Difference between revisions of "Documentation/How Tos/Creating Mail Merge Documents From Text/CSV or Spreadsheets"

Revision as of 10:17, 30 June 2008 (view source) Mwaller (Talk | contribs) ← Older edit		Revision as of 10:58, 30 June 2008 (view source) Mwaller (Talk | contribs) (→‎Print Envelopes) Newer edit →
Line 63:		Line 63:
	==Print Envelopes==		==Print Envelopes==
		+	Envelopes are not too bad once you figure out how to do it the first time. Here are the key points.
		+
		+	* You need to get to know your printer and let it know to expect envelope shapes, not letter or A4 shapes.
		+	* You also need to fiddle around for a while and figure out where (left, right, perpendicular, parallel) in the tray your printer expects envelopes. Buy a box of cheap envelopes and expect to waste a few while you experiment.
		+	* Then make sure that your envelope document is set up to print to the envelope size your printer is expecting. Envelope 10 is good.
		+	** You can type in your data for the envelope or use a data source. The simplest way is to just choose '''File > New > Text Document''', then '''Format > Page Size''' and instead of Letter or A4, choose Envelope 10 and change the orientation to landscape.  Then either with standard margin formatting or with frames, put the text where you want.
		+	** As another way to create the envelope document, you can also choose '''Insert > Envelope''', and use the three-tabbed window that appears.
		+	* Print the envelopes separately from your letter or other document that goes with the envelope. It complicates things too much with the paper size that the printer expects. If you are using data sources, click '''Yes''' in the dialog box that appears asking if you want to print a form letter.
		+	* The next time you want envelopes, just use that same document you already created, and change the addresses. Either save the document in myimportantdocuments\envelopes, or if you are a template kind of person, make it a template. ('''File > Templates > Save''', select a category and name the template, then choose '''File > New > Templates and Documents''' and pick your envelope template.)
		+
		+
		+	{{Documentation/Tip|Some of the pain of envelopes is the printer setup. Instead of constantly changing and checking the printer settings, add another instance of the printer, configure it for envelopes and name it "envelope." To print an envelope choose this printer instead of the default one. That way your settings are always the same.}}
	==Print Labels==		==Print Labels==

---

Revision as of 10:58, 30 June 2008

This is all you need to do to make a nice simple document based on data in text files or spreadsheets.

Get Your Data

Here's what your data should look like. It may be in a .txt file or .csv that is comma or tab separated. Or put it in a spreadsheet. The columns you use are up to you. Put in whatever data you will need. Put City, State, etc. all in different columns. Be sure to put the label at the top for what the field is: Name, etc. This is important.

Make the Data Source: Text File Instructions

If your data is in text files, follow these steps.

1. Choose File > New > Database.
2. Select Connect to an existing database, with Text as the format.
3. Click Next.
4. Specify the directory where the text files are. Each text file in that directory will be a table in your database. Then select the item separating fields, i.e. a tab or comma or something else.
5. When all the settings look correct, click Next.
6. Unmark the option to open the database for editing. You can open it; you just do not have to.
7. Click Finish.
8. Save the data source (aka database) under a name that will help you remember what it is.

Make the Data Source: Spreadsheet Instructions

If your data is in a spreadsheet, follow these steps.

1. Choose File > New > Database.
2. Select Connect to an existing database, with Spreadsheet as the format.
3. Click Next.
4. Specify the spreadsheet file. Each sheet in that spreadsheet will be a table in your database.
5. Click Next.
6. Unmark the option to open the database for editing. You can open it; you just do not have to.
7. Click Finish.
8. Save the data source (aka database) under a name that will help you remember what it is.

Create Your Mail Merge Document and Suck the Data In From the Datasource

1. Create a new Writer document or open a document containing text that you want in the mail merge document.
2. Choose View > Data Sources. Everything you have created will be displayed.
3. Click the + sign by the data source you want to use, then click + by Tables until you see the data you want to use.
4. Type any content you want and do any formatting. You can do this later too.
5. Click on the field name, not the piece of data, that you want in the mail merge.
6. Drag it into the document and release. The field name will appear. When you print, the correct data will appear.
7. Add any other content and fields you want.
8. Save the document. You are ready to print.

Print the Mail Merge Document

1. Choose File > Print.

2. You will see a message asking you whether you want to print a form letter. Click Yes.

3. In the Mail Merge window, if you do not want all records, select the first record, hold down Ctrl and select the next one, and so on. Or, specify the range of records.

4. Specify to print to a printer, or to files and click OK.

5. In the print window, specify the printer and click OK.

Print Envelopes

Envelopes are not too bad once you figure out how to do it the first time. Here are the key points.

• You need to get to know your printer and let it know to expect envelope shapes, not letter or A4 shapes.
• You also need to fiddle around for a while and figure out where (left, right, perpendicular, parallel) in the tray your printer expects envelopes. Buy a box of cheap envelopes and expect to waste a few while you experiment.
• Then make sure that your envelope document is set up to print to the envelope size your printer is expecting. Envelope 10 is good.
  • You can type in your data for the envelope or use a data source. The simplest way is to just choose File > New > Text Document, then Format > Page Size and instead of Letter or A4, choose Envelope 10 and change the orientation to landscape. Then either with standard margin formatting or with frames, put the text where you want.
  • As another way to create the envelope document, you can also choose Insert > Envelope, and use the three-tabbed window that appears.
• Print the envelopes separately from your letter or other document that goes with the envelope. It complicates things too much with the paper size that the printer expects. If you are using data sources, click Yes in the dialog box that appears asking if you want to print a form letter.
• The next time you want envelopes, just use that same document you already created, and change the addresses. Either save the document in myimportantdocuments\envelopes, or if you are a template kind of person, make it a template. (File > Templates > Save, select a category and name the template, then choose File > New > Templates and Documents and pick your envelope template.)

Template:Documentation/Tip

Print Labels

This How To comes from Solveig Haugland's Blog