mail merge making me crazy

[oreomax]

Hi there,
I hope someone can help me with the steps to a successful mail merge. 1st I'll tell you where I'm having the problem. I have MS office 2003. I understand until the wizard asks for the address file.

I have a letter already composed and open
I have my addresses in label format in word

When prompted, Select Recipients; I choose => Use an existing list


Then Browse
Opens a new window => Mail Merge Recipients

This is where my addresses are all a mess -

1. there are boxes in between the name and address
2. the first address is in the grey top where the down arrow is
3. the wizard seems to only use the addresses in the first column
4. second column => Auto Merge Field => is blank?
5. I follow the steps after Mail Merge Recipients, but NO merge

I have tried so many times and nothing seems to work.
Do I need to save my names and addresses in a different format?
If so, what format, Excel, notepad? If there is a step by step instructional link, I sure would appreciate your help.

HELP, Please!

[Bird_FAT]

Hi there - have a go at these instructions - I have included 3 files:

1) Mail Merge - instructions
2)+3) practice files


Work through the instructions using the practice files, and see if there is something different in the way it's done, or in how it's laid out!


Hope it helps!!

[oreomax]

Thanks BIRD Fat!

I have 1 one more question that was NOT included in your answer.

If I have a file of names and addresses that are typed in a label format (Avery 5160) in Word, can I NOT use this as my DATA SOURCE?

If a LABEL file can be used, could you explain how?

[Bird_FAT]

I'd say that that is your main problem here!

For Word to be able to recognise the various parts: First Name, Last Name, Address - Line 1, etc. This needs to be setup in a way that Word can understand it all. But, having them set out as address lables, isn't going to do that, as the details could be different - different address lengths (4 lines for one, 2 lines for another), multiple names, etc.

To really sort this out, you need to have the list in a form where you can have headers to let Word know what each piece of information is. In Word 2003+, you can create the database of names in Word itself, but my choice is always Excel or Access - Excel for a simple, sortable list; Access for a detailed one.

To say that you can't do it from a Label format isn't quite true, but let me give you an idea of what you would need to do in VBA:

First to reverse concatenate the name, ensuring that Mr/Mrs/Ms/Miss/Dr/etc. are taken into account.
Next Break the address down into the various segments - first devising a way to have shorter and longer addresses recognised correctly (definitely NOT easy).
All of this would have to be written in VBA, as there is no way to do it using the Wizard.!!!

As you can see, it would take A LOT less time just to rewrite/export the list to excel! (try importing it as a CSV, you might find it easier to play around with it that way.