Mail merge

1
Mail merge

• Catalog merge enables you to use information in a
  data source to automatically create the content
  for your publications.

2
Catalog Merge

• Enables merging multiple records to single
  publication
• Can create multi-page publications that display
  one or more items per page
• Create catalogs, price lists, product datasheets,
  address directories, photo albums, and more
• Open apply3

3
Display multiple records on a page

• Create publication that displays one or more
  unique items per page
• Enables merging multiple records from data source
  into publication.
• Choose how many records per page.
• Control the layout and appearance of the records
  in your merged pages.

4
Merge pictures into your publications

• Enables you to merge pictures into your
  publications.
• ability to merge pictures in publications gives
  flexibility to create an illustrated product
  catalog or a customized photo album.

5
Planning for a catalog merge

• need to do some planning and preparation in order
  to create or update the data source that you
  intend to use.

6
Create data source

• Row, complete set of information represents item
  record. create a record for each item that you
  list in catalog.
• Column represents a data field in data source.
  Create data fields for each unit of information
  or photo that you want to include per item in
  your catalog.

7
Data source file several options for creating or
updating

• Create a new data source using Publisher
• If your information is not already in a data
  source, create your data source in Publisher
  using the Create Address List
• Create or update an existing data source
• Use Microsoft Access database, Excel spreadsheet,
  or Word table as the data source.

8
Plan - think backwards

• Imagine your final merged publication pages. What
  types of items do you want in your publication?
• What specific types of information do you want to
  provide?
• Your data source should include a record (row)
  for each item in your catalog.
• Separate data fields (columns) for each unit of
  information that you want to include per record.

9
Data layout

• Data field names (column headings) in data source
  correspond to merge fields that insert in merge
  template.
• Insert pictures in your merged publication, data
  source must list either file names or paths.

10
Guidelines determine what information to
include

• Use descriptive names for data fields
• Data fields in data source correspond to the
  merge fields that you will insert into your
  catalog merge template
• Use unique, descriptive names for your data
  fields.

11
Photos

• Include file names or paths for pictures
• If you plan to merge photos into your publication

12
Step thru catalog merge

• Data source with information in records, such as
  item names, descriptions, and the paths or file
  names for pictures.
• Catalog merge template with catalog merge area
  containing merge fields that are placeholders for
  record information.
• Resulting merged pages displaying multiple
  records per page.

13
Mail merge

• Tools menu, point to Mail and Catalog Merge,
  Wizard
• Step 1 Select a merge type
• Select Catalog Merge The catalog merge area will
  appear on the page and your active publication
  will become your catalog merge template.
• You can customize your catalog merge template

14
Step 2 Select a data source

• In Step 2 of the Mail and Catalog Merge Wizard,
  you are prompted to locate and connect to the
  data source that you want to use for your catalog
  merge project.

15
Step 3 Create catalog merge template

• Connect to data source, insert and arrange merge
  fields within the merge area.
• Merge fields correspond to data fields in data
  source
• Insert a merge field.
• Merge fields as placeholders for the information
  that you want to display in your catalog,
• finish the design of your catalog merge template
  by arranging formatting merge fields

16
Merge steps

• Data source with information in records, such as
  item names, descriptions, and the paths or file
  names for pictures.
• Catalog merge template with catalog merge area
  containing merge fields that are placeholders for
  record information.
• Resulting merged pages displaying multiple
  records per page.

17
Merge Combine information from data source

• Create merged pages that display the records from
  data source.
• Data source
• file containing information used in merge. The
  data source file can be a database, a
  spreadsheet, an Address List, or a Word table.
• Catalog merge template
• The layout of merged publication pages. The
  catalog merge template contains the catalog merge
  area to insert merge fields as placeholders for
  the data source.
• information from the data source populates these
  merge fields, and the catalog merge area will
  repeat one or more times per page until all of
  the records from your data source are displayed

18
Completing the merge

• Publisher creates a set of merged pages
  displaying all of the records in your data source
  according to the layout that you designed in
  catalog merge template.
• Can save pages to new publication or add pages
  to existing publication

19
Catalog Merge

• merge fields must be inserted .
• Can arrange and format the merge fields creating
  appearance for merged records.
• complete the merge, each of the records from your
  data source will display according to the
  formatting of the merge fields.

20
Merge Steps

• Begin by creating a catalog merge template.
• New, blank, one-page publication.
• Tools menu,
• start the Mail and Catalog Merge Wizard.
• two important facts to keep in mind when working
  with the catalog merge template

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The catalog merge template is not your final
publication

• The completed merge, Publisher generates merged
  pages comprise your final publication.
• can save your catalog merge template
• The catalog merge area is the repeating region of
  the catalog merge template The most important
  part of the catalog merge template is the catalog
  merge area. This area is the part of your catalog
  merge template that determines how your records
  will be displayed in your final merged pages

22
Record Layout

• You can change the layout and repetition of
  records in your merged pages by moving or
  resizing the catalog merge area on the catalog
  merge template page.

23
Size position of catalog merge

• catalog merge template page determine how records
  will display in merge
• change records repeat by resizing or moving the
  catalog merge area in template
• Decrease the repetition of the catalog merge area

24
Catalog merge area

• If you make the catalog merge area larger or if
  you move it toward the right of the page, you
  will decrease the number of records that display
  per page when you complete the merge. If the
  catalog merge area is very large in relation to
  the overall size of the page, the catalog merge
  area may appear only once per page in your merged
  pages.
• Increase the repetition of the catalog merge area
• If you make the catalog merge area smaller, you
  will increase the number of records that display
  per page in your merged pages.
• When resizing or moving the catalog merge area,
  it is a good idea to think about the amount of
  information in the records in your data source
  and the actual page size of your merged
  publication pages. You should make sure that the
  catalog merge area is large enough to display the
  information that it will contain.

25
Questions

• You have a spreadsheet that lists detailed
  information about the products that your business
  sells, and you want to create a catalog
• How can you use this spreadsheet to create a
  catalog quickly?
• Use one of the Publisher pre-designed catalog
  templates, and then copy and paste all of the
  information for each product listed in the
  spreadsheet
• Use the catalog merge feature in Publisher to
  merge the information from the spreadsheet into a
  publication.

26
Questions

• You've decided that you want to change the number
  of times per page that records will display in
  your final merged pages. How do you make this
  happen?
• You can't change how many records will display on
  each page in the merged pages
• You change the size of the catalog merge template
  page. You resize or move the catalog merge area
  on the catalog merge template page to increase or
  decrease the number of times it will repeat in
  the merged pages.