Module 16 Assignment: Create Mail Merge Letters

For this assignment, you will create a Word document that is mail merged with an Access customer contact table. Mail Merge can be used to create bulk labels, letters, envelopes, and emails. You will be creating letters to send with the newsletter you previously edited. Follow the directions below, then submit your assignment. If you get stuck on a step, review this module and ask your classmates for help in the discussion forum.

You have been tasked with mailing the newsletter you previously created to customers of Rowan Retail. In order to accomplish this task, you need to merge the customer contact information in the Access file with a Word document in order to make mailing labels. Follow these steps to accomplish the task.

  1. The first step is to download the customer contact Access file and save it to the Rowan folder on your desktop.
  2. Open Word and create a new document by clicking on the Blank document option in the window.
  3. Save the document by using Save As and rename the document to BA132_LastName_MailMerge.docx, replacing “LastName” with your own last name. (Example: BA132_Hywater_MailMerge)
  4. Begin Mail Merge: Select the Mailings tab and use the Step-by-Step Mail Merge Wizard for this mail merge letter.A blank Microsoft Word document is open. There are three green arrows on the document, the first arrow shows that the mailings tab in the ribbon menu has been selected. The second arrow is pointing at the start mail merge button and the third is pointing at the step by step mail merge wizard button.
  5. Wizard: Walk through the wizard and click the Next: Starting document link leaving the selection of document type to ‘Letters’.A blank Microsoft Word document is open. A mail merge menu has opened to the right of the document and there is a green box highlighting where it is located. A green arrow points at the option to go to the next starting document.
  6. Create letter: Leave the document type to ‘Use the current document‘ and click the Next: Select recipients link.A blank Microsoft Word document is open. A mail merge menu has opened to the right of the document. A green arrow points at the option to go to the next: select recipients button.
  7. Contact List: You already have a file with a contact list. Leave the selection ‘Use an existing list’ selected and click on the Browse link.A blank Microsoft Word document is open. A mail merge menu has opened to the right of the document. A green arrow points at the option to use an existing list and another green arrow points at the button to browse.
  8. Insert File: Find where you saved the Rowan Retail Customer Contact Info.accdb file and use this for the mail merge contacts file.A Select Data Source dialog box is open. An access file called Rowan Retail Customer Contact Info is selected.
  9. Prepare contact file: Find Richard Castle and Britney Spears and uncheck their boxes. Go to the Next: Write your letter link step.A Mail Merge Recipients dialog box is opened in Microsoft Word. The data from the Access file has been pulled into the dialog box. Richard Castle has been unchecked.
  10. Compose the letter: Decide where to place your cursor in the document for adding in an address and use the Address Block option from the wizard or the ribbon button, to select the naming style.A blank Microsoft Word document is open. A mail merge menu has opened to the right of the document. In the mail merge menu a green box shows that the address block has been selected. In the mailings tab under the ribbon menu also has a green box highlighting the address block option. An insert address block dialog box has opened and a green arrow is pointing to one of the names in the address block. A second green arrow is pointing at the ok button.
  11. Decide Greeting: Decide where you would like the greeting to be in the letter. Select the Greeting line from the wizard or the ribbon button and decide the style of greeting.A Microsoft Word document is open. A mail merge menu has opened to the right of the document. In the mail merge menu a green box shows that the greeting line has been selected. In the mailings tab under the ribbon menu there is also has a green box highlighting the greeting line option. An insert greeting dialog box has opened and a green arrow is pointing at the ok button. A green box on the document is open showing where the greeting line will be inserted.
  12. Paste the following text to serve as the body of your letter. Enclosed is the quarterly newsletter for Rowan Retail. Please enjoy the information therein and pay special attention to the dates for the special sales this summer. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us as soon as possible.
  13. Finish Letter: Close the letter with ‘Sincerely’ and then your name. Save your work and click Next: Preview your letters.A Microsoft Word document is open. A mail merge menu has opened to the right of the document. There are two green boxes highlighting the page, one is showing where the content of the letter goes and the other shows where the save button is in Microsoft Word. A green arrow points to the next: preview your letters option.
  14. Check Letters: Scroll through the letters by clicking on the arrows. Britney Spears and Richard Castle should be missing in the recipients.A Microsoft Word document is open with a letter on it. A mail merge menu has opened to the right of the document. There are three green arrows on the page, the first one shows where the finish and merge button is. The second arrow points out where the recipient number is found and the third arrow points at the next: complete this merge button.
  15. Complete the Merge: Once the merge is completed, click on Edit individual letters… if you need to make any changes to just a few letters.A Microsoft Word document is open with a letter on it. A mail merge menu has opened to the right of the document. There is one green arrow, pointing to the Edit individual letters command.
  16. For this assignment don’t make any edits to individual letters and continue to the final step.
  17. Optional Task: To double check the letters you can print them out. Make sure ‘All’ records are selected to make sure all print or select specific ones if you want to print a few.A Microsoft Word document is open with a letter on it. A mail merge menu has opened to the right of the document. There are two green arrows. Both arrows point to a pop-up command box. The first arrow indicates that All pages are selected. The second arrow points to the okay button.
  18. Your merge mail file is now complete! Save your file once more, this time as a PDF (use the .pdf file extension), and submit the PDF in your course online.