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How to Mail Merge Labels

How to make your computer create neat sticky address labels for all your Christmas Cards

This article describes how to use Excel and Word to print out address labels on a standard Avery 7 rows by 3 columns of sticky labels per sheet of A4.
All you need is Excel and Word and some Sticky labels.

Before you start, I should tell you of a little secret for people who have Microsoft Access If you go to www.easyinvoice.co.uk and download the evaluation although it will lock after creating 15 invoices the evaluation allows you to use the full features of the built in mail-merge to labels function.

Here are instructions with apologies to folks with slightly different versions of Microsoft Office:

1. Use Excel to create a Database of Addresses
A ready made sheet called addresses.xls can be downloaded by clicking here
- Save it in My Documents
- Open it and Type your addresses in it

2. Use a Word document to design the labels
Depending on your version of Word Click on Tools, Letters and Mailings and Mail-Merge
(Word 2003 will open a side panel on the Right)

Create labels using the current document

When you see Label Options click on this and select Avery A4 sizes from the pull down list first, Now scroll down the list and find the Avery number for your labels - usually on the box (L7162 is a common one for 7 rows and 3 columns)

3. Select Data Source

Now we need Word to link to your Excel database of addresses. Click Browse...

Make sure you are looking in the My Documents folder (in older versions of Word you may need to select File Types at the bottom and change it to Excel.)

You should see the addresses.xls file in My Documents click on it and then click the Open button

You may be asked to confirm that the First row of data contains column headers - just click OK (as it does)

In older versions of Word you should now have a new mail-merge toolbar along the top in Word

4. Select the Fields to Merge Click the button (in the right hand panel in Word 2003) a box will popup... Start by selecting Title, then click the Insert button Now click on Initial then click Insert LastName then Insert Address1 then Insert Address2 then Insert Town then Insert County then Insert PostCode and Insert and finally Country then Insert Now close the pop up (with the X top right)
5. Arrange the Merge Fields Look at the top left of your Word Document you should see a jumble of fields each bracketed in double chevrons Start by clicking between the Country and Post Code fields (be careful not to delete a field - click undo if you do) Press Enter to move Country onto a new line. Do the same for other fields and press the spacebar on the keyboard to create spaces between fields that you wish to keep on the same line.
You should end up with something like this... Now that all the Hard work done To change the Font you could Select All (Ctrl+A) and then select your preferred font (e.g. Arial size 10, Bold)
6. Update all the labels Word 2003 makes this a little easier... Just click the button on the right
7. Preview your labels - Click the blue Preview your labels link at the bottom right
8 Complete the merge
9. Print the labels In Word 2003 this is towards the top of the right-hand panel In older versions of Word you need to select the Merge to Printer button on the mail merge toolbar (Just clicking Print will only print the current page of labels)

NOTES
Once setup and saved - your next mail-merge is really simple just open the same Word Document and print the labels.

Some final rules:

Do not modify any text in the Word Document
Only edit addresses in the addresses.xls Excel Workbook
Do Not rename or move the Excel File called Addresses.xls (or it will break the link to your Word labels)

Filters: You might find it useful to filter out blank email addresses, or specific categories e.g. Christmas, or List2 etc.

If you want easykey to help set it up for you and show you how to use it do not hesitate to contact us on www.AskMyGenie.com