Microsoft Word 2010 : Creating Form Letters with Mail Merge - Finishing the Merge

Figure 1. Previewing the merged letter.

Use the Preview Results scroll buttons to browse between the previous and next records or the first and last records. Again, in Figure 9-11, I left the fields highlighted in yellow to make it easier for you to see.

When you are satisfied with the results, you’re ready to finish the merge. Choose Mailings > Finish > Finish & Merge. A menu of options appears where you can edit the individual documents, print the documents, or send the documents via e-mail.

• Edit the Individual Documents: Choose this option if you want to personalize your letters. This option creates a new Word document where each letter is on its own page, and any changes you make affect the individual current record only—not the other recipients. You have the option to merge all records, the current record, or a range of record numbers (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. Displaying the merged letters in a new Word document.

• Print Documents: Choose this option if you don’t need to make any individual changes and just want to print the merged documents. When you choose this option, you can choose to merge all records, the current record, or a range of record numbers.

• Send E-Mail Messages: This option sends the document to the recipient via e-mail. The e-mail option only works if the individual record data includes e-mail addresses. When you choose this option, like the others, you can merge all records, the current record, or a range of record numbers. Additionally, as shown in Figure 3, you determine which field in your data source contains the e-mail address as well as enter a subject line. Also, you determine if you want the letter sent as an attachment to the e-mail, in HTML format, in the e-mail, or in just a plain text with no formatting in the e-mail.