A mail merge combines a master document (here, a letter) with a data source (a table of records) to make one personalised copy for each record. The letter holds merge fields, such as «FirstName»: in each copy, the field is replaced by that record's value.
- The data source (left): one record per member, one field per column. Click a cell to edit it. Untick a record to leave it out of the merge without changing the data.
- Filter and sort choose which records get a letter, and in what order. Two rules joined with AND must both be true; with OR, either is enough. Numbers are compared as numbers and dates as dates.
- The letter (middle): click a field to insert it where the cursor is. (You can also type <<FirstName>>.)
- An IF field (IF…THEN…ELSE) chooses text for each record:
{IF «Paid» = "No" "Please pay." "Thank you."} prints the first text when the condition is true and the second when it isn't. "" means blank, so {IF «FirstName» = "" "Dear Sir/Madam," "Dear «FirstName»,"} handles a record with no first name. In Word, insert it with Rules › If…Then…Else.
- Preview (right) shows each merged letter, with Previous and Next; All letters shows the finished merge.
Why merge? One letter is written and checked once, then personalised for hundreds of people; changes to the data source flow into every letter; and a filter means only the right people get one.
Common exam mistakes: typing a name into the letter instead of inserting a merge field; leaving out spaces and punctuation between fields; joining two towns with AND (nobody lives in both); filtering when only one record should be left out (untick it instead); forgetting that a blank field leaves "Dear ," unless an IF field handles it; changing a letter instead of correcting the data source.
Objective: Cambridge International A Level IT (9626) mail merge: data sources, filtering and sorting records, and conditional (IF…THEN…ELSE) fields; Pearson Edexcel International GCSE ICT (4IT1): mail merge. (Mail merge is no longer in Cambridge IGCSE ICT 0417 from 2026.)
Where this fits
- Cambridge: Cambridge A Level Information Technology (9626)
- Pearson Edexcel International: Edexcel International GCSE ICT (4IT1) Goes beyond Edexcel International GCSE ICT (4IT1): IF…THEN…ELSE fields and filtering records go beyond 4IT1, which asks only for a basic merge.
