In this tutorial, we show you how to mail merge from Excel to Microsoft Word to make labels.
Most people use Microsoft Excel, which is a type of spreadsheet software. In fact, it has tens of thousands of useful features that make it easy to do a lot of things. The management and storage of labels are what we’re interested in today. On the other hand, it will be hard to send mail if you have a lot of labels but don’t know how to print them in Excel. Even so, you can make it easier to mail merge and print labels from Excel by using Microsoft Word.
Using Excel with Word lets you make labels and see what they will look like before you print them. The idea is to put a list of addresses in an Excel table in a way that makes sense. Then, you’ll need to use this Excel mailing list to make labels in a Word document that look good. When you do this, it’s easy to print mailing labels right from Excel. This is how.
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Step 1: Get the List Ready To Mail Merge Excel Labels
To get started, you must first make your mailing list in Excel. But you must follow the structure that direct mail calls for. If you don’t have a mailing list, you can follow the steps in an Excel workbook. In fact, it is better to use Excel than a Word table to organize the broadcast data.
To use mail merge Excel to make labels, you need to start by making descriptive column headings. This step is important if you want your labels to come out right. In this example, we’re making a mailing list with personal information. These are the names we give to the columns:
- First name
- Last name
- Street address
- Town
- Postal code
After you’ve set up the data for the mailing list, type the header for each type of data in the first cell of each column. In fact, you can make a column number that matches the number of elements you want to include in the labels. See the results in the screenshot below:
Now that the headers are set up correctly, you can fill out the rest of the table with information about your contacts. Your list should look like this if you do this:
Don’t forget that you can add more headers and information to your mailing list at any time. Here, we’ve told you about Excel mail merge labels in a general way.
Save the spreadsheet when you’re done and move on to the next step.
Step 2: Check the file format in Microsoft Word
We’ve already said that our Excel file in Word will be used to mail merge and print the labels. In order to use the Excel file in Microsoft Word, you have to set some file format parameters. Basically, if you want to connect Word to an Excel spreadsheet for the first time, you need to turn on a setting that lets you convert files between the two programs. Follow the steps below to do this:
1-Open a Word document and then go to the « File » menu.
2-Then, click « Options » which is at the bottom of the sidebar on the left.
3-This will bring up the « Excel Options » box. In the menu on the left, click « Advanced Options« .
4-Now, scroll down to the section called « General«
5-Check the box « Confirm Conversion At Open« . See the picture below:
6-Click « OK » to apply the changes you’ve made.
Step 3: Configure Excel labels in Word
Now we’re ready to make the labels and set them up:
1-Open a new, empty Word document and go to the « Mailings » tab.
2-Then, in the « Start Mail Merge » group, click on the « Start Mail Merge » command button.
3-Click on « Labels » in the drop-down menu that appears, as shown in the screenshot below:
4-A dialog box called « Label Options » will show up, as shown in the image below. Select the label supplier you want to use and the reference number, then click « OK » to confirm the changes:
Your label outlines will now look like the image below in Word:
Step 4: Link the Word labels to the Excel spreadsheet
At this point, we need to link and connect the data from Excel to the labels set up in Word. Follow the steps below to do this:
1- Open the Word document again and go to the « Mailings » tab. Click on « Select recipients« .
2-In the drop-down menu that appears, choose « Use an existing list« :
3-Clicking on it will bring up Windows File Explorer. Find the Excel file that has your mailing list and click on it.
4-Click « Open » once the file has been chosen.
5-A window called « Select table » will open. If your workbook has more than one sheet, they will all be shown. Choose the spreadsheet with the mailing list on it.
6-Check the box next to « first row of data contains column headers« , then click « OK » to finish.
The Word labels will then be linked to the indicated worksheet, and your Word document will look like the image below:
Step 5: Put Mail Merge Fields on Excel Labels
After you have set up the labels and organized the data, you need to add Excel mail merge fields. Here’s how to do it:
1- Pick the first label to start.
2-Then, go to the « Mailings » tab and click on the « Address block » command:
3-Click the « Match fields » button in the « Insert address block » dialog box.
4-A box called « Match fields » will pop up. At this point, you should link each parameter to the column in your workbook that goes with it. For instance, « First Name » and « First Name » must match, « Last Name » and « Last Name » must match, etc. Use the drop-down menus next to each field to do this. Once everything is set up correctly, click the « OK » button:
5-Click « OK » to get rid of the « Insert address block » box.
The <<BlockAddress>> block will now show up in your first label, as shown in the screenshot below:
6-Before you’re done, go to the « Mailings » tab and click on « Update labels » as shown in the image below. When you do this, the <<BlockAddress>> block should show up in all other labels:
Step 6: Start the mail merge from Excel to Word and print the labels
At this point, all of the information should be on the mailing labels. Now you have to print them. Depending on how many address labels you want to print, you can choose to print them one at a time or all at once.
1- Click « Finish and merge » in the « Mailings » tab.
2-Then, from the drop-down menu that comes up, choose « Edit individual documents« .
3-A window called « Merge to new document » appears. Click « OK » after you’ve chosen « All« .
4-This will open a new Word document that shows all your labels:
From here, it’s easy to print your Excel labels. Click « File » in the ribbon of the Word document that comes up. Then, click on « Print » in the menu on the left. This will bring up the « Print » window, where you can select the printer you want to use. Click « OK » to start making labels.