Using the Mail Merge Wizard to create a form letter

The manual method of creating a form letter is described in “Creating a form letter” above. If you prefer to use the
Mail Merge wizard, the technique is described in this section.

Open a new document with File > New > Text Document and choose Tools > Mail Merge Wizard on the Menu
bar.

Step 1: Select starting document

The Mail Merge Wizard (Figure 1) gives several options for the starting document:
 Use the current document
 Create a new document
 Start from existing document
 Start from a template
 Start from a recently saved starting document
For the purposes of this example, we opened a new text document.

Select Use the current document and click Next.

Figure 1: Select starting document
Step 2: Select document type
The wizard can produce letters or email messages. In this example, we are producing a letter. Select Letter and
click Next.

Figure2: Choose document type

Step 3: Insert address block
This is the most complex step in the wizard. In this step (Figure 3) you will do three things:
1) Tell the wizard which data source to use. The data source must be an existing file.
2) Select the address block to use in the document. This means choosing which fields appear (for example,
whether the country is included) and how they look.
3) Make sure that the fields all match correctly. This is very important. For example, the UK English version
of the wizard has a field called <Surname>. If your spreadsheet has a column called “Last Name”, you need
to tell the wizard that <Surname> and “Last Name” are equivalent. This is described in “Matching the
fields” below.
Figure 3: Insert address block
Selecting the data source (address list)
1) If the current address list, identified beneath the Select Different Address List button in section 1 (Figure
3), is not the one you wish to use, click the button to open the Select Address List dialog (Figure 4) for
choosing a data source.
Figure 4: Select address list dialog

If you have not already created the address list, you may click Create to do so now. This step will allow you
to create a .csv (Comma Separated Values) file with a new list of address records. If you have an address list
that is not registered in LibreOffice, but which you wish to use, click Add and select the file from the
location in which it is saved.
In each of these cases a new data source (.odb file) will be created and registered.
2) Select the address list and click OK to return to the Insert Address Block dialog. We retain Addresses as
our address book for this example. The wizard can also exclude certain records; click Filter to choose them.
Selecting and optionally editing the address block
1) In section 2 (Figure 3), select the address block to appear on the letter, define its appearance, and choose
the fields it contains. The main page gives two choices. Click More to open the Select Address Block dialog
for more choices.
2) The Select Address Block dialog (Figure 5) displays the original two blocks plus other choices for the
format of the address block (you may need to scroll down to see all of the choices). You can also optionally
include or exclude the country (for example, only include the country if it is not England) in the Address
Block Settings section. The formats provided are relatively common, but they might not exactly match your
preference. If this is the case, select the address block that is closest to what you want and click Edit, which
opens the Edit Address Block dialog.
3) In the Edit Address Block dialog (Figure 6), you can add or delete address elements using the arrow
buttons between the boxes. To move elements around, use the arrow buttons on the right. For example, to add
an extra space between the first and the last names in Figure 6, click <Last Name> and then click the Move
right arrow button on the right-hand side.
Figure 5: Select address block
 Figure 6: Edit address block

4) Click OK to close the Edit Address Block dialog, then click OK on the Select Address Block dialog to
save your changes and return to the Mail Merge Wizard.
Matching the fields
Finally, it is time to match the wizard’s fields with the spreadsheet fields, so that items like <Surname> and “Last
Name” match correctly.
1) Look at section 3 of the wizard (shown in Figure 3 on page Figure 3). The box at the bottom displays one
record at a time, using the address block format you specified. Use the right and left arrow buttons below that
address box to step through the addresses, checking that they display correctly. Do not assume that all the
records display correctly, just because one or two do.
2) If the addresses do not display correctly, click Match Fields.
The Match Fields dialog (Figure 7) has three columns:
 Address elements are the terms the wizard uses for each field, such as <First Name> and <Last
Name>.
 Use the Matches to field column to select, for each address element, the field from your data source
that matches it.
 The Preview column shows what will be shown for this field from the selected address block, so you
can double-check that the match is correct.
3) When you have matched all the fields, click OK to return to the Insert Address Block dialog. Now, when
you use the arrow buttons to look at all the addresses, they should all look correct. If not, go back and change
anything you’re not happy with, before clicking Next to move to the next step.
Note that you will not be able to continue until you have correctly matched all the fields in your chosen
address block. If you see <not yet matched> in a field position it indicates that the field in question is not
correctly matched.
 Figure 7: Match fields dialog

4) Notice the option for Suppress lines with empty fields in section 2 of Figure 3. Using the Wizard, you
do not have to create your own conditional suppression fields, as you do when using the manual form letter
method described earlier in this chapter..
Step 4: Create salutation
It is possible to create just about any salutation you want in this step (see Figure 8).

Select This document should contain a salutation to enable the General salutation list box. Some general texts
are available in the list box, or you can enter your own text. A preview pane displays your choice.

Select Insert personalized salutation to enable further salutation constructs.

You can, for example, use a different greeting for men and women. To do this, Writer must have some way of
knowing whether a person is male or female. In a spreadsheet, you might have a column called Gender. In the
section Address list field indicating a female recipient, set the Field name to Gender and the Field value to F. The
Male salutation is then printed for all men and the Female salutation for all women. Unfortunately, LibreOffice
does not provide for other genders; however, you can use a non-gendered salutation.

If you do not have such a column in your spreadsheet, or if you do not need to distinguish between genders in the
salutation, then you can leave the Field name and Field value boxes empty and use the customized content of
the Male list box for the salutation to all recipients.
Figure 8: Create a salutation
As an example:
1) Click the New button alongside the Male list box. The Custom Salutation (Male Recipients) dialog opens
(see Figure 9).
2) Select Salutation in the Salutation elements list on the right and drag it into box 1 on the right.
3) In the Customize salutation box, select an appropriate greeting or type your own text into the box. Edit it
as needed.
4) Select and move First Name from the Salutation elements list into box 1, using either the Add to
salutation arrow button or by dragging it. Then click the Move right arrow button on the right-hand side to
add space between the salutation and the first name.
5) Select and move Last Name from the Salutation elements list into box 1, then click the Move right arrow
button to add space between the first and the last names.
6) Finally, move Punctuation Mark across and select the comma from the choices in the Customize
salutation box.
7) The construct is shown in the Preview box.
8) Carry out any final editing. Click OK.
This method allows you to use gender neutral titles such as Doctor (Dr) and Reverend (Rev), or titles such as Ms,
or omit titles.
Figure 9: Customizing the salutation
Step 5: Adjust layout
In Step 5: Adjust layout, you can adjust the position of the address block and salutation on the page. You can place
the address block anywhere on the page. The salutation is always on the left, but you can move it up and down the
page. Use the buttons shown in Figure 10 to move the elements.
Figure 10: Adjust layout
You now have a Writer document into which you can type the contents of the letter. To merge the fields and print
the letters, choose File > Print on the Menu bar. A message pops up, asking if you want to print a form letter.
Click Yes.

The Mail Merge dialog (Figure 10) is now displayed, where you can optionally select records to include or exclude
(in the top section) and, in the Output section, choose to print the letters immediately (Printer) or save them (File)
for further editing or printing at a later time.

If you choose File, you can then choose whether to save the output as a single document (containing all of the
letters) or save the letters as individual documents, and you can specify the name, location, and format of the files.
Click OK to save the letters. You can now open the letters and edit them individually as you would edit any other
document.