In addition to standard letters, you can also create electronic mail messages. Just select E-mail messages in the first step of the mail merge wizard and click Next.

Step 2 of the Mail Merge wizard is the same as the steps we saw when creating a letter. You can choose to use the current document, select a template to use, or start from a document you have typed up. Note that although we’re creating an e-mail message, you can still use a template of a different type, such as a letter or memo. This will give your e-mail message that extra touch, and it will make it stand out like a regular document.

Step 3 of the Mail Merge wizard is also the same as the steps we saw for a letter; this is where you choose your recipients. You can create a list, choose an existing list, or use your Outlook contacts folder.

Step 4 of the Mail Merge wizard is also the same; you can add an address block, customize a greeting, add electronic postage, add a bar code, or add custom merge fields. You may not think of adding the person’s mailing address to an e-mail message, but with mail merge it’s a simple way to add an extra touch.

Step 5 lets you preview your e-mail before the merge is completed. Let’s look at what we’ve completed so far:

We can still edit the document, go back in the wizard and change mail merge options, or use the task pane to find, edit, or exclude recipients. In this sample, we’re going to make the font consistent, and then click Next to complete the merge.

Step 6 looks a bit different than it did when we created a letter, as you can see by the sample on the right. You need to click Electronic Mail for the merge to complete; when you do that you will get this dialog:

 

This lets you choose what field will be used for the To line, the subject line of the e-mail, and the message’s mail format. Then, you can choose what records to merge to.

Normally, you only need to type in the Subject line and click OK. Then, your messages will be placed in the outbox of your e-mail program. Note that this feature is designed to work with MAPI-based e-mail programs, specifically Microsoft Office Outlook 2003. (Other MAPI-based e-mail programs include Outlook Express and Eudora.)

Just like when we created letters, this Word document will remain open. This way, if you realize you’ve made a mistake, you can come back and make the changes (either in the document or in the merge wizard) and then re-do the merge.