6

Microsoft Word 2010

Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

g c ~§ Match Fields

High light Address Greeting Insert Merge .---------'--"-'----""'-'-.....__....c..L__._ _ __._'--~ Fie 1 d • ~ UPdate lab e Is

~ Rules •

i;;il letters

t-mail Messages

En~elopes ...

l_g_bels ... IV1edian Letter Median Merge Oriel Letter

Letter

Mo Tu We

Step_4 _!)f ~ ___ " 2 3 6 --"?.: 8 9 10

13 14 15 16 17

• Previous: Select recipients 21 22 23 24 28 29 30 31 4 5 6

.., •'

Objectives You will have mastered the material in this chapter when you can:

• Explain the merge process • Merge and print form letters

• Use the Mail Merge task pane and the Mailings tab on the Ribbon

• Select records to merge

• Sort data records

Fr

4 11 18 25

1

• Use a letter template as the main document for a mail merge

• Address and print mailing labels and envelopes

• Create and edit a data source • Change page orientation

5 12 19

• Insert merge fields in a main document

• Merge all data records to a directory

• Use an IF field in a main document • Convert text to a table

6 Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

Introduction People are more likely to open and read a personalized letter than a letter addressed as Dear Sir, Dear Madam, or To Whom It May Concern. Typing individual personalized letters, though, can be a time-consuming task. Thus, Word provides the capability of creating a form letter, which is an easy way to generate mass mailings of personalized letters. The basic content of a group of form letters is similar. Items such as name and address, however, vary from one letter to the next. With Word, you easily can address and print mailing labels or envelopes for the form letters.

Project- Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory Both businesses and individuals regularly use form letters to communicate via the postal service or e-mail with groups of people. Types of form letter correspondence include announcements of sales to customers, notices of benefits to employees, invitations to the public to participate in a sweepstakes giveaway, and letters of job application to potential employers.

The project in this chapter follows generally accepted guidelines for writing form letters and uses Word to create the form letters shown in Figure 6-1. The form letters inform potential employers of your interest in a job opening at their organization. Each form letter states the potential employer's name and address, advertised job position, and the employer's type - a practice or a school.

To generate form letters, such as the ones shown in Figure 6-1, you create a main document for the form letter (Figure 6-1a), create or specify a data source (Figure 6-1 b), and then merge, or blend, the main document with the data source to generate a series of individual letters (Figure 6-1c). In Figure 6-1a, the main document represents the portion of the form letter that repeats from one merged letter to the next. In Figure 6-1 b, the data source contains the name, address, advertised job position, and employer type for different potential employers. To personalize each letter, you merge the potential employer data in the data source with the main document for the form letter, which generates or prints an individual letter for each potential employer listed in the data source.

Word provides two methods of merging documents: the Mail Merge task pane and the Mailings tab on the Ribbon. The Mail Merge task pane displays a wizard, which is a step-by-step progression that guides you through the merging process. The Mailings tab provides buttons and boxes you use to merge documents. This chapter illustrates both techniques.

WD330

Figure 6-1 (a) Main Document for the Form Letter

Mr. Leon

Dr. t Natalia Mr. Hugo Moreau Dr. Min Huan

«AddressBioclo1 -+----1

5/11/2012

«Greehngline» .-- - --! placeholder for salutation f ields

Figure 6-1 (b) Data Source

Donner : 44772 -----t-· ---

Bridgeton ~H. , 44710 loon~,--· OH--4- 4772"

906 Center St~-- _

-+ 85..£:ark~ _Way _ .1 P.O._ Box 330~. ~ 272 Mill Road f Un it 28

1~1 i ni_£al Veterinary Techn ician ~ S

Veterinary Assistant C

3894 81st Street Wilborn OH 44752 VeterinaryTechnican I 55 Avenue P.O. Box 104 Timber Creek Veterinary Technician C

I will graduate from Donner Community College this May with on Associate of

Veterinary Technology. My education, along with first-hand experience

MI. Leon ~efer1 } Bridgeton College

65 Porker Way

P.O. Box 3309

Bridgeton, OH 44710

5/11/2012

potential employer name a nd address in second data record

Siefert, for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Riley Clarke

Enclosure

Donner.

