You do not have to type all the data you use in a document one-to-one in Word. The software has extensive functions for importing data from other programs. In this article we will show you the possibilities of importing and linking data from other programs, such as Excel.
If you have other packages from the Office series, Word offers the possibility to import data from those programs into your document. Whether it concerns data from an Excel sheet or Access, address data or slides; you can easily link them to your Word document. The advantage of linking data from other programs is that you only have to change the data once in the source program. Word will then automatically transfer the changes to your document. Sometimes you have to refresh that data.
01 Import data from Excel
Excel is widely used for entering data. But sometimes you just want to include part of an Excel file in Word, without linking the data directly. For example a (part of a) table. The extensive copy and paste functions of both Word and Excel ensure that the data, including formatting, can be transferred to your document. In this example, we will copy a simple table without formatting from Excel to Word. We select all cells, right click and choose To copy.
02 Choosing the right format
The way in which the data is put from Excel into Word depends on the paste function you choose in the latter. In Word you can put your data in your document in different ways: paste with formatting, paste as an image or paste without formatting. The paste options that become available depend on what kind of data is placed in the clipboard. If you copy a table from Excel, you have more paste options than if you want to paste plain text from, for example, Notepad into your Word document.
If you want to paste the data from Excel into Word without formatting, choose 'Keep text only', the rightmost button in the menu. Word then pastes the data from Excel directly without extras. Each row in the table is pasted on a separate line.
03 Format-Preserving Table
If the table is formatted in Excel with borders, colors, different fonts and colored cells and you want to copy it one to one in Word, choose from the paste options for the function Keep source formatting.
When copying a table from Excel, the data in Word is also placed in a table. The advantage of this is that you can now further edit the data and adjust the design of the table if necessary. If you click on the pasted table in Word, the tab will also appear in the Ribbon Table design available. With the table selected you can immediately apply a different design.
If you only want to adjust a single cell, row or column, click on it with the mouse and you can change its properties.
04 Dynamic data from Excel
Sometimes it can happen that the data in Excel that you want to use in your Word document is dynamic. That is, the data in the Excel file may change over time. Then it is important that the data from Excel that is placed in Word is the most recent. You can paste data into Word while preserving the link of the data in Excel. If you or someone else change the original data in Excel, those changes will also be