Mail Merge is used to send a large number of personalized documents automatically via a contact list created in Microsoft Excel and then utilized in Microsoft Word. For Sending Documents via a Shared Mailbox, Please review the Mail Merge from a Shared Mailbox section first.
1. Create a new Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet.
2. Create your headers using the First Row in your Excel Spreadsheet.
A good starting point is including basic information such as First Name, Last name, and Email of the users you will being sending your document to.
3. Fill out each header column with information.
4. Save this Excel Spreadsheet to your computer and then close the file.
Name and place this file in a location you will remember because we will being using this data in Microsoft Word for the next steps.
This is where you will write your Email/Letter that you would like to send in mass. An example will be shown in these instructions.
1. Create a new Microsoft Word Document.
2. Begin to write the Email/Letter that you plan to send in mass.
While writing this Document, it can be helpful to put the words you are going to mail merge in Brackets []. That way you will have an easier time identifying the information you will insert.
3. Switch from the Home tab to the Mailings.
4. Click on Select Recipients and Use an Existing List...
6. Your File Browser will open and allow you to select the Contact List you created in Excel.
Make sure you have "First row of data contains column headers" checked when at this step. This checkbox excludes your headers from the information that the Mail Merge will choose from.
7. You can view your currently selected Contact List via the Edit Recipient List button.
By unchecking one of the Check Boxes you can exclude certain information from the Mail Merge. This allows you to use the same Contact List and customize what information is used.
8. Using the Write and Insert Fields you can insert information from your Contact List.
9. The Greeting Line option allows you to set up a greeting for each person on your Contact List without the need to write each person's name. You can Highlight the spot in your Email/Letter that you want to insert a greeting and your <<Greeting Line>> will appear.
10. For customizing other fields such as Company, Phone Number, City, or Email Address you can choose the Insert Merge Field option.
11. To preview what the Email/Letter looks like for each person you can use the Preview Results options.
Preview Results Off
Preview Results On
You can preview each of the Recipients by using the Arrows next to the Preview Results button.
Recipient #1 Buzzy Hornet
Recipient #3 John Doe
12. When finished writing your Email/Letter, press the Finish & Merge button and then press Send Email Messages.
13. A box will open asking you to fill out the To and Subject Line fields. The mail Format field you can keep as default.
14. Once you hit OK your Document will be sent to the Email Addresses entered in your Contact List.
For Reference: Microsoft Support How to Mail Merge
For any additional assistance or questions please Contact Academic Computing Technologies (ACT) Help Desk