WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:06.710 --> 00:00:11.500 Imagine for a moment that you are a teacher and you need to send each student's parents 00:00:11.500 --> 00:00:16.660 a letter about what the students need to bring with them the first day of school, and what 00:00:16.660 --> 00:00:18.450 classroom to go to. 00:00:18.450 --> 00:00:22.080 You want it to be personalized, but don't have the time to change the letter for each 00:00:22.080 --> 00:00:23.230 person. 00:00:23.230 --> 00:00:26.840 The Mail Merge tool will help you with this job. 00:00:26.840 --> 00:00:33.690 On the Ribbon, left- click Mailings to select it. 00:00:33.690 --> 00:00:39.530 Click the Start Mail Merge command. 00:00:39.530 --> 00:00:43.559 You'll see a list where you can choose the type of document you'll be working with, or 00:00:43.559 --> 00:00:50.290 you can select the Step by Step Mail Merge wizard. 00:00:50.290 --> 00:00:54.220 Until you are really familiar with Mail Merge, I recommend using the wizard. 00:00:54.220 --> 00:00:57.530 I'm pretty proficient with Word and I still use the wizard myself. 00:00:57.530 --> 00:01:05.239 So, we'll just select it, and the Mail Merge task pane opens on the right. 00:01:05.239 --> 00:01:09.740 This pane will take us step-by-step through the process. 00:01:09.740 --> 00:01:14.680 The first step is to choose what type of document we're going to create. 00:01:14.680 --> 00:01:19.770 You can see here the other types of documents we can use mail merge for. 00:01:19.770 --> 00:01:23.790 Mail merge is used a lot to create envelopes and labels. 00:01:23.790 --> 00:01:28.399 We've already decided we're creating letters and that's chosen by default, so we'll leave 00:01:28.399 --> 00:01:30.380 it as it is. 00:01:30.380 --> 00:01:34.660 Click Next to move to the next step. 00:01:34.660 --> 00:01:41.729 In Step 2 of the Mail Merge process, we need to decide whether to use the current document 00:01:41.729 --> 00:01:46.259 as our letter, a template, or an existing document. 00:01:46.259 --> 00:01:49.180 We are going to use the current document. 00:01:49.180 --> 00:01:54.630 If you decide to use a template or an existing document, Word will guide you through the 00:01:54.630 --> 00:01:56.390 process. 00:01:56.390 --> 00:02:00.280 Let's move on to the next step. 00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:07.751 Now, we have to decide who the recipients are and whether we are going to use an existing 00:02:07.751 --> 00:02:15.270 list, pull from our Outlook contacts, or create a new list. 00:02:15.270 --> 00:02:17.480 Existing list is chosen by default. 00:02:17.480 --> 00:02:21.810 If you want to use an existing spreadsheet or database with information, you can click 00:02:21.810 --> 00:02:28.330 Browse, and then locate that file on your computer. 00:02:28.330 --> 00:02:31.190 If not, you may want to create it in Word. 00:02:31.190 --> 00:02:39.550 To do this, just select Type a new list, and then click Create. 00:02:39.550 --> 00:02:42.610 We're given a form with multiple fields. 00:02:42.610 --> 00:02:47.130 We're going to complete one of these forms for each student. 00:02:47.130 --> 00:02:49.220 But we need to look at our fields. 00:02:49.220 --> 00:02:54.090 So let's choose Customize. 00:02:54.090 --> 00:02:58.800 I can see immediately that I have some fields that I don't need for this letter, so I can 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:01.230 delete them if I want. 00:03:01.230 --> 00:03:13.650 All I need to do is select the field and then choose Delete. 00:03:13.650 --> 00:03:19.530 I can continue doing this until I've deleted all the fields that I don't need. 00:03:19.530 --> 00:03:23.940 Now, I also need to add a few fields. 00:03:23.940 --> 00:03:29.400 In the letter I'm writing to the parents, I want to refer to their child by name, so 00:03:29.400 --> 00:03:41.750 I'll click Add, and in the dialog box type Student, and then click OK. 00:03:41.750 --> 00:03:52.730 I need to mention the classroom number they need to go to, so I'll add that as a field. 00:03:52.730 --> 00:03:58.290 We now have a field for each piece of information that we're going to need to create our letter. 00:03:58.290 --> 00:04:03.330 Click OK and now begin filling in the form. 00:04:03.330 --> 00:04:08.200 Under Title I'm going to put Mr., and for the First and Last Name, I'm going to enter 00:04:08.200 --> 00:04:13.120 a parent's first and last name. 00:04:13.120 --> 00:04:20.010 Now, you're going to create a form for each individual student. 00:04:20.010 --> 00:04:25.190 This may take a little bit of time, but in the long run, it's going to save us time. 00:04:25.190 --> 00:04:29.500 You can move from one field to the next by clicking the Tab key. 00:04:29.500 --> 00:04:34.669 You can also point and click if you need to make corrections. 00:04:34.669 --> 00:04:43.340 When you've completed one entry, click on New Entry, and now you get another blank form. 00:04:43.340 --> 00:05:11.479 Continue completing these forms until you've created one for everyone on your list. 00:05:11.479 --> 00:05:16.039 Once you've entered all of your information, click OK. 00:05:16.039 --> 00:05:17.789 Now you're asked to save your data list. 00:05:17.789 --> 00:05:29.099 Give it a name and a location, just like you'd save any other file. 00:05:29.099 --> 00:05:36.620 At this point, I think we're ready to move on, so click OK. 00:05:36.620 --> 00:05:40.490 Now you can see that we have the option to Edit our recipient list. 00:05:40.490 --> 00:05:47.400 But, I don't need to do that, so we're ready to move onto the Next Step, writing our letter. 