FastMailMerge is an OpenOffice.org extension for those who feel intimidated by other alternatives. Unlike the standard OpenOffice.org merge tools or KBarCode, and allows you to see what you are doing each step of the way.

Like any other extension, you can install FastMailMerge by downloading it, then opening Tools -> Extension Manager in OpenOffice.org. The next time you start OpenOffice.org, the extension is ready to use — but note that its icon is placed on Calc’s toolbar, because, even though it outputs to Writer and other text formats, FastMailMerge uses a spreadsheet as the data source.

To use FastMailMerge, start with a Writer document as your template. It should be a document in which most of the information will be the same in multiple version of the document except for small portions such as an address or a salutation. Labels, unfortunately, are usually not suitable for use with FastMailMerge, since the extension has no way of printing all the records for a field in the same document.

As you write the source document, make sure that you leave space to insert information. Either leave a separate line for each piece of information, as you would for the address of a letter, or else, if the merge will occur within a body of text, leave a space to each side of where the information will go. You might also select Insert -> Field -> Other -> Functions -> Placeholder to mark the space where the information will go. Select a text placeholder, and give it a name that corresponds to the sort of information that will eventually replace it — for example, Name or Address.

When you are finished the template document, save it and open the source spreadsheet. This spreadsheet should have a header at the top of each column. Select the entries you want in the mail merge, and click the FastMailMerge icon (it is on the far left of the top toolbar, just below the File menu).

Clicking the icon opens the FastMailMerge window, where you can set up the output file. You can use a new template or an existing one; because of the awkwardness of adding content in the middle of a merge, I suggest selecting an existing one. Other basic choices are the file’s name, folder, and format — PDF, DOC, ODT or HTML. Especially in the case of large merges, you will probably want to send the output into an empty folder.In addition, you can choose whether to have the output sent to a printer or as email.

When you have defined the output file, click the OK button. FastMailMerge opens the template you specified, as well as a sub-window with the first header of the source spreadsheet listed as a field. If you are sending an email, click one of the buttons on the right to identify the field as the Subject, Recipient, or Unique Identity of the email.

Otherwise, place the cursor where you want the field to go in the template document. You can edit the template if you want, but, with the FastMailMerge window always in the way, you probably won’t want to do more than add or delete a space or two, or catch obvious errors. When you are done, click the Insert Field button, and repeat for every other header/field. The extension briefly opens a command line as it moves to the next field, so you will have a few seconds to wait in between each placement of a field.

After you insert the last field, FastMailMerge creates a separate document for each record in the spreadsheet, and opens it.

FastMailMerge has room for improvement. In particular, the extension would be more useful if it could work with OpenOffice.org’s label function, so that each record did not have to go on its own page. Moreover, an option to save to plain text would satisfy those of us who do not believe in HTML email.

Otherwise, however, FastMailMerge does a thorough job of demystifying the mail merge process in OpenOffice.org. If you are one of the many who find mail merges confusing and cryptic, then FastMailMerge just might be the tool for which you’ve been waiting.

By Bruce Byfield

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Both AbiWord and KOffice were originally built for GNU/Linux, but both now have versions for Mac OS X and Windows as well. AbiWord is a standalone word processor, while KWord is part of KOffice, which started as an office suite for KDE, one of the most popular interfaces for GNU/Linux. Although neither AbiWord nor KWord has as many features of OpenOffice.org, both are developed enough for many users’ needs. Some people prefer them because they are smaller and faster than OpenOffice.org, and therefore run better on older and slower computers.

As you might know already from Haugland’s article, mail merge is not just about mail, although you can use it for email or paper letters. More accurately, mail merge is a feature that lets you create copies of a document that differ only in selected features. For instance, you might want to create copies of the same letter, but with different addresses and opening greetings. Or maybe you have a mass mail-out, and want to save yourself the trouble of re-typing hundreds of addresses that you already have in a list on envelopes. In some cases, mail merge can save you hundreds of hours of work while giving you professional-looking results.

The details of mail merges differ between applications, but in all of AbiWord, KWord, and OpenOffice.org, the general process is similar. In each application, you must:

• Pick a source for the information that varies in the mail merge. Usually, this source is a spreadsheet or database.
• Create the template document, with the text that will be the same in every copy, and placeholder fields to identify the information that varies.
• Create the copies. Depending on the application, the copies may be in a single file, or have one file for each copy. Usually, you have the choice of printing the copies to file, or sending them directly to the printer.

If you remember this overview, then mail merges will be much simpler for you.

Mail merge with AbiWord

Mail merge in AbiWord is more limited than in KOffice (or OpenOffice.org). In fact, you have to leave the editing window to finish using it. However, even if you feel uneasy about using the command line, the steps are easy enough that you should have no trouble so long as you follow instructions.

One of the limitations of mail merge in AbiWord is that it can use fewer data sources than other word processors. In order to use mail merge in AbiWord, the information must be in a comma or tab-separated list, or in an XML file. Probably, you won’t have an XML file unless you work with formats like DocBook, so in practice you are limited to the other two choices. Fortunately, though, they are easy to create.

