Today you will

• make a spreadsheet list of people to write to
• make a letter with gaps for each person's details
• do both for your Something Real project

Mail merge joins one letter and one list to make a personal copy for each person.

Warm-up

Think of five people you could write to about your project. What is one detail that is different for each of them?

Key words

• Mail merge joins one letter and one list to make a copy for each person.
• A data source is a spreadsheet with one person on each row.
• A merge field is a gap like «FirstName». Its name must match a column heading exactly.
• A template letter is the main letter, with the same words for everyone.

Example

Aoife sells stickers. Her letter starts like this:

Dear «FirstName», I would like to offer «Organisation» a sample of our «Offer».

On Ciara's copy, «FirstName» becomes Ciara.

You will build Aoife's data source, which is a spreadsheet with four headings and five people. Follow the steps in the box below with your teacher.

Save it in {{code:sm1/}} as {{code:sm1_doc4_mailmerge_source_EXAMPLE}}.

Now you will build Aoife's template letter, with gaps for FirstName, Organisation and Offer. Follow the steps in the box below.

Save it in {{code:sm1/}} as {{code:sm1_doc4_mailmerge_letter_EXAMPLE}}. You will not run the merge today.

Common issues

• I can't type « ». Copy them from the letter box and paste them in.
• A field doesn't match. Read the heading letter by letter, because FirstName is not the same as First Name.
• I left a blank row. Delete it, so each person has their own row.
• A file is in the wrong place. Move it into {{code:sm1/}}.