Word, Mail Merge Recipient List

In this article I will explain how you can define a list of recipients for the mail merge feature in word.


Contents

Method 1, Creating Recipients from Scratch:

In this method a new list of recipients will be created.

Step  1:

  1. Click on the Mailings ribbon
  2. Click on the Select Recipients button
  3. Click on the Type New List … button

Select Recepients Mail Merge
Step 2, Customize Columns:

Each column represents a field of data to save for the recipient. For example:

  • First Name
  • Last Name
  • Post Code
  • Phone Number

In the userform that opens clicks on Customize Columns… :

Customize Recepients
On the userform that opens you can select the fields you need:

Customize Recpients 2

Step 3, Create Recipients:

After customizing the columns we can start adding recipients to the list. In order to create a new recipient click on the “New Entry” button:

Word Mail Merge Recepients
Step 4, Save the Recipients:

When done, press Ok and save the newly created recipient list:

Save Dialogs


Method 2, Using an Existing List:

You could any recognized data source file, as an existing list. For example:

  • Access database
  • Excel workbook
  • Sql Database
  • text file

An existing list can be any recognized data source format:

Example: In  this example I will use an excel worksheet. Assume we have the following data in an excel worksheet:

Sample Excel Data

Step 1:

On the Mailings ribbon click on the following:

  1. Select Recipients
  2. Use Existing List

Word Mail Merge Use Existing List
From the open file dialog select the workbook path:

Select Recipients
A dialog will open requesting you to choose the sheet where the recipient data is located. In this example we chose sheet1:

Select Sheet With data
Step 2:

When using existing list of recipient it is a good idea to check if the data has been interpreted correctly. Click on the edit recipient list on the Mailing ribbon:

Edit Recipient List
In the userform that opens you can see how the data was interpreted. As you can see the first row of each column, was interpreted
as the column name:

Word Mail Merge, Existing List


Method 3, Select From Outlook Contacts:

You could also use your outlook contacts as the recipient list.

  1. Click on the Mailings ribbon
  2. Click on the Select Recipients button
  3. Click on the Select From Outlook Contacts … button

Select Recepients Mail Merge, Outlook Contacts
In the dialog that opens select an outlook profile then click on OK:

Outlook profile
Select your contacts folder:

Contacts Folder
It is a good idea to check how the list has been interpreted similar to method 2.

If you need assistance with your code, or you are looking for a VBA programmer to hire feel free to contact me. Also please visit my website  www.software-solutions-online.com

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