How to Mail Merge from Excel to Microsoft Word
Great for Christmas cards or chain letters
If you want to create a mail merge from Excel to Word, there’s more involved than simply connecting a worksheet. Whether you set up the Excel sheet from scratch or import a text or CSV file, you have to make sure your data is structured correctly.
We’ll show you how to format your mailing list in a Microsoft Excel document so that when you connect it toWord for the mail merge, everything works properly.
Import a File to Excel
If you have a text or CSV file as the data source for the mailing list, you can import it into an Excel file. From there, you can arrange and format the data correctly before you connect it through the mail merge feature or Wizard in Word.
While the process is similar for versions of Excel, it is slightly different for Microsoft 365 versus Excel for Mac or other Excel versions.
If you’re using Excel with Microsoft 365 on Windows, follow these steps to import your data file.
You’ll receive your imported file with the number of rows loaded. You can then make additional adjustments as needed and save the file.
If you’re using Excel on Mac or another version such as Excel 2013, follow these steps to import a text or CSV file.
You’ll then have your recipient list imported and ready for reviewing, editing, and saving.
Set Up the Mailing List in Excel
Whether you import a file as described above or create your mailing list in Excel from scratch, there are several things to keep in mind. These may require you to adjust your Excel data.
Make sure that:
Format the Mail List Excel
Along with managing the data for your mailing list in Excel, you must be sure that it is formatted correctly. This is imperative for percentages and zip or postal codes.
To format your data, select a column, go to theHometab, and choose the format in theNumber Formatdrop-down list.
Keep in mind that although you format the data specific to its category, it does not display corresponding symbols when you connect it to Word. For instance, when you map a percentage, you’ll only see the number display, not the percent sign. You should add the symbols you want adjacent to the mapped fields in the Word mail merge document.
Ready to Merge
Once you have your recipient list ready to go in Excel, it’s time to use the Word mail merge feature to finish the process. Whether personalized letters or email messages, look at our tutorial forcreating a mail merge in Microsoft Wordfor complete details.
Additionally, you can check out how tocreate labels in a Word document from an Excel spreadsheet.
Sandy Writtenhouse is a freelance technology writer and former Project, Department, and Program Manager. She turned her education, job experience, and love of technology into a full-time writing career. With all sorts of gadgets in her home and her hands, she seeks to help others make life easier through technology.Read Sandy’s Full Bio
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