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BOOT CAMP 095
MANAGING A MAIL SHOT PART 2
In last week's episode of Boot Camp we looked at how to set
up the Mail Merge facility in Word 97. Mail Merge is a simple and efficient
means of managing a mailshot, personalising a large number or letters or forms
with the recipient's name and address. This week we'll be bringing the various
elements together and printing the finished letters and envelopes or labels.
If you were following part one you should now have safely
filed away on your PC a Mail Merge compatible address book containing the names
and addresses of all of the people you are writing to and your standard letter
or form. The next step is to specify where the names and addresses are going to
appear on the letter. Begin by opening your letter or form then click on Mail
Merge on the Tools menu to start the Helper wizard.
As before click on the item 1 button 'Create', then Form
Letters and the 'Active Window' button, to signify that the document on the
screen is the one you will be working on. Next, click Button 2 'Data Source',
select Open Data Source and locate your address book file from the directory
window, click on the file icon the dialogue boxes will disappear and your
letter is displayed on the screen. You will see that a new tool bar has been
added to the desktop, if it hasn't then right-click into an empty area on the
toolbars and select Mail Merge from the drop-down menu.
Last week we suggested that you should keep a recipient's
title separate from the rest of their name in the address book, the reason for
that will now become apparent. Insert the cursor immediately after the
salutation (i.e. 'Dear') and click on the Insert Merge Field button. On the
drop-down menu select Title or FirstName from the list -- depending how
familiar or personal you want the letter to be -- i.e. Dear John, or Dear Mr
XXX. When you click on the entry
<<Title>> or <<FirstName>> appears on the line.
If you've gone for the 'Dear Mr' option insert a space after Mr, go back to the
Insert Merge Field button and select LastName and <<LastName>> is
inserted; don't forget to add a comma after the name. If you want to see how
this looks click on the 'ABC' icon on the Mail Merge toolbar and the first name
in your address book will be shown, click ABC again and it reverts to the field
names.
Now you can start to assemble the name and address lines in
the same way, by putting the cursor where you want the various bits of
information to be inserted. To add the date to the letter position the cursor,
go to the Insert menu, click on Field then Date and Time in the Categories
window then Date in the Field Names pane opposite and click OK. Check how it
looks once again with the ABC icon. Whilst in the preview mode you can step through
the other names and addresses by clicking on the Next Record arrows (to the
right of the ABC icon on the Mail Merge toolbar). When you are happy with it
return to the Mail Merge screen (click ABC to show the field names) select the
Mail Merge Helper icon then item 3 'Merge'. Click on the Merge button and it is
done. All of your letters will appear as one long document, which you can print
out as normal.
The last job is to use Mail Merge to generate a set of
address labels or print directly to envelopes the procedure is very similar to
creating a letter or form. Open a blank document; click on Mail Merge on the
Tools menu and then the Create button. From the drop-down list choose Mailing
Labels or Envelopes, then click on the Active Window button. Next click item 2,
'Get Data' and Open Data Source to select your address book file once again.
Click on the Set Up Main Document button and you will be asked to indicate the
type and size of label or envelope. When that's done the Create Label or
Envelope window appears, into which you position the recipients name and
address, from the Insert Merge Field drop down menu. Click Ok when you have
finished, close the Mail Merge Helper window and the label sheet or an envelope
appears on the screen. Click on the ABC icon to see what it looks like. If
all's well return to the Mail Merge Helper window, click item 3 'Merge', then
the Merge button on the next dialogue box and the label sheets or envelopes are
ready to print.
Next week – faxing from Windows
JARGON FILTER
DATA SOURCE
A file used to store a particular type of information is
kept, such as names and addresses
FIELD
A field is a receptacle or container on a document for
information that changes, such as a date, page number or name and address on a
mail merge letter or form
WIZARD
A self-activating program that guides you through a simple
set-up routine for a particular feature or application
TOP TIP
Here's one for the many fans of Word 97's labour-saving
keyboard shortcuts. As you may have discovered there is no master list of
shortcuts in Word Help and tracking down a specific command -- there are more
than 200 of them -- or finding out if a particular one even exists, can be a
frustrating and time-consuming business. Wonder no more, here's an easy way to
print out a complete list of Word shortcuts and commands, to keep by your PC
for quick reference.
Go to the Tools menu and click on Macro then Macros. In the
'Macros In' drop-down menu select Word Commands, now move your mouse pointer to
the Macro Name pane and highlight ListCommands, click Run and in the dialogue
box that appears select Current Menu and Keyboard Settings and click OK. A new
document will open, with a table showing all of the available commands and
shortcuts. Just use Save As to give it a name and print it out. Be warned in
its raw form it runs to around 9 pages (12pt text) but with a little judicious
editing of the commands you'll never need or use it can be trimmed to a more
manageable 5 to 6 pages.
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