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mail merge

1 sub-question across 1 paper, 3 marks total.

Computer Applications Technology 2026

Question 7 — General integration
7.23 marks

Produce a personalised invitation letter using MailMerge_Letter.docx as the template and MailMerge_Recipients.xlsx as the data source. Add all merge fields where indicated, save the letter, complete the merge and save as MailMerge_LetterMERGED.docx.

Show answer

  1. Open MailMerge_Letter.docx (put your details in the header if required).

  2. Mailings → Start Mail Merge → Letters.

  3. Mailings → Select Recipients → Use an Existing List… → choose MailMerge_Recipients.xlsx → select the right sheet → OK.

  4. Click where the document indicates a field (e.g. highlighted placeholders), then Insert Merge Field and choose the matching one (name, surname, organisation and so on). Replace the placeholder text.

  5. Save MailMerge_Letter.docx.

  6. Mailings → Finish & Merge → Edit Individual Documents… → All → OK.

  7. In the new document (Letters1) choose File → Save As → MailMerge_LetterMERGED.docx.

  8. Save and close all open files. Complete the information sheet. GRAND TOTAL: 150.

Why this earns the marks

marks: data source connected, merge fields inserted correctly, merged document saved with the right name — the same three-part mail merge model (template, data source, merge fields) explained in the Word notes, now carried through to its finished output. The template must be saved before merging so the fields are kept, because the merge fields themselves live inside the template file — if it's never saved, a crash or accidental close loses the field placement work entirely, with nothing to show for it. "Edit Individual Documents" creates a real document with one letter per recipient, which is what you save: the template itself never becomes the finished output, so saving the template again under the required name would produce a file that still contains unresolved merge-field placeholders rather than actual recipient data. Use Preview Results first to check that every field fills in correctly and spacing around fields is right, since a field placed with an extra or missing space around it merges correctly in terms of data but produces an oddly spaced sentence that's easy to miss without previewing.