How to do a holiday letter using mail merge, and print labels for the envelopes

I've done a lot of mail merge postings, but it's A) a powerful tool that B) isn't that obvious and C) is particularly useful at this time of year. (Me, I don't actually do holiday letters, not yet anyway, but I enjoy the ones I receive from friends.) So this is another one for this year. I've tried to make it as complete as possible without actually rising up out of the browser and knocking you over the head with painful details.

Here's how to create physical, printed-on-paper, snailmailable letters and labels, soup to nuts. 

If you want to try doing it via email, try this link instead.

http://openoffice.blogs.com/openoffice/2008/10/doing-an-email-mail-merge-without-the-overhead-of-the-openoffice-mail-merge-wizard.html

Step 1: Get the data in order.

Take a look at the data. Make sure you have the fields you need. Are you planning to address the letter to the <Lastname> family? You're probably fine then but if you want to address it to two people who live at the same address with different first and last names, you won't be able to do that without some data juggling. Consider in that case just sending two letters. Also if you want to use Mr., Ms., Miss, etc. in the letter or labels, make sure that info is in alllllll the address records. Otherwise you'll have an empty space in your label or salutation. Not the worst thing but a little off. In general, simplest is best.

If you have to assemble the address data from various bits and drabs of info on your computer, I suggest putting it in a spreadsheet. You must create one column for each separate piece of information, and you must (should, but I'm saying must) have a heading for each column, as shown.

Step 2: What format is the data in?

If the data is in your mail client address book, you can use that. If it's in a CSV text file, you can use that. Spreadsheets work too. So do Access databases. mySQL, Oracle, pretty much anything. Just make sure you know that the data is in an acceptable format, and you know what format it is. 

Step 3: Create the little database file that lets you suck the address data into a letter.

Follow the steps for the type of data you have.

YOU ONLY NEED TO DO THIS ONCE FOR EVERY SET OF DATA YOU HAVE. Once it's set up, it just sits there, ready for you to use in any mail merge document you want. (Letter, labels, another letter, invitations to a holiday party, birthday cards for everyone in your list with a January birthday, and so on.)

Text File Instructions

If your data is in text files, follow these steps.

1. Choose File > New > Database.

2. Make the selection shown, with Text as the format.

3. Click Next.

4. Specify the DIRECTORY where the text files are. Each text file in that directory will be a table in your database. Then select the item separating fields, i.e. a tab or comma or something else.

5. When all the settings look correct, click Next.

6. Umark the option to open the database for editing. You can open it; you just don't have to.

7. Click Next.

8. Save the data source (aka database) under a name that will help you remember what it is.

You're done.

Make the Data Source: Spreadsheet Instructions

If your data is in a spreadsheet, follow these steps.

1. Choose File > New > Database.

2. Make the selection shown, with Spreadsheet as the format.

 

3. Click Next.

4. Specify the spreadsheet file. Each SHEET in that spreadsheet will be a table in your database.

 

5. Click Next.

6. Umark the option to open the database for editing. You can open it; you just don't have to.

 

7. Click Next.

8. Save the data source (aka database) under a name that will help you remember what it is.
 

Address Book Instructions

Start off the same way as either of the other two, but specify the type of address book such as Thunderbird address book. Then click Next; the program will find it. All you have to do then is, as instructed in the other two approaches, save the database and name it as something you'll remember.

Step 4: Create the letter you want to write.

This has absolutely nothing to do with mail merge. Write the letter, put in graphics, go nuts with formatting. DON'T SAVE IT IN .DOC FORMAT; IT NEEDS TO BE IN NORMAL OPENOFFICE FORMAT. BE SURE THE FILE EXTENSION IS .ODT.   

Write in the name and address of a real person to help you figure out what fields you want.

Step 5. Put in the fields from the data.

Choose View > Data Sources. Everything you've created will be displayed. Click the + sign by the data source you want to use, then click + by Tables til you see the data you want to use.

Find one of the pieces of data you wrote, like "Bob" which is a first name. You're going to delete that, then drag in the FirstName field to the place where it was.

Click on the NAME OF THE FIELD, not the piece of data, that you want in the mail merge.

Drag it into the document and release. The field name will appear. If it goes to the wrong place, just cut and paste it to where you want it.

 

Continue with any other fields that need to replace any other pieces of individual data.

Step 6. Print the letter

I suggest printing to a file ("Individual" file), opening the file, checking it, then printing that file.

The following steps show how to do that. If you want more control, here's how to filter, sort, restrict, etc.

http://openoffice.blogs.com/openoffice/2009/08/queries-in-openoficeorg-mail-merge-how-to-print-only-documents-for-the-records-you-want-in-the-order.html

Choose File > Print. Click Yes when it asks if you want to do a form letter.

In the window, be sure that the correct database is selected, then select File and Individual.

 

Click OK. Name the file. This is the file that will contain a copy of the holiday letter, one for each person in your address book. It will say Dear Bob, Dear Tina, etc. It will be a normal Writer document, no fields in it or anything special.

 

Name it and click Save.

The mail merge process will run.

Now open that file, the merged output file, and check to be sure it's been created the way you want. If it isn't, go back to the mail merge letter (the one you dragged fields into) and make adjustments. Then print again, creating another output file.

Once the output file is how you want, just print it normally.

Step 7: Create the labels

Now that you've got the database set up, creating the labels is easy. Create the labels for whatever label type you're using, following these instructions.

Then print the same way you printed the letter; just be sure that when you're ready to really print on label paper, that you insert the label sheets in the way that works for your printer.

http://openoffice.blogs.com/openoffice/2006/07/mail_merge_labe.html

Step 8: Laboriously fold, stuff, label, and stamp the envelopes.

Step 9: Consider doing it with email next year.

http://openoffice.blogs.com/openoffice/2008/10/doing-an-email-mail-merge-without-the-overhead-of-the-openoffice-mail-merge-wizard.html

Comments

[Tim Temple]

If you make it a trifold with a stamp printed on it, all that's left is the folding!

[air diffuser]

You wonderful, wonderful person

[true religion jeans]

Great post. I like your writing style. Great info.

[supra shoes]

This is a great post and makes me think of where I can fit in.I do a little bit of everything mentioned here and I guess I have to find my competitive advantage.

[Alvis Elledge]

Help! I can't find 'View > Data Sources' in OpenOffice 3.1.1 in Ubuntu. I want to follow the procedure you describe because the Mail Merge Wizard sucks. I've done this in Windows before, I don't understand what the problem is.

Thanks,

Alvis Elledge

[Alvis Elledge]

Never mind. Didn't have Base installed.