job seeker (sender) name and address

Riley Clarke

1-----<~ 8982 West Condor Avenue

Donner, OH 44772

available at Sunbelt Veterinary Clini . orga n ization name

evidenced on the enclosed resume, my background ma in first data record posted

'--,---..-;hr<>ucrh the Career Development Office at Donner Community conege. My coursework and

Townsend. f01 your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Riley Clarke

Enclosure

Figure 6-1 (c) Form Letters

WD 332 Word Chapter 6 Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

Plan Ahead

Overview As you read through this chapter, you will learn how to create and generate the

form letters shown in Figure 6-1 on the previous page, along with mailing labels, envelopes, and a directory, by performing these general tasks:

• Identify a template as the main document for the form letter.

• Type the contents of the data source.

• Compose the main document.

• Merge the data source with the main document to generate the form letters.

• Address and print mailing labels and envelopes using the data source.

• Create a directory, which displays the contents of the data source.

General Project Guidelines When creating a Word document, the actions you perform and decisions you make will affect the appearance and characteristics of the finished document. As you create form letters, such as the project shown in Figure 6-1, and related documents, you should follow these general guidelines:

1. Identify the main document for the form letter. When creating form letters, you either can type the letter from scratch in a blank document window or use a letter template. A letter template saves time because Word prepares a letter with text and/or formatting common to all letters. Then, you customize the resulting letter by selecting and replacing prewritten text.

2. Create or specify the data source. The data source contains the variable, or changing, values for each letter. A data source can be an Access database table, an Outlook contacts list, or an Excel worksheet. If the necessary and properly organized data already exists in one of these Office programs, you can instruct Word to use the existing file as the data source for the mail merge. Otherwise, you can create a new data source using one of these programs.

3. Compose the main document for the form letter. A main document contains the constant, or unchanging, text, punctuation, spaces, and graphics. It should reference the data in the data source properly. The finished main document letter should look like a symmetrically framed picture with evenly spaced margins, all balanced below an attractive letterhead or return address. The content of the main document for the form letter should contain proper grammar, correct spelling, logically constructed sentences, flowing paragraphs, and sound ideas. Be sure to proofread it carefully.

4. Merge the main document with the data source to create the form letters. Merging is the process of combining the contents of a data source with a main document. You can print the merged letters on the printer or place them in a new document, which you later can edit. You also have the option of merging all data in a data source, or merging just a portion of it.

5. Generate mailing labels and envelopes. To generate mailing labels and envelopes for the form letters, follow the same process as for the form letters. That is, determine the appropriate data source, create the label or envelope main document, and then merge the main document with the data source to generate the mailing labels and envelopes.

6. Create a directory of the data source. A directory is a listing of the contents of the data source. To create a directory, follow the same process as for the form letters. That is, determine the appropriate data source, create the directory main document, and then merge the main document with the data source to create the directory.

When necessary, more specific details concerning the above guidelines are presented at appropriate points in the chapter. The chapter also will identify the actions performed and decisions made regarding these guidelines during the creation of the form letters shown in Figure 6-1, and related documents.

Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory Word Chapter 6 WD 333

To Start Word

If you are using a computer to step through the project in this chapter and you want your screens to match the figures in this book, you should change your computer's resolution to 1024 X 768. The following steps start Word and verify settings.

0 Start Word. If necessary, maximize the Word window.

E) If the Print Layout button on the status bar is not selected, click it so that your screen is in Print Layout view.

0 Change your zoom level to 100%.

0 If the Show/Hide 11 button (Home tab I Paragraph group) is not selected already, click it to display formatting marks on the screen.

Identifying the Main Document for Form Letters The first step in the mail merge process is to identify the type of document you are creating for the main document. Typical installations of Word support five types of main documents: letters, e-mail messages, envelopes, labels, and a directory. In this section of the chapter, you create letters as the main document. Later in this chapter, you will specify labels, envelopes, and a directory as the main document.

Identify the main document for the form letter. Be sure the main document for the form letter includes all essential business letter elements. All business letters should contain a date line, inside address, message, and signature block. Many business letters contain additional items such as a special mailing notation(s), an attention line, a salutation, a subject line, a complimentary close, reference initials, and an enclosure notation.

