
2. Navigate to the folder that contains the data document.
3. Change the List Files Of Type selection if necessary, and then select the data document and click Open.
4. In the Mail Merge Helper, click Close.

Edit the Main Document

The insertion point should be back in the main document (Document1) and the Mail Merge toolbar should be visible.

To edit the main document (Document1 in this case), follow these steps:

1. Type the text that you want in the form letter.
2. On the Mail Merge toolbar, click Insert Merge Field, and select a field name from the list.
   
   Repeat steps 1 and 2 as many times as necessary to create the appropriate text and merge fields that you want in the main document.
3. To save the main document, click Save As on the File menu.
   
   TIP: Use a name that identifies this document as a main document (for example, name the file "My Main Document"). Store the document in the same location (folder) as the data document.

Merge the Main Document and the Data Document

To perform the merge, click the Merge To New Document button on the Mail Merge toolbar. This creates a new document that contains the results of the merge. You can print, save, or delete this new document without affecting either the main document or the data document.

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about mail merge and data document types, click the Office Assistant, type mail merge data in the query area of the Office Assistant and click Search.

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar. If Word Help is not installed on your computer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: