About mail-merge fields

You use merge fields to customize the content of individual documents. When inserted into your main document, they map to corresponding columns of information in your data source. If Microsoft Word doesn't find the information it needs by mapping merge fields automatically to the headings in the data source, it gives you the opportunity to do so as you're inserting address and greeting fields or previewing the merge.

Address and greeting fields

Word uses two merge fields to insert the basic information for each recipient:

• The AddressBlock field is the placeholder for the name and address.

• The GreetingLine field is the placeholder for your chosen salutation.

You can customize the content in each of these fields. For example, in the address you may want to select a formal name format (Mr. Joshua Randall Jr.); in the salutation, you may want to use "To" instead of "Dear."

Additional merge fields

You can further personalize each document by including additional merge fields. For example, suppose you're creating a letter to notify local businesses that they've been selected for inclusion in your annual city guide. Instead of manually typing the name of each individual company in the body of the letter, insert the Company field: "««Company»» has been selected for the second edition of our guide..." Word inserts the correct company name into each letter when you complete the merge.

Advanced information: controlling how Word merges data

Here are some examples of using fields to control how Word merges data:

• ASK and FILLIN fields display a prompt as Word merges each data record with the main document. Your response is printed in the specific form letter, contract, or other merged document resulting from the data record.
• IF (If...Then...Else...) fields print information only if a condition you've specified is met. For example, you can use an IF field to inform clients who live in a particular ZIP Code area that you are opening a nearby branch office.
• SET (Set Bookmark) fields allow you to assign text, a number, or other information to a bookmark. You can use the information multiple times in the resulting merged documents. If the information changes, then you can edit the SET field once rather than searching through the main document and changing each occurrence.

You can also use MergeRec, MergeSeq, Next, NextIf, and SkipIf fields in a mail merge.