Plan Ahead

To Identify the Main Document for the Form Letter Using the Mail Merge Task Pane

This project uses a letter template as the main document for the form letter. Word provides 10 styles of merge letter templates: Adjacency, Apothecary, Black Tie, Equity, Essential, Executive, Median, Oriel, Origin, and Urban. The letter in this chapter uses the Urban template so that it has a look similar to the accompanying resume created in Chapter 5, which also used an Urban template. The following steps use the Mail Merge task pane to identify the Urban Merge Letter template as the main document for a form letter.

0 • Click Mailings on the Ribbon to

display the Mailings tab.

• Click the Start Mail Merge button (Mailings tab I Start Mail Merge group) to display the Start Mail Merge menu (Figure 6-2).

ct: What is the function of the ell 0' E-mail Messages option?

Instead of printing individual letters, you can send individual e-mail messages using e-mail addresses in the data source or using a Microsoft Outlook Contacts list.

Documentl · Microsoft Word

£-mail Messages

En):!elopes ...

L2bels ...

Q.irectory

U!lJ Normal Word Document

References Mailings Review View

~ Step by Step Mail Merge '6fizard ...

Figure 6-2

PrE<V!ew Results

Note: To help you locate screen elements that are referenced in the step instructions, such as buttons and commands, this book uses red boxes

WD 334 Word Chapter 6 Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

0 • Click Step by Step

Mail Merge Wizard on the Start Mail Merge menu to display Step 1 of the Mail Merge wizard in the Mail Merge task pane (Figure 6-3).

I""

Figure 6-3

• Click the Next: Starting document link at the bottom of the Mail Merge task pane to display Step 2 of the Mail Merge wizard, which requests you select a starting document.

• Click 'Start from a template' in the 'Select starting document' area and then click the Select template link to display the Select Template dialog box.

• Click the Letters tab in the dialog box to display the Letters sheet; scroll to and then click Urban Merge Letter, which shows a preview of the selected template in the Preview area (Figure 6-4}.

([!) Experiment

• Click various Merge Letter templates in the Letters sheet and watch the preview change at the right edge of the dialog box. When you are finished experimenting, click the Urban Merge Letter template.

Resune

!)

® w w

Mec:ian Letter Medan MerQe Oriel letter Letter

w w w

OriQi'lletter OriQinMeroe U'ban letter Letter

Figure 6-4

. )(

1-----r-• Select document type:

What type of document are you WOI'kinoon?

o letters

etters

E·~ messages

Envelopes

Labels

Directory

Send letters to <!l 4701.4> <i people. You can personaize the letter that each person receives .

Cic:k Next to contn.~e.

Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory Word Chapter 6 WD 335

0 document window displays letter based

rt • Click the OK button to display a letter in the document window that is based on the Urban Merge Letter template (Figure 6-5).

on Urban Merge ~~ M~tch F1~10~

..,_Le_tt_e_r t_e_mrpl_at_e_....,.J:I Re~:\:~ts. .dp~~~~ lt~t M~~~: ~~=~~~ ~~~r~"t~H Gr~~t~,g Jn;~:i~1ergt ~ Upd4t.>! labet

<C Can I close the Mail Merge task ca

Create ._!;•:r~rtMail Mer-"'Q•:__ _ ___.,. _____ ..;.w..;.n.;;;t•..;;&..;.In;.;,;";.;,;rt.;;;fi,;;,•ld;;,;,s ________ ..;.;.;;==l

0 pane?

Yes, you can close the Mail Merge task pane at any time by clicking its Close button. When you wish to contmue with the merge process, you would repeat these steps and Word will resume the merge process at the correct step in the Mail Merge wizard.

'I ~ Windows.User1r

[Type-the-senderoompany-name]'l" [Type-the-senderoompany-address]'ll

<C Why does Windows User display as ~ the sender name?

'II « AddressBlocb 'II

[Pick·the·date ]ll

I Word places the user name associated with your copy of Microsoft Word as the sender name. Windows User is the user name associated with this copy of Word.

