How to Use Mail Merge Toolkit with Microsoft Office
Mail merge is a useful feature that allows you to create personalized documents, emails, labels, and envelopes for multiple recipients. You can use mail merge with Microsoft Office programs such as Outlook, Word, and Publisher. However, if you want to enhance your mail merge experience and add more functionality, you may want to try Mail Merge Toolkit.
Mail Merge Toolkit is a powerful add-in for Microsoft Office that extends the mail merging capabilities in Outlook, Word, and Publisher. With Mail Merge Toolkit, you can:
- Personalize the email subject with data fields from your data source.
- Attach files or personal attachments to each message.
- Send personalized PDF or password-protected PDF and DOCX files as attachments.
- Change the sender’s email address before sending messages.
- Add multiple recipients per email, as well as CC and BCC fields.
In this article, we will show you how to use Mail Merge Toolkit with Microsoft Office to create and send personalized documents and emails.
Step 1: Install Mail Merge Toolkit
To use Mail Merge Toolkit, you need to install it on your computer. You can download a free trial version from their official website[^1^] or purchase a license for $24[^1^]. After downloading the setup file, run it and follow the instructions to install the add-in. Once installed, you will see a new menu item called “Mail Merge Toolkit” in your Office programs.
Step 2: Prepare your data source
The data source is the file that contains the information you want to use for your mail merge. It can be an Excel spreadsheet, an Outlook contact list, a database, or any other file that you can connect to Word. The data source should have a header row that contains the names of the fields you want to use, such as Name, Address, Email, etc. Each row below the header should contain the information for one recipient.
If you don’t have a data source yet, you can create one in Word as part of the mail merge process. For more details about data sources, see Data sources you can use for a mail merge[^2^].
Step 3: Start your mail merge document
The mail merge document is the file that contains the text and layout of your document or email. You can use Word or Publisher to create your mail merge document. Depending on what type of document you want to create, you can choose from different options:
- Letters: Create personalized letters that include a greeting and other information. Each letter prints on a separate sheet of paper.
- Email messages: Create personalized email messages that include a subject line and other information. Each email message is sent directly from Word.
- Envelopes or labels: Create personalized envelopes or labels that include names and addresses from your data source. Each envelope or label prints on a separate sheet of paper.
- Directory: Create a directory of names, addresses, and other information from your data source. This type of document is also called a catalog merge.
To start your mail merge document, go to Mailings > Start Mail Merge and choose the type of document you want to create. Then type the text and format the layout of your document as you normally would in Word or Publisher. You can also use templates or existing documents as a starting point.
Step 4: Insert merge fields
Merge fields are placeholders that tell Word where to insert information from your data source into your document. For example, if you want to insert the recipient’s name into your document, you need to insert a merge field called Name. When you complete the mail merge, Word will replace each merge field with the corresponding information from your data source.
To insert merge fields into your document, go to Mailings > Insert Merge Field and choose the field name from the list. You can also use the Insert Address Block or Insert Greeting Line buttons to insert predefined blocks of fields. You can format and position the merge fields as you like in your document.