How to Use Mail Merge to Create Customized Reports

What is Mail Merge

Mail Merge is a powerful feature in word processing software like Microsoft Word. It allows you to generate customized documents by combining a template with data from a separate source, such as a spreadsheet. This guide will walk you through the steps of using Mail Merge to create customized reports using data exported from Skand.

You can find sample files attached at the end of this article:

Sample Skand Report: Sample report data.
Sample Skand Mail Merge Template: A sample pre-designed template.
Sample Skand Mail Merge Document: A sample output created using the mail merge template and the sample report data.

Step 1: Export Data from Skand

The first step in creating a customized report using Mail Merge is to export the report data from Skand in Excel format.

Step 2: Create a Template in Microsoft Word

Open Microsoft Word and create a new document to serve as your template. Add any text, images, or formatting you want to appear consistently in every report. Leave placeholders for the data fields that will be added during the Mail Merge process.

Step 3: Start the Mail Merge Process

Once your template is ready, go to the Mailings tab in Microsoft Word and click on the "Start Mail Merge" button. In the dropdown menu, Select "Letters" as the document type. This is the most common type of document used in Mail Merge. You can also choose to create envelopes, labels, or emails if needed.

Step 4: Link the Data Source

Click on the "Select Recipients" button and choose "Use an Existing List". Navigate to the location where you saved the report data from Skand and select it. This will import the data into your Mail Merge document.

Step 5: Insert Data Fields

Now it's time to insert the data fields into your template. Place your cursor where you want the data to appear and click on the "Insert Merge Field" button in the Mail Merge panel. This will display a list of all the fields from your data source. Select the fields you want to include in your report.

Adding Images to the Report

Move the cursor to the desired location in the document.
Use the following syntax to insert an image field:
```
{ INCLUDEPICTURE "{ MERGEFIELD IMAGE_URL_FIELD }" }
```
1. Press Ctrl + F9 (Windows) or Cmd + F9 (Mac) to insert a pair of field braces. Note: Typing the braces manually will not work.
2. Replace IMAGE_URL_FIELD with the corresponding field name in your Excel sheet, replacing spaces with underscores (e.g., Field Name becomes Field_Name).

Adding Hyperlinks with Display Text

Move the cursor to the desired location in the document.
Switch to the Insert tab and select Link.
Enter the display text and a placeholder “xxx” in the address field.
After inserting, you will see:
```
{ HYPERLINK "xxx" }
```
Use the following syntax to insert a hyperlink:
```
{ HYPERLINK "{ MERGEFIELD LINK_FIELD }" }
```
1. Press Ctrl + F9 (Windows) or Cmd + F9 (Mac) to insert field braces. Note: Typing the braces manually will not work.
2. Replace LINK_FIELD with the corresponding field name in your Excel sheet, replacing spaces with underscores (e.g., Field Name becomes Field_Name).

Step 6: Preview and Complete the Merge

Once you have inserted all the necessary data fields, click on the "Preview Results" button in the Mail Merge panel. This will show you how your customized report will look with the data inserted.
Select Finish & Merge > Edit Individual Documents to generate the final document.
If you’ve added image fields, press Ctrl + A (Windows) or Command + A (Mac) to select all fields, then press F9 to refresh and render the images. Note that this process may take some time as the images are downloaded.
Save or export the document as a PDF.

Sample Skand Mail Merge Template.docx

Sample Skand Mail Merge Document.docx

Sample Skand Report.xlsx