Step 5: Previewing the Merge

At this step you are able to preview your letters to make sure that everything will look correct once the records from the data source are merged. You can check different recipients' letters by using the arrows, look for a specific record by searching the merge fields, or even 'exclude' one from the merge.

At this step I always spot check at least 4 or 5 recipients (depending on the size of my list) to make sure that all of the merge fields look right. This is how the letter looks with the information from the first recipient on my list filled in.

As you can see, all of the fields filled in exactly the way that I wanted them to. Note that because this recipient has nothing in the "Address2" column of the spreadsheet, that line simply does not appear in his letter. Also, notice how even though the "Donation amt" is formatted in Excel as 'Accounting', the cents are not showing up in the letter. I will show you how to fix this in Part III of the tutorial.

After spot-checking a couple of records, click 'Next: Complete the merge'.

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