Mail merge for letters and labels
For office and operations staff who produce personalised letters, address labels, envelopes or badges in Microsoft Word from an Excel list. It builds on 'Accurate bulk letters and emails: mail merge, checks and safe sending', which covers data source basics, broken records, counts and safe bulk email, so take that course first. Here you'll set up label merges with the right label product and Update Labels; filter, sort and de-duplicate the recipient list without changing the master file; add If...Then...Else and Skip Record If rules; format postal codes, dates and amounts so they print correctly; and preview, test-print and finish a merge with the right output option. Mailing lists hold personal data: use only lists you're authorised to use, and follow your organisation's data protection rules for keeping and deleting merged files. Grounded in Microsoft Support pages for Word for Microsoft 365, 2024, 2021 and 2019. Ends with a supervisor-observed label and letter merge.
- Level
- Beginner
- Length
- About 80 minutes
- Contents
- 5 lessons · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 10 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Set up a label merge in Word by choosing the label vendor and product number, laying out the first label and updating all labels
- Filter, sort and check the recipient list so that only the intended records are merged
- Add If...Then...Else and Skip Record If rules to vary or exclude content for each record
- Format merged postal codes, dates and amounts so that they print correctly
- Preview, test-print and finish a letter or label merge, choosing between Edit Individual Documents and Print Documents
Course outline
- 1.Set up a label merge in Word: label vendor and product number, the first label, and Update LabelsLesson · 14 min
- 2.Filter, sort and check the recipient list so that only the intended records are mergedLesson · 13 min
- 3.Add If...Then...Else and Skip Record If rules to vary or exclude content for each recordLesson · 14 min
- 4.Format merged postal codes, dates and amounts so that they print correctlyLesson · 13 min
- 5.Preview, test-print and finish a letter or label merge, choosing Edit Individual Documents or Print DocumentsLesson · 12 min
- 6.Mail merge for letters and labels: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 13 questions
- 7.Mail merge for letters and labels: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 8.Final exam10 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- Microsoft Support: Use mail merge for bulk email, letters, labels, and envelopes
- Microsoft Support: Print labels for your mailing list
- Microsoft Support: Create and print labels
- Microsoft Support: Prepare your Excel data source for a Word mail merge
- Microsoft Support: Insert mail merge fields
- Microsoft Support: Set the rules for a mail merge
- Microsoft Support: Mail merge: Edit recipients
- Microsoft Support: Mail merge: Preview Results
- Microsoft Support: Date, Phone Number, and Currency fields are merged incorrectly when you use an Access or Excel data source in Word (written for Word 2010)
- Microsoft Support: Mail merge with envelopes
- Microsoft Support: Format field results (field switches)
- Microsoft Support: Use mail merge to personalize letters
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