Notice that the three IF fields are nested, one within another–that syntax is important. In this case, there should never be an empty membership type value, but if that happens, you’ll want to accommodate that by adding an additional IF. If the current record’s membership type value is I, print Individual.If the current record’s membership type value is Fr, print Family.If the current record’s membership type value is F, print Family.The IF field only looks complex, but its purpose is simple: In this case, we’re using the following nested IF fields: In a nutshell, they’re pre-programmed codes similar to the merge fields you inserted earlier.
This next bit might feel like unchartered waters if you’re not familiar with Word fields. If you run the merge as is, the membership type merge field will return F, Fr, and I, which you’ll probably want to avoid. So, let’s replace that merge field with an IF field that can turn that meaningless data into something the members understand. However, the membership details in the Excel workbook–F, Fr, and I–might not mean anything to the new members. You can get around the lack of a pre-defined mapping field by inserting an unmapped merge field–so don’t forget to insert both of those fields before you continue.Īt this point, all of the merge fields are in place, and you could run the merge. The pre-defined map is a shortcut that you’ll want to take advantage of when possible, but it won’t always have every field you need. There are no pre-defined fields for the membership number and membership type, but don’t worry about that. You can add spaces and commas as you would with regular text.
Use Figure B as a guideline for completing the mapping process. Word will match a few of the items for you: City, State, and Zip. To do so, click Match Fields in the Write & Insert Field groups. Now that Word knows what type of merge you’re running and where the details are coming from, it’s time to map Word placeholders to Excel fields. Then, identify the recipients: Click Select Recipients, choose Use an Existing List, identify the data source (the Excel workbook file), click Open, identify the appropriate sheet, and click OK. Identifying the type of merge is the first step: Click the Mailings tab, in the Start Mail Merge group, click the Start Mail Merge, and choose Letters. The characters in the Word document ( Figure A) denote spots where the mail merge will insert values from the Excel workbook. Specifically, we’ll convert F, Fr, and I into family, friends, and individual, respectively. The membership type field contains the conditional data. We’re going to merge new membership details from the Excel sheet into the letter (a Word document).
SEE: System update policy template download (Tech Pro Research) The piecesĪny merge requires a Word document and information. Mail merge isn’t supported by Word’s online version. You can also work with your own data or download the demonstration files. I’m using Office 365 Excel and Word (desktop), but you can work with earlier versions.
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Microsoft Office: Get a lifetime license and second laptop screen for one price We’ll use the same demonstration files (with minor updates). If you need basic information about the mail merge, read How to use Word mail-merge. Instructions for setting up the mail merge are minimum because that’s not the focus of this article. In this article, we’ll quickly work through a simple mail merge and then add an IF field to handle membership types–family, friends, and individual–in the body of the letter. All of the above and more can be tackled by combining Word fields with a mail merge. Perhaps you want to use gender-specific pronouns such as he/she, his/her, and so on. Or, you might store state abbreviations and want to use the entire state name in the address. You might use them to clean up an address by suppressing unwanted spaces or adding commas at the right spot. When a simple mail merge isn't enough, consider adding conditional fields to clarify data and even make decisions.Įven the simplest mail merge task can benefit from conditional statements. How to use conditional fields in a Word mail merge