How to View Merged Documents in Microsoft Word Before Printing

Use mail merge to create a form letter and have Microsoft Word automatically fill in names, addresses, and more. It's wise to preview the merged documents before printing them, particularly if you're producing a lot of documents. These instructions are for Word 97 and 2000 (PC) and Word 98 (Mac). If you haven't already created a form letter and data source document for merging, see "How to Create a Main Mail Merge Document in Microsoft Word."

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Word (for Mac)

1. Open the mail merge form letter.

2. Go to the Tools menu and select Mail Merge.

3. Click the Merge button.

4. Make sure New Document is selected in the "Merge to" menu.

5. Select the All button in the "Records to be merged" box.

6. Select "Don't print blank lines when data fields are empty" in the "When merging records" box.

7. Click Merge and all your merge documents will appear combined into one new document. You can inspect them all before printing.

Tips & Warnings

• Select Printer from the "Merge to" menu if you want to print, instead of preview, the documents. Follow the steps to print according to your printer.
• For mail merge to work, you must have a main document (form letter) and a data source document.