Page 51 - Viva ICSE Computer Studies 6 : E-book

Data Source

Data Source stores information to be brought into the Main Document. It is also called the
Data File.

Merge Field

The Data File has a table containing columns for each fi eld of information. For example, it may
store names of people, their addresses and similar information. It has some variable data such
as the fi rst name, the last name of a recipient and the postal pin code of the place he/she
belongs to. The header row is the fi rst row of the table. It records collection of variable data
regarding a person or a thing.

Learn More

The data source can be MS Word Database fi le containing the address or it can be a database
created in other applications such as MS Excel and MS Access.

Mail Merge Process

The process of Mail Merge involves three main steps.
• Creating the Main Document containing the body of the letter

• Creating the Data Source that contains the records of recipients
• Merging the Data Source and the Main Document

Mail Merge reads the data source and physically merges it with the Main Document to
generate letters for all the records found in the data source. MS Word creates a new document
by inserting the new data from the data source into the structure of the template document.
The resultant document of Mail Merge operation contains copies of the Main Document along
with the information stored in the data fi le.
Let’s study the steps of Mail Merge in detail. Think and Discuss

Creating a Mail Merge Document Which two documents do you
need to create in the process of
Follow these steps to create Main Document. Mail Merge?

1. Create a new document
and type a letter. You can
Step 1
also open an existing
letter in ‘Microsoft Word’
that needs be sent to
diff erent people at their
addresses.

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