How to change data source in word using a different excel file

Question

Making name badges for events and want them to look the same. Attendees change for each event. How do I connect a different datasource excel spreadsheet to the name badge word document?

Answer 1

You can either:

• use a common folder for the mailmerges, copying your Excel workbook to that folder for each merge and ensuring the Excel workbooks in that folder always use the same name; or

• answer 'no' to the mailmerge prompt when you open the Word mailmerge main document, then use the mailmerge tools to connect it to the new data source.

The first approach has the advantage of retaining any filters you might already be using.

Answer 2

I’m Not sure I’m explaining this well. I want all my name badges to look the same. Do I need to save the word document with the merge fields as a template, rather than a document? Then when I have a new excel file (with the same merge fields but different content - I.e. different first and last names ) how do I link the new excel “data source” to the word doc/template?

Answer 3

Jay is correct.

Once you have your name badge mailmerge main document configured how you want it to look, any name badges it produces will look the same regardless of what data source you use. All you need to do is ensure the same worksheet names and field names are used for each data source. The downside of changing data sources is that any mailmerge filters you've set up will need to be recreated.

And, as I described in my previous reply, if you put your mailmerge main document in a folder that can be used for all the mailmerges, and give the copy of the Excel file you use for the merge a generic name (e.g. Name Badges), any Excel file you copy to that folder and rename with the generic name can be used without having to tell Word to change the data source. Plus any mailmerge filters you've set up will be retained. Again, all you need to do is ensure the same worksheet names and field names are used for each data source.

Answer 4

You don't have to save the document with the merge fields as a template. If you haven't already saved that as a document, do that. The document file already contains all the formatting for the labels, and it also contains a hidden link to the Excel file that you last used to perform a merge.

For the next merge, use the File Open command (Ctrl+O) to open that document again. The first thing you'll see is a message box like this, pointing to the active sheet in that previous Excel file:

If you were to click Yes, you'd get the same data source as before. Instead, click No as Paul's second bullet point said. The document filled with merge fields opens, but there's no data for it now. Go to the Mailings ribbon, click Select Recipients > Use an Existing List, and choose to open the new Excel file.

If the new Excel file has exactly the same field headings in row 1 as the old file, you can go ahead immediately to click either Preview Results to check the correctness, or click Finish & Merge to print the new labels.

If the headings aren't the same, the best way is to change the headings in the new Excel file to match the old ones. Theoretically you could use the Match Fields button, but it will want to change each mismatched field in each label on the sheet -- that gets very old very quickly.

When closing the merge field document, be sure to save it, mainly to save the link to the current data source but also to save any formatting changes you've made since opening it.