Qn{he·Insert{ab,{he-galleries1ndude1tems-that-aredesigned{o<XX>rdinate-with{he-overall~ookof·your·

document.··You<:an·use·these-galleries{o-insert·tables,·headers,·footers,·lists,ooverpages,-andcther<locument· building-blocks . ..When·youcreatepictures,charts,or<liagrams,{hey-alooooordinate-withyourcurrent<locument·

look. 'Ill!-----

To CHANGE THE USER NAME AND INITIALS

Figure 6-5

Other Ways

1 . Open Backstage view, click New, click Sample templates, click desired merge letter template, click Create button.

If you wanted to change the user name and initials associated with your copy of Microsoft Word, you would perform the following steps.

1. Open the Backstage view and then click Options to display the Word Options dialog box.

2. If necessary, click General in the left pane.

3. Enter your name in the User name text box.

4. Enter your initials in the Initials text box.

5. Click the OK button.

To Change the Document Theme

The form letter in this project uses the Austin document theme to match the theme used for the resume in Chapter 5. The following steps change the document theme.

0 Display the Page Layout tab.

e Click the Themes button (Page Layout tab I Themes group) to display the Themes gallery and then click Austin in the Themes gallery to change the document theme.

2. Click Start Mail Merge button (Mailings tab I Start Mail Merge group), click Letters

3: The Ribbon and Screen :;; Resolution

Word may change how the groups and buttons within the groups appear on the Ribbon, depending on the computer's screen resolution. Thus, your Ribbon may look different from the ones in this book if you are using a screen resolution other than 1024 X 768.

WD 336 Word Chapter 6 Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

printout of letter created from Urban Merge Letter template

To Print the Document

The next step is to print the letter that Word generated, which is based on the Urban Merge Letter template.

0 Ready the printer. Open the Backstage view and then click the Print tab, if necessary select the desired printer, and then click the Print button to print the document that is based on the Urban Merge Letter template (Figure 6-6).

~ What are the content controls in the document? ~ 0 A content control contains instructions for filling in areas of the document. To select a

content control, click it. Later in this chapter, you will personalize the content controls.

«AddressBiockn

[Pick the dote]

<\Greeting Linen

content controls for sender name and address

inside address and salutation will link to contents of data source

Windows User

1----< (Type the sender company name]

(Type the sender company address]

On the Insert tab, the galleries include items that are designed to coordinate with the overall look of

your document. You can use these galleries to insert tables, headers, footers, lists, cover pages, and

other document building blocks. When you create pictures, charts, or diagrams, they also coordinate

with your current document look.

You can easily change the formatting of selected text in the document text by choosing a look for the

selected text from the Quick Styles gallery on the Home tab. You can also format text directly by using

the other controls on the Home tab. Most controls offer a choice of using the look from the current

theme or using a format that you specify directly.

To change the overall look of your document, choose new Theme elements on the Page Layout tab.

To change the looks available in the Quick Style gallery, use the Change Current Quick Style Set

command. Both the Themes gallery and the Quick Styles gallery provide reset commands so that you

can always restore the look of your document to the original contained in your current template.

complimentary close and signature block content controls

(Type the closing)

Windows User

(Type the sender company name]

Figure 6-6

Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory Word Chapter 6 WD 337

To Enter the Sender Information

T he next step is to enter the sender information at the top of the letter. You will replace the name, Windows User, with the sender name. Then, you will delete the content control that contains the company name because the sender is an individual instead of a company. Note that any text you type in this content control also will appear in the signature block. Finally, you will enter the sender's address in the third content control. The following steps enter the sender information.

0 Triple-click the content control at the top of the letter that in this case, contains the name, Windows User, to select it.

e Type Riley Clarke as the sender name.

e Right-click the content control with the placeholder text, Type the sender company name, to display a shortcut menu and then click Remove Content Control on the shortcut menu to delete the content control.

<C What if my content control already displays a sender company name instead of ~ placeholder text?

Select the text and then delete it.

0 Press the DELETE key to delete the blank line between the name and address content controls.

0 Click the content control with the placeholder text, Type the sender company address, to select it.

e Type 8982 West Condor Avenue asthesenderstreetaddress.

f) Press the ENTER key and then type Donner, OH 4 4 7 7 2 as the sender city, state, and postal code.

To Change the Margin Settings --------~----------------------------------

T he Urban Merge Letter template uses .75-inch top, bottom, left, and right margins. You want the form letter to use l-inch top, bottom, left, and right margins. The following steps change margin settings.

