The point of mail merge is to automate the creation of documents as much as possible, limiting the typing and data entry you have to do to complete the task you’re working on. Of course, it is easier to eliminate the need for editing when you’re in the planning stages of your document and data source; through careful planning, you can incorporate most of the customizations you need into the data source. If, however, you’re using a data source created for a different operation, it can become tricky to avoid editing the final documents created by the mail merge.
Fortunately, Word does allow you to incorporate functions into your merge document that will help you work around some of the problems you may encounter. For example, the If…Then…Else function will allow you to insert additional text based on the contents of a field. This is particularly useful when creating letters when you don’t have names for all the recipients; you can simply tell Word to insert a stock phrase in place of a blank field:
1. Place the cursor in front of the merge field
2. On the Mail Merge toolbar, click Insert Word Field
3. Select If…Then…Else
4. In the dialog box, select the field name from the drop-down box
5. In the drop down below Comparison, select Equal to:
6. Leave the Compare to: box blank
7. In the Insert this text: box, type the text you would like to substitute
8. Click OK
It is important to note that this will not replace the contents of the mail merge field, but will simply insert text in front of the field.
More Word Processing Quick Tips
Fortunately, Word does allow you to incorporate functions into your merge document that will help you work around some of the problems you may encounter. For example, the If…Then…Else function will allow you to insert additional text based on the contents of a field. This is particularly useful when creating letters when you don’t have names for all the recipients; you can simply tell Word to insert a stock phrase in place of a blank field:
1. Place the cursor in front of the merge field
2. On the Mail Merge toolbar, click Insert Word Field
3. Select If…Then…Else
4. In the dialog box, select the field name from the drop-down box
5. In the drop down below Comparison, select Equal to:
6. Leave the Compare to: box blank
7. In the Insert this text: box, type the text you would like to substitute
8. Click OK
It is important to note that this will not replace the contents of the mail merge field, but will simply insert text in front of the field.
