Now that the letters are complete, we need to create envelopes to use for mailing. We will use Microsoft Word's Address Block feature to quickly and easily create envelopes.
Available Files
The following files are available for download:
Creating a blank envelope
Before starting the mail merge, we will need to create a blank document and choose for this document to resemble an envelope. As with the previous exercise, we will want to name this document in such a way that it is obvious it is a mail merge document. An easy way to do this is to add "MM" at the end of the file name.
- To create a new document, in Microsoft Word,
Click the File tab, Click New Document
- To begin saving the document, in Microsoft Word,
Click File, Click Save As
- To choose a file location, in the Save as dialog box,
navigate to the folder containing the exercise files
- To name the document, in the name field,
Press & Drag to select the existing text, type: EnvelopesMM Return key
The new document is almost ready for the envelope mail merge. Before we can begin inserting merge fields, we need to format the document to look like an envelope.
When working with Microsoft Word's mail merge features, all of the tools are on the Mailings tab.
- To move to the Mailings tab, on the ribbon,
Click the Mailings tab
- To begin mail merge for envelopes,
Click
, Click Envelopes...
The Envelope dialog box opens:
In this dialog box, we can choose the font and placement of both the delivery and return addresses. In this exercise, we're going to use an image file for the return address. It may be necessary to remove your personal address from this area.
- To uncheck the "Use my address" checkbox, if necessary,
Click the "Use my address" checkbox
There are also printing and page setup options. For today's exercise, we'll accept the default fonts and placements. However, we want to use Envelope #10. The envelope size options are in the Page Setup dialog box.
- To open the Page Setup dialog box, in the Envelope dialog box,
Click
The Page Setup dialog box opens:
This dialog box gives us options for what type of printer we're using and the paper size. We're also give the opportunity to change the orientation of the paper as well as the scale. We want to make sure we are creating Envelope #10.
- To choose Envelope #10, if necessary, next to Paper Size,
Click
, Click Envelope #10 - To close the Page Setup dialog box,
Click
- To choose landscape orientation, in the Page Setup dialog box, if necessary,
Click
- To accept the options and close the dialog box,
Click
The document adjusts and now resembles an envelope.
Selecting the source data
With the document ready and the mail merge process started, it's time to choose our data source. The envelopes will be used to mail the letters to the people who submitted proposals to the bicycle advocacy conference. Therefore, we will use the same Excel worksheet, Applicants, as our data source.
- To begin selecting the data source,
Click
, Click Use an Existing List... Navigate to the downloaded folder.
- To choose the correct file,
Double-Click Applicants.xlsx
A warning appears asking if we are sure the file we're trying to access is from a trusted source. We can confirm that it is.
- To confirm that the file is safe and close the dialog box,
Click
The Open Workbook dialog box appears:
In this dialog box, we could choose a specific worksheet or cell range within the workbook. We want to use the entire workbook.
- To use the entire worksheet,
Click
There is no obvious change to the envelope document, but the source file is now ready to be merged with our envelopes.
Inserting the address merge fields
Now that our document and data source are connected, we can begin inserting the merge fields.
In order to properly place the recipient address and return address, we will need to see where the default paragraphs and text boxes are located. To do this, we will need to turn on the Show Formatting feature.
- To move to the Home tab, on the ribbon,
Click the Home tab
- To turn on the Show Formatting feature,
Click
With the formatting marks visible, we can see that there is a paragraph almost in the center of the envelope. This is where we will place the recipient's address. In the upper left corner are the paragraph marks representing the return address.
- To select the correct location for the recipient's address,
Click to the left of the paragraph mark in the middle of the envelope
- To move to the Mailings tab, on the ribbon,
Click the Mailings tab
- To insert the First_Name field,
Click
,Click First_Name - To put a space between the first and last names, on the keyboard, press:
Spacebar
- To insert the Last_Name field,
Click
, Click Last_Name
- To move to the next line, on the keyboard, press:
Return key
- To insert the Affiliation field,
Click
, Click Affiliation - To move to the next line, on the keyboard, press:
Return key
- To insert the Address1 field and move to the next line,
Click
, Click Address1, press: Return key - To insert the City field and comma,
Click
, Click City, on the keyboard, type: , Spacebar - To insert the State field,
Click
, Click State, on the keyboard, press: Spacebar - To insert the Zip field,
Click
, ClickZip
The recipient's address is in the center of the envelope.
Inserting a graphic
Now that the recipient's address has been placed, we're ready to add the return address. This could be accomplished by typing the return address in the upper left corner of the envelope. However, we are going to insert a graphic of the conference logo and return address.
- To correctly place the cursor,
Click in the upper left corner of the envelope
- To move to the Insert tab, on the ribbon,
Click the Insert tab
- To begin inserting the graphic, on the ribbon,
Click
, Click Picture from File... Navigate to the downloaded folder.
- To insert the graphic, in the Insert Picture dialog box,
Click ReturnAddress.png, Click
Previewing the envelopes
Let's preview the results. By previewing the envelopes, we can find and fix any errors before merging.
- Return to the Mailings tab.
- To preview the merged envelopes,
Click
The envelope now shows us the recipient's address and return address.
We can preview additional envelopes and make any needed edits or adjustments.
- To preview additional envelopes,
Click
several times - Make any adjustments to punctuation or spacing, if necessary.
- To turn off Preview Results and return to the merge document,
Click
- Move to the Home tab.
- To turn off the Show Formatting feature,
Click
Completing the mail merge
Now that we have previewed and corrected our envelopes, we can complete the merge.
When completing a mail merge we have the option to edit individual documents, print the documents, or email the documents. If we choose to edit the individual documents, a new Word document will be created with an envelope for each participant. Let's do that now.
- Return to the Mailings tab.
- To merge to individual documents,
Click
, Click Edit Individual Documents...
A new Microsoft Word document named EnvelopesX opens. This document contains 20 envelopes, one for each recipient. At this point, we could edit the individual envelopes, print them, or simply save the document to return to at a later time.
- Review the individual envelopes and make any necessary adjustments.
- To begin saving the document, on the keyboard, press:
Command key + S
Navigate to the downloaded folder.
- To name the document, in the File name field, type:
Acknowledgment envelopes
- To save the document,
Click
- To close the document, on the keyboard, press:
Command key + W
- To save the changes to EnvelopesMM, on the keyboard, press:
Command key + S
- To close EnvelopesMM, on the keyboard, press:
Command key + W
The merged envelopes have been saved.