There are many ways to incorporate Outlook data into a
Word letter, depending on which version of Outlook you're
using, whether you're comfortable editing code, or whether
you prefer a third-party tool.
Both Outlook 2000, 2002 and 2003 (but
not previous versions) allows you to merge just selected items and
to use custom Outlook fields in a mail merge if you start the merge
from Outlook, rather than from Word. You can also use a merge to generate all kinds
of printed reports from Contacts, including labels, not just form
labels. With Outlook 2000, you can create plain text email messages
in a merge. In Outlook 2002, you can create HTML messages.
Outlook 2000:
In the Contacts folder, select a contact, then
choose Tools | Mail Merge.
On the Mail Merge Contacts dialog, select Only
selected contacts. (You can also choose All contacts in
current view if that's what you prefer.)
If you have an existing merge document, select Existing
document and specify it.
Click OK.
If you're creating a new merge document, use the Insert
Merge Field button to add field codes to hold the Outlook
field data.
Click the Merge button to complete the merge.
You'll probably want to save the merge document -- the
one containing the field codes -- so that you can use it
again for other contacts by choosing Existing document
as in Step 3 above.
Outlook
2002:
You
must install the
April 25, 2002, Word 2002 Update if you want to be able to
perform merges that don't trigger security prompts and leave
hyperlinks intact.
If you are performing a merge to email in Office XP, in Word,
choose Tools | Options | General | Web Options and clear the
Rely on CSS for font formatting box. (This will change the
compatibility to IE/Netscape 3.0.)
In the Contacts folder, select a contact, then
choose Tools | Mail Merge.
On the Mail Merge Contacts dialog, select Only
selected contacts. (You can also choose All contacts in
current view if that's what you prefer.)
If you have an existing merge document, select Existing
document and specify it.
Click OK.
If you're creating a new merge document, use the Insert
Merge Field button to add field codes from the Database
Fields list for the Outlook
field data.
Click the appropriate Merge button (separate buttons
for document, printer, and email to complete the merge.
If you click Merge to E-mail, you will need to choose the field
that contains the To address (usually Email); enter a Subject
line, if you haven't already; and select HTML as the Mail
format (see Limitations below).
To perform a mail merge, you need compatible versions of Outlook and
Word, either both 2000 or both 2002.
You cannot attach files when
merging to email. If you need to attach files, you will need to use
a third-party tool.
In Office 2000, merge to email will produce only plain text
messages.
In Office XP, you should follow the
instructions above for installing a Word update and selecting the HTML format. If you choose the plain text or
attachment format, Outlook will display a
security prompt for each
message you try to send and force you to wait 5 seconds before you
can click each one. If you choose HTML format, but have not
installed the Word update, recipients will see hyperlinks in your
messages as blue and underlined, but they will not function as live
links.
If you don't see a particular custom field
in Word, check Outlook to make sure that the field is listed under
User-Defined Fields in Folder. If it's not there, add it. The field
needs to be in the Outlook folder before Word can use it in a merge.
You cannot use the Categories field reliably to filter a merge.
If you want to merge by category, apply a By Category view to the
folder in Outlook, select the contacts in that category, then
proceed as usual by starting the merge from Outlook.
In Office XP, you cannot start a merge with a public contacts
folder from Word. You must select the folder in Outlook and start
the merge from Outlook.
Word Letter Wizard
In Outlook Contacts, choose Contacts | New
Letter to Contact to start the Word Letter
Wizard.
On the Recipient Info tab, the Recipient's
name is entered with Courtesy Title, First,
Middle, Last and Suffix name fields. The Delivery
address includes the Street, City,
State/Province, Zip/Postal Code and Country fields. If
you reselect the name from the Address Book at this
point, the fields change. On the Recipient
Info tab, the Recipient's name now
omits the Courtesy Title, while the Job Title and
Company Name are added to the Delivery address.
I don't know how to control the fields used in either
case.
From Word, use the Insert Address function to select a
name and insert it. See Inserting
Addresses in Word Documents for information on how to
change the fields that are inserted and how to add an
Insert Address button to the toolbar.
Code Methods
Use Helen
Feddema's code sample 6 for creating a custom
Microsoft Outlook form that lets you select a contact,
then transfer its information to one of your Word
templates.
Use Helen
Feddema's code sample 56 to add a procedure to a
Word template that pops up the Address Book and fills
in fields.
Use Helen Feddema's code
sample 30 and sample
31 (for Outlook 2000 only) to select multiple
contacts and generate Word letters, labels or other
documents.
Office Documents adds powerful mail-merge capabilities to Outlook, with merge to Word DOcuments, Excel Spreadhseets and Outlook EMails. Perfect for fully personalizing email messages, Word documents and Excel spreadsheets, making Aladdins the premium solution for all your mail-merge needs. Version 4.
System tray add-in to quickly look up Outlook 2000 contacts, use contact data in Word 2000 letters and other documents, assign hotkeys to Outlook folders and tasks, dial contacts, and launch shortcuts.
Create letters, faxes, email messages, envelopes and labels using Word and Outlook Contact and other address book data. Supports workgroup templates, multiple languages, reusable distribution groups and sending personalized attachments with e-mail messages. Displays the Outlook Email Security Update prompts.
More Information
In
addition to the specialized tools listed above, many of the tools
listed on these pages include the insertion of addresses as a
feature:
Contacts Issues
The clipboard clears when you open a Contact form