Main document and data source

Hello students, welcome to Kwickprep. Your school must send the same fee letter to two hundred parents, each with a different name. Will someone type two hundred letters? No. Today we learn mail merge, and its two building blocks, the main document and the data source.

Let us start with the meaning. Mail merge is a word processor feature that joins one common letter with a list of names and details. It then makes a separate, personal copy for every person in that list. Because nothing is typed again, it saves time and avoids spelling mistakes in names. Offices use it for letters, address labels, envelopes and even emails.

Every mail merge has three parts. The main document holds the text that stays the same for everyone. The data source holds the details that change from person to person. Merge fields are the placeholders, like Name and Amount, and the output is one finished letter per person.

Now let us look closely at the main document. It contains all the text that is the same in every copy, like the school name and the fee message. Where a detail must change, it has a placeholder called a merge field, which we insert in the next lesson. The main document can be a letter, a sheet of labels, an envelope or an email. It is saved as a normal file, for example a Word file.

Next, the data source. It is the list of changing details, arranged as a table. Each column is called a field, such as Name, Class or City. Each row is called a record, which means all the details of one person. The first row is special, because it holds the field names that we will use later.

Here is a small data source for our fee letter. It has three fields, Name, Class and City. Riya Shah of class eleven A lives in Surat, and this whole row is one record. Aman Verma is the second record. Neha Khan is the third record, so this list will make three letters.

A data source can come from many places. An Excel worksheet is the most common choice in offices. A table inside a Word file works for small lists. A Microsoft Access database table suits very large lists. Outlook contacts can be used when sending emails. Word also lets you type a new list, and saves it as an Access style file with the dot mdb extension.

A clean data source gives a clean merge, so follow four rules. Put the field names in the first row and nowhere else. Do not leave blank rows or merged cells, because the merge may stop or skip people. Keep one detail in one column, so first name and city are separate fields. Finally, check spellings, because a wrong name in the list prints wrong in every copy.

Here is the full mail merge flow in steps. First, open or type the main document. Next, select the data source, so the word processor knows the list. Then insert merge fields into the letter where details must change. Finally, preview the result and complete the merge.

Let us see where these steps live in Microsoft Word. Open the Mailings tab and click Start Mail Merge. Choose the document type, for example Letters, and this file becomes the main document. Then click Select Recipients and choose Use an Existing List to pick your Excel file. Edit Recipient List lets you tick only the people who should get a copy.

Now pause and predict. Our data source has three records. Our main document is one page long. How many pages will the merged document have? The answer is three pages, one page for each record.

Exams often ask for the difference, so let us compare them. The main document holds fixed text, while the data source holds changing data. The main document is made of text and merge fields, and the data source is made of rows and columns. There is only one main document, but the data source has many records. For a wedding card, the invitation is the main document and the guest list is the data source.

Let us revise what we learned today. Mail merge joins one common document with a list of details. The main document holds the common text and the merge fields. The data source is a table of fields and records. Remember, a field is a column and a record is a row. The number of merged copies equals the number of selected records.