Print labels by using Microsoft Excel data in a Microsoft Word mail merge     

By creating a mail merge in Word, and then linking to a list in Excel, you can turn worksheet data such as the addresses of your customers into printable mailing labels.

In Microsoft Excel, set up the data to use in the mail merge.

Make sure the data is in list (list: A series of rows that contains related data or a series of rows that you designate to function as a datasheet by using the Create List command.) format: each column has a label in the first row and contains similar facts, and there are no blank rows or columns within the list. You'll use the column labels to specify what data goes where in the mail merge.

Make sure the column labels clearly identify the type of data in the column; this helps you select the right data as you construct the mail merge.

For example, labels such as First Name, Last Name, Address, and City are better than Column 1, Column 2, Column 3, and Column 4.

Make sure you have a separate column for each element that you want to include in the mail merge. For example, if you're creating form letters and want to use each recipient's first name in the body of the letter, make sure you have a column that contains first names, rather than a single column with both first and last names. If you want to refer to each recipient by title and last name, such as Ms. Jones, you can use a single column containing both titles and last names, or use one column for title and another for last name.

To make the list easy to find when you select it for the mail merge, give it a name (name: A word or string of characters that represents a cell, range of cells, formula, or constant value. Use easy-to-understand names, such as Auction Items or Store Items, to refer to hard to understand ranges, such as Sales!C20:C30.):

1. Select the entire list.
2. On the Insert menu, point to Name, and then click Define.
3. Type a name for the list.
4. Click Add, and then click Close.
5. Save and close the workbook that contains the data.
6. Switch to Microsoft Word.
7. On the Tools menu, point to Letters and Mailings, and then click Mail Merge Wizard.

In the first two steps of the Mail Merge Wizard, select the document type and start the document. If you're creating mailing labels, click Labels in Step 1, and then click Label options in Step 2 to select the size and type of labels to print. For more information about these steps, see Word Help.  In Step 3, under Select recipients, click Use an existing list, and then click Browse.

In the Look in list, click the folder in which you saved the spreadsheet/workbook with your data, click the spreedsheet/workbook, and then click Open.

In the Select Table dialog box, locate and click your list. Make sure the First row of data contains column headers check box is selected, and then click OK.

In the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box, click any column labels in your data that correspond to the Word identifiers on the left. This step makes inserting your data in the form documents easier. For more information about matching fields, see Word Help.

If you want to include only selected recipients in the mail merge, click Edit recipient list and select the recipients you want.

Use the rest of the wizard steps to write, add recipient information, preview, personalize, save, and print or e-mail your documents. For information about these steps, see Word Help.

While Word has your workbook open to create the mail merge, you can't open the workbook in Excel. If you need to see the data and its column labels, go to Step 3 or 5 of the wizard and click Edit recipient list.
 
You can continue to use mail merges with Excel data that you created in earlier versions of Word. To open and use these mail merges in Word 2002 or later, you'll need to install Microsoft Query. Query is no longer required to create new mail merges in Word 2002 or later.

Be sure to click on Word or Excel Help on the Toolbar for additional helpful information on a variety of subjects.