0 Click the Margins button (Page Layout tab I Page Setup group) to display the Margins gallery.

e Click Normal in the Margins gallery to change the top, bottom, left, and right margins to 1 inch (Figure 6-7}.

Page Layout ta b

References Revi ew View

_] ~ Orientabon "" ·~ Brealcs ...

I] Sin • j:J lim: Numbers ..

Ma~gms ~§ Columns • bf- Hyphenation •

Page Set;Jp

Watermark•

~Page Color·

0 Pa!Je Borders

~ge Background

Indent

!~ left: 4S

~i Right 0"

'II

Spacmg

· !: Before: 0 pt

• : After. 0 pt

Patl!lgraph

Riley-clarke'l sender name and address information entered

f-----..( 6982·West -candorAv enue,

Danne r,-0H ·44772~

Figure 6-7

WD 338 Word Chapter 6 Generating Form Letters, Mailing Labels, and a Directory

To Create a Folder while Saving

You have performed several tasks while creating this project and should save it. The following steps assume you already have created folders for storing files, for example, a CIS 101 folder (for your class) that contains a Word folder. You want to save this and all other documents created in this chapter in a folder called Job Hunting in the Word folder. This folder does not exist, so you must create it. Rather than creating the folder in Windows, you can create folders from Word. The following steps create a folder during the process of saving a document.

0 • With a USB flash drive connected

to one of the computer's USB ports, click the Save button on the Quick Access Tool bar to display the Save As dialog box.

• Type Clarke Cover Letter in the File name text box (Save As dialog box) to change the file name. Do not press the ENTER key after typing the file name because you do not want to close the dialog box at this time.

.._] Pictures

Vide:os

4 Homegrou p

; .. Computer

&, l ocal Dtsk (C:) r "• REMOVABLE (E:) 1i

New folder button

@.) All Seasons Sa les Proposal

~ All Seasons Titl e Page

~ Cla rke Resume

~ Found Dog Flye r

~ Hearthmd Advertisement l etter

~ Heartland letterhead

Document! • Microsoft Word

Search Wor:J

Date rnod1fi-ed

S/10/20U 6:21PM

S/8120U8:58.A.M

S/1!2012 5:27 PM

S/6/201210:56 PM

4!28/201212:12 AM

4/21 !201210:54 PM

• Navigate to the desired location for the new folder (in this case, the Word folder in the CIS 101 folder [or your class folder] on the USB flash drive).

Network folder name automatically selected, so that you can type new folder name

• Click the New folder button (Save As dialog box) to display a new folder icon with the name New folder selected in the dialog box (Figure 6-8).

0 • Type Job

Hunting as the new folder name and then press the ENTER

key to create the new folder. tf Homegroup

• Click the Open button to open the selected folder, in this case, the Job Hunting folder (Figure 6-9).

• ;liii Computer

loc~l Disk (C:)

" • REMOVABLE (E:)

Networl:

• Htde Folders

tcGreat jngUnu

Filen am~ file name entered

Authors: R1le- Clarke. 1 ags: ~ad a t"q

IEJ Sive Thumbnail

• H1de Folders Tools .,.

Figure 6-8

tJame

No 1t.~ms m<!tch your ;~arch.

Tools •

T;'P~ th~ body of the letter On ·the insert ·tab, ·the -galleries 1nCivd"e 1tems ·that -are -designed ·lo -coordinate -w1th 1he "'ver

look 'Ofyovr-docvment. ··Yov -con ue ·these -galleries ·lo -insert ·lobles, -headers, f ooters, ~ists, ·c

p ages,-and"' ther-docvment -bvildlng-blocks.·Whenyov-creote-pictvres,-charts,"'r-dlagrarrt..------4

they-also -coord1nale -with yovr-cvrrent -docvmenl ~ook. 1

Figure 6-9

Sefect s:tartmg docume:nt

HowdoyouwMt to set l4Jyou' letters>

• Use the current: OOrunent Startfrom~tetr()l.ate

start from extstr.g doctmert

Use t he current document

St:Mt from the dorunert shown here and use the Mall Merge v.Jizard to add recipient riormabon.