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By Ethan Yoder Posted on November 14th, 2018 in Free Downloads, FileMaker
If you currently hand type your business's envelopes, letters, and other complex documents like proposals and legal forms, you would greatly benefit from using mail merge.
Mail merging, the process of filling in a template document with records from a data source, saves countless hours of double data entry and reduces human error; instead of typing out each recipient's information, Microsoft Word (or another similar word processor) automatically does all the work for you. In addition it is possible to create mail merges with records from your FileMaker system to save even more time.
To create a mail merge, you need two things: a template and a data source. In this example, we will be using Microsoft Word to create a template, and FileMaker as the data source. If you do not have Microsoft Word, there are plenty of other free word processors out there that are able to perform mail merges.
In order to prepare your FileMaker records for mail merging, you need to export them as a .mer file. To export a merge file:
Your mail merge data source can be other file types, but a .mer file is certainly the easiest to create from FileMaker.
Because mail merging has been around for a while, many people will already have their templates ready. In case you don’t, however, the process is very straight forward:
Now your template is all set for merging! You can reuse this template for later mail merges. The image below shows what your Word document will look like before and after the mail merge respectively.
Using mail merge with FileMaker is a highly efficient technique at generating documents as simple as letters to as complex as proposals or legal forms. Feel free to contact us if you would like assistance generating documents from your FileMaker system!
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Ethan is a hard-working, focused application developer who employs his expertise in database and interface design to produce creative outcomes for clients. His steady demeanor, receptiveness to new ideas, and willingness to help is a recipe for success in working with both colleagues and customers.