How do I add recipients to a mailmerge label list?

[Relztrah]

This should be very simple. I created address labels using Word mailmerge and
finished the merge, printed the labels, everything's OK. Now I want to add
new recipients to my existing .mdb file and re-merge. I can open the original
document and edit the existing recipients, but how do I actually add new
names and addresses? There is no button on the Mailmerge toolbar to ADD
recipients.

Please provide simple step-by-step instructions because I have tried
everything and can't seem to open my existing data file so that I can add
names and addresses, only edit the existing ones.

 

[Relztrah]

This should be very simple. I created address labels using Word mailmerge and
finished the merge, printed the labels, everything's OK. Now I want to add
new recipients to my existing .mdb file and re-merge. I can open the original
document and edit the existing recipients, but how do I actually add new
names and addresses? There is no button on the Mailmerge toolbar to ADD
recipients.

Please provide simple step-by-step instructions because I have tried
everything and can't seem to open my existing data file so that I can add
names and addresses, only edit the existing ones.

 

[Doug Robbins - Word MVP]

Open the mdb file with Excel, and add the new names and addresses and save
the file as an Excel Workbook and use that as your data source.

--
Hope this helps.

Please reply to the newsgroup unless you wish to avail yourself of my
services on a paid consulting basis.

Doug Robbins - Word MVP

 

[Peter Jamieson]

Try "Mail Merge Recipients", then click the Edit button in there.

If the Edit button is greyed out it (usually) means that Word does not
recognise your .mdb as an "Office Address List" any more, in which case you
can edit the recipients list directly in Access (if you have it) or go the
route that Doug suggested.

 

[Relztrah]

Please note that I don't want to edit my current list. I want to ADD
recipients to an existing list and perform the merge again. Are you saying
that I cannot do this in Word? I have to use Access or Excel to add names to
a mailing label merge job in Word?

 

[Doug Robbins - Word MVP]

That is what we have said to-date. However, if you use your existing
datasource with a Directory type mailmerge main document in which you insert
the merge fields into the cells of a one row table, with nothing else in the
documnet, and then you execute that merge to a new document, that new
document will contain a table with a row of data for each record in your
data source. You can then insert a row at the top of the table into which
you insert the names of the merge fields and you can then add addtional rows
to the table and populate those rows with the new records. Then save that
document and use it as the data source for your merge.

Seems to me that just opening the existing file in Excel would be easier.

--
Hope this helps.

Please reply to the newsgroup unless you wish to avail yourself of my
services on a paid consulting basis.

Doug Robbins - Word MVP

 

[Peter Jamieson]

The Edit button leads you to a dialog box that lets you add records. If the
Edit button is greyed, you cannot use that method for the reason I
mentioned.

I do not believe that there is a more direct way to go to this Edit/Add
function in Word 2003, at least not that works with an "Office Address Book"
..mdb file.

 

[Graham Mayor]

You could use the old Mailmerge Helper - covered at
http://www.gmayor.com/mail_merge_labels_with_word_xp.htm - which will allow
you to break the link with the MDB file and create a new document containing
the data which can be edited and used as the data source in place of the MDB
file.

--
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Graham Mayor - Word MVP


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[Cathy Hildebrand]

I needed to have the same question answered, and found the responses more confusing than what I was already doing. Well, thank-you, Microsoft Help. I found the easy answer.

1.Under Mailings, select Edit Recipient List
2.In the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box under Data Source, click the list you want to edit.
3. Then click Edit.
4. Select New Entry

Easy as one, two, three, four!

Now write that down.

Cathy