00:05:47.400 --> 00:05:50.430 Just click the Next link. 00:05:50.430 --> 00:05:55.330 Remember that we're going to create a form letter and let Mail Merge fill in all of our 00:05:55.330 --> 00:06:00.419 students' names, so we're going to need to put in a placeholder each time we need to 00:06:00.419 --> 00:06:03.270 insert something from our Data List. 00:06:03.270 --> 00:06:09.440 I just need to place my insertion point where I want the information to appear. 00:06:09.440 --> 00:06:13.340 Mail Merge gives you tools to use to pull information from your data source. 00:06:13.340 --> 00:06:19.139 For example, in our letter we're going to need to create an Address Block here. 00:06:19.139 --> 00:06:28.030 Now, I can select Address block and open a new dialog box to format the Address Block. 00:06:28.030 --> 00:06:33.930 I can choose how I want the name and address to appear, and then view it in the Preview 00:06:33.930 --> 00:06:38.550 window. 00:06:38.550 --> 00:06:43.719 When I'm happy with the way it looks, I can just click OK, and the Address block placeholder 00:06:43.719 --> 00:06:49.120 will appear in the document. 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:55.800 Let's move on down to where I want the greeting to appear, now I'm going to click the Greeting 00:06:55.800 --> 00:07:00.499 line link in the task pane. 00:07:00.499 --> 00:07:09.909 A dialog box appears, and I can use the drop down menus to select how I want it to appear. 00:07:09.909 --> 00:07:12.930 I want it to say Dear Mr. Smith or Dear Mr. 00:07:12.930 --> 00:07:15.930 and Mrs. Smith, so I'll just select the option I need 00:07:15.930 --> 00:07:26.389 from the menu; and when I'm done, I can click OK and a placeholder appears in the document. 00:07:26.389 --> 00:07:32.539 Now, in the body of the letter I want to refer to the student by name. 00:07:32.539 --> 00:07:37.659 So, let's just move to the point in the letter where that is, and place the insertion point 00:07:37.659 --> 00:07:39.830 there. 00:07:39.830 --> 00:07:41.439 Right here. 00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:43.050 Okay. 00:07:43.050 --> 00:07:51.370 In the task pane, click More items. 00:07:51.370 --> 00:07:55.280 From the dialog box, choose Student, and click Insert. 00:07:55.280 --> 00:08:04.199 Now we can see a placeholder appears in our document where the student's name will appear. 00:08:04.199 --> 00:08:08.790 I want to do the exact same thing, but this time with the room number the student has 00:08:08.790 --> 00:08:12.370 to report to on the first day of class. 00:08:12.370 --> 00:08:19.130 So, I'll place my insertion point at the correct place in the document. 00:08:19.130 --> 00:08:23.830 That would be here. 00:08:23.830 --> 00:08:26.889 And then click More Items. 00:08:26.889 --> 00:08:35.979 I'll choose Classroom, and then click Insert. 00:08:35.979 --> 00:08:40.950 In the task pane, click on Next. 00:08:40.950 --> 00:08:43.950 In this step, we're going to Preview our letters. 00:08:43.950 --> 00:08:50.270 Notice that Mail Merge has now inserted all of our students' names, the classroom number, 00:08:50.270 --> 00:08:55.200 and a parent's name. 00:08:55.200 --> 00:09:08.150 Let's take a look at the letters by using the Previous and Next buttons. 00:09:08.150 --> 00:09:13.071 Once you're satisfied that your letters have merged correctly with the data source, you 00:09:13.071 --> 00:09:18.310 can move on to the next step, which is to complete the Mail Merge. 00:09:18.310 --> 00:09:26.440 In Step 6 of the Mail Merge, we have a choice of printing our letters or editing individual 00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:27.440 letters. 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:36.080 You can use this option if you need to add additional information to only select letters. 00:09:36.080 --> 00:09:40.720 By choosing Print, your merged documents are sent to the printer. 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:47.310 You can choose to print either the current one, or all of them, or a specific range. 00:09:47.310 --> 00:09:52.010 Now we've completed a mail merge using the wizard, but if you want to do this without 00:09:52.010 --> 00:10:00.490 a wizard, you'll find everything you need right here on the Mailing tab. 00:10:00.490 --> 00:10:08.760 As I click on these commands, you'll see that everything works the same as it did in the 00:10:08.760 --> 00:10:11.410 wizard. 00:10:11.410 --> 00:10:25.330 You can choose your list, edit your recipients, insert an address block, as well as insert 00:10:25.330 --> 00:10:27.530 a greeting line. 00:10:27.530 --> 00:10:35.080 You can also insert fields the same way that we did with student name and room number. 00:10:35.080 --> 00:10:39.270 If you use the wizard and then realize that you want to change something, you can always 00:10:39.270 --> 00:10:46.000 use these commands to modify your letter and complete your mail merge. 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:50.670 It may seem difficult at first, but the Mail Merge wizard takes you step by step through 00:10:50.670 --> 00:10:52.190 the process. 00:10:52.190 --> 00:10:53.630 Give it a try. 00:10:53.630 --> 00:10:56.020 Create a letter or labels yourself. 00:10:56.020 --> 00:11:01.180 Those invitations and holiday cards will be a lot easier to address this way!