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Mail merge lets you create a batch of personalized letters where each letter is identical in layout, formatting, text, and graphics, except for personalized parts like the salutation.

Prepare your letter

  1. Go to Mailings > Start Mail Merge > Letters.

    Mail Merge Start menu with Letters selected

  2. In Word, type the body of the letter that you want to send to your mailing list.

Set up your mailing list

Your mailing list is a data source that contains the information that Word uses to customize your letter. See Data sources you can use for a mail merge.

If you need to sort or filter your mailing list, see Mail merge: Edit recipients.

Add personalized content to your letter

Add content to your letter that’s different for each person who receives it.

  1. Go to Mailings > Address Block.

    As part of Word mail merge, on the Mailings tab, in the Write & Insert Fields group, choose Address Block.

  2. Choose a format for the recipient's name In the Insert Address Block dialog box.

    Address block options

    For more info, see Insert Address Block.

  3. Choose OK.

  4. Choose Greeting Line.

    As part of Word mail merge, on the Mailings tab, in the Write & Insert Fields group, choose Greeting Line.

  5. Select the format you want to use in the Insert Greeting Line dialog box.

    For more info, see Insert Greeting Line.

  6. Select OK to insert the greeting line field.

  7. Go to File > Save.

To insert other custom information from your mailing list, see add mail merge fields one at a time.

Preview and print the letters

  1. Go to Mailings > Preview Results to preview your letters.

    In Word, on the Mailings tab, the Preview Results group.

  2. Choose Next Next record button for mail merge preview results or Previous to scroll though your data set to be sure the names and addresses look right.

  3. Select Preview Results again switch from the merged results back to the mail merge fields in your letter

  4. Select Finish & Merge > Print Documents.

    Choose Edit Individual Documents, Print Documents, or Send Email Messages.

    As part of Word mail merge, on the Mailings tab, in the Finish group, choose Finish & Merge, and then choose an option.

Save your personalized letter

Go to File > Save. When you save the mail merge document, it stays connected to your mailing list for future use.

To reuse your mail merge document, open the mail merge document. Choose Yes when Word prompts you to keep the connection.

Prepare the main document

  1. Go to Mailings > Start Mail Merge > Letters.

    form letters

  2. In Word, type the body of the letter that you want to send to your mailing list.

Set up your mailing list

Your mailing list is a data source that contains the information that Word uses to customize your letter. See Data sources you can use for a mail merge.

If you need to sort or filter your mailing list, see Mail merge: Edit recipients.

Add personalized content to your letter

Add name, address, and other fields in your database through Merge Fields.

  1. Go to Mailings > Insert Merge Field and select the field you want to add.

    On the Mailings tab, Insert Merge Field is highlighted

    Continue adding fields until you've added all the information you want on your letter.

  2. Choose OK.

Preview and print the letters

  1. Go to Mailings > Preview Results to preview your letter. Use the left and right arrows to scroll through each record.

    On the Mailings tab, Preview Results is highlighted

  2. To make additional changes, select Preview Results again to return to fields view.

  3. When the letters look how you want, select Mailings > Finish & Merge > Print Documents.

    On the Mailings tab, Finish & Merge and the Print Documents option are highlighted

    Go to Mailings > Finish & Merge > Edit Individual Documents to review and update each letter individually before printing.

  4. Select File > Print to print the letters.

Save your personalized letter

When you save the mail merge document, it stays connected to your mailing list for later use.

To reuse your mail merge document, open the mail merge document. Choose Yes when Word prompts you to keep the connection.

You can learn more about how mail merge for letters works in the following video that is part of a training course.

Your browser does not support video. Install Microsoft Silverlight, Adobe Flash Player, or Internet Explorer 9.

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