A comma separated list (which is a plain text file, often saved with a .csv extension for “comma separated values”) is just what it sounds like: A collection if information that is separated by commas. Basically, it is another way of organizing the sort of information that you find in the columns and rows of a spreadsheet. If you don’t have a comma separated list, you can easily create one. At times, that ease of creation may be an advantage, because you don’t have to know your way around databases or spreadsheets to use AbiWord.

Comma separated lists start list starts with a row with the names of fields. This row is the equivalent of column headings in a spreadsheet. For example, a first row might be:

FirstName,LastName,Company

Because you have this first row, you know the order of information in all the other rows. For example, the next two rows might be:

Herbert,West,ABC Corporation

Singh,Mohinder,Tag Express

Notice that, in all the rows, no space comes after a comma. In addition, the last entry does not have a comma after it, and, if a field is blank, then you need to add a second comma so that AbiWord reads the row correctly.

A tab-separated list follow the same rules, except that you use tab spaces to separate data instead of a comma. It has the advantage of being easier to read than a comma separate list, but, otherwise, the two types of lists are mostly identical.

Once you have the data source, design the template document, including the text that will not change. When you are ready to set up the fields for the changeable sections, go to Insert -> Mail Merge Field to add the placeholders. Click the Open File button to select the data source, and a list of fields (the values in the first row of the data source) become visible under Available Fields.

Moving the mouse cursor to the place in the template where you want to add the data, select an available field, then click Insert in the Insert Mail Field dialog window. Repeat this process as often as you need, and then save the document in AbiWord format Conveniently, the dialog window stays open until you specifically close it.

Now, open a command line and enter a command based on this example:

AbiWord -m data-source file -p outputfile.ps/printer name template file

This command is simpler than it looks. The -m option identifies the data source, and -p the output file or the name of the printer to use, while the last file name identifies the template for the mail merge. The .ps extension for the output file creates a postscript file, saving the mail merge to a format that you can easily open later. If you use a printer name instead, you will not save the separate pages of the mail merge, although you can recreate them easily enough by running the same command again.

Mail merge with KWord

Mail merge in KWord is easier than it is in AbiWord – or, at least, you can complete the process without leaving the editing window. In addition, you can use a larger number of sources, including an SQL database (which is most of them, these days, including FOSS ones like MySQL and Postgres), a spreadsheet from KCalc (another program from KOffice), a KDE KAddress Book, or KWord’s built-in database. Since KWord’s native file format is Open Document, the same as OpenOffice.org’s, you can also use documents saved in OpenOffice.org.

Unless you are familiar with KDE or databases, your best choice of data sources is probably a KCalc sheet. It needs to be organized in the same way as a comma-separated list, with the first row giving field names, and one separate entry in each of the other rows. However, since you are adding information to spreadsheet cells, you do not need a comma or tab to separate out the different fields.

To start preparing the mail merge, select Tools -> Configure Mail Merge -> Open Existing to choose a data source. In the case of a KCalc spreadsheet or KAddress Book, choosing the data source simply requires you to locate the file on your hard drive, but using a database will require more information, as indicated in the dialog. You can find more information in The KWord Handbook that accompanies KWord.

To add the fields to the template, position the mouse and select Insert -> Variables -> Mail Merge. Inconveniently, the Mail Merge dialog closes each time that you select a field, but, even so, you should not take long to create the document.

KWord stores connections to data sources in the template document. You cannot see the complete document on screen, but you can see the copies from selecting File -> Print Preview. When you are ready, you can then print the mail merge the same as you would any other document by using File -> Print.

Conclusion

Mail merge can be confusing in any program, especially if only use it occasionally. However, if you keep the basic steps in mind – creating and identifying a data source, designing a template, and printing the copies – then you should have few problems.

Moreover, if you have learned to do mail merges in one application, you can probably learn quickly how to do them in other applications as well. If you are new to mail merges, you might appreciate that you are learning a task that is always very similar no matter what software you use. From this viewpoint, using AbiWord and KOffice are just different ways of doing the same task. The only differences are in the details, and the big picture remains the same.

by Bruce Byfield / January 2009

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Mail merge provides business owners, organizational leaders and even families a way to communicate easily and effectively with clients, members and friends. Mail merge allows users to personalize letters so that mass communication becomes more personal and yet efficient. Mail merge also is an efficient way to organize mailing lists for mailing labels. But, how can you use mail merge in Open Office? That’s the question!

We’ve provided an In-depth guide to mail merge with OpenOffice.org which explains all the intricacies of using this powerful feature. Learn how to use the mail merge feature to create letters, labels, and envelopes. The guide is also available as a PDF eBook document for your perusal. Continue to article or download the eBook.

The author of this article is Solveig Haugland, an author, instructor, and consultant near Denver, Colorado. She has been working with OpenOffice.org and StarOffice since 1999 and loves to show people how to make OpenOffice.org do what they need it to. She blogs at http://openoffice.blogs.com and her business web site is http://www.getopenoffice.org.