Question

In a Mail merge,what is main document

Answer 1

Mail merge basics

This article will step you through the basics of creating a mail merge and contains links to some of the more advanced features.

Sometimes the term “mail merge” can be a little misleading. We assume from the title that the intent of mail merge is to produce letters for mass mailing purposes. That's not necessarily the case.

Mail merge is for simplifying repetitive documents and tasks. Mail merge can be used for creating many documents at once that contain identical formatting, layout, text, graphics, etc., and where only certain portions of each document varies. Mail merge is also used for generating mailing labels, envelopes, address lists, personalised training handouts, etc. As well as hard copy mailshots, it can be used to generate multiple emails and electronic faxes. And it can even be used to create a “friendly” front-end to spreadsheet or database information.

Whenever you need to assemble similar data, mail merge is the answer!

Mail merge primarily consists of two files, the Main Document and the Data Source. The Main Document contains the information that will remain the same in each record, and the Data Source contains all the variable information, in the form of fields. This is the information that will change in the Main Document when the merge is completed. Along with the information that remains the same, the Main Document also contains merge fields, which are references to the fields in the Data Source.

When the Main Document and Data Source are merged, Microsoft Word replaces each merge field in the Main Document with the data from the respective field contained in the Data Source. The end result is a third document, a combination of the Main Document and Data Source – although you can also mail merge directly to the printer; (or fax or email) – you don't need to create a merged document on screen; and you can also “preview” the mail merge without actually merging (using the ViewMergedData button).