Creating a Mail Merge Data File

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 4, 2017)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


1

If you plan on printing documents that merge information from a data file, such as form letters, you will need to create the data file in such a way that Word knows how to process it. This data can be in a database program, in the Excel spreadsheet program, or directly in Word. If you are creating a simple, one-time mail merge document, chances are good that you will be using data that you put in a Word document.

Basically, the Word data file must have a header record and as many data records as you desire. The header record indicates the field names to be assigned to the fields in each record. The names in this header record correspond to the field names used in your master document. Each field in each data record of the file must correspond to one of the header fields. For instance, consider the following excerpt from a data file.

title first middle last
John Q. Public
Jean R. Smith
Wilma  Davis
Walter T. Avery

The first record indicates the field names; it is the header record. The other four records are the data records. Notice, also, that the third data record does not list any data corresponding to the data field named middle. As you create these data files, you can place the information in a Word table so the data is easier to visualize and work with. Each record will occupy a row of the table, and each field will occupy a cell in the row.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1369) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Inserting from the Clip Art Gallery Doesn't Work

Ever insert a picture and it won't display in your document? It could be due to some of the display settings in Word. ...

Discover More

Creating a Sort Order

Excel is very flexible in how it can sort your data. You can even create your own custom sort order that is helpful when ...

Discover More

Creating a Center Across Selection Button

The ability to center text across a range of cells has long been a staple of experienced Excel users. Here's how to ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Checkboxes in a Merged Document

When creating a mail-merge document, you may want to include some special characters, such as check-marked boxes, in the ...

Discover More

Wrong Values Merged from Excel

When you use an Excel workbook as a data source for your merged document, you may be surprised if what is merged doesn't ...

Discover More

Speeding Up Mail Merges

The Mail Merge tool in Word is a great way to create new, customized documents. If you are doing a lot of merging, you ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is five more than 3?

2017-11-04 12:05:53

Sheldon Hoffman

In the mail merge section using a Word document the data example columns under the heading line are not lined up with their respective headings.


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.