Use mail merge for bulk email, letters, labels, and envelopes (2024)

Data sources

Your first step in setting up a mail merge is to pick the source of data you'll use for the personalized information. Excel spreadsheets and Outlook contact lists are the most common data sources, but any database that you can connect to Word will work. If you don't yet have a data source, you can even type it up in Word, as part of the mail merge process.

For details about data sources, see Data sources you can use for a mail merge.

Document types

Word provides tools for incorporating your data into the following kinds of documents. Follow the links for details about each type:

• Letters that include a personalized greeting. Each letter prints on a separate sheet of paper.
  Create and print a batch of personalized letters

  See Also

  Data sources you can use for a mail mergeHow to mail merge and print labels from Excel to WordMerge duplicate contacts - Computer5 Simple Steps to Send Mass Email in Outlook (2023)

• Email where each recipient's address is the only address on the To line. You'll be sending the email directly from Word.

  Create and send email messages

• Envelopes or Labels where names and addresses come from your data source.

  Create and print a batch of envelopes for mailing

  Create and print sheets of mailing labels

• Directory that lists a batch of information for each item in your data source. Use it to print out your contact list, or to list groups of information, like all of the students in each class. This type of document is also called a catalog merge.

  Create a directory of names, addresses, and other information

  See Also

  How to merge Google accounts (Gmail, Calendar, and Contacts)

Data sources

Your first step in setting up a mail merge is to pick the source of data you'll use for the personalized information. Excel spreadsheets and Outlook contact lists are the most common data sources, but if you don't yet have a data source, you can type it up in Word, as part of the mail merge process.

• Excel spreadsheet works well as a data source if all data is on one sheet and the data is formatted so that it can be read by Word. For more info, see Prepare your data source in Excel for a mail merge in Word for Mac.

• Outlook Contact List contains data in a format that can be read by Word. See Use Outlook contacts as a data source for a mail merge

• Word data file is a data source you can create on the fly, within Word. For more info, see Set up a mail merge list with Word.

Document types

• Letters that include a personalized greeting. Each letter prints on a separate sheet of paper.
  Create and print a batch of personalized letters

• Email where each recipient's address is the only address on the To line. You'll be sending the email directly from Word.

  Create and send email messages

• Envelopes or Labels where names and addresses come from your data source.

  Create envelopes by using mail merge in Word

  Create and print labels using mail merge