A mail merge is the process of combining information from a data source with a publication. A data source can be any file containing information such as an address list or a database. The purpose of mail merges is to combine information in order to print multiple copies of the publication that are customized individually. Mail merges can be used for mass mail outs, each having a different address; publications displaying names; customized messages; or product items. Mail merges make it easier to create large quantities of unique publications.

Publisher’s mail merge comes equipped with the mail merge wizard, but it can also be performed without the wizard’s assistance. The Wizard is displayed in the form of a task pane which can be accessed from the Other Task panes menu. In this lesson we will display and walk through a mail merge with the assistance of the Wizard, select mail recipients from an Outlook address list, construct a publication, preview a publication, and finalize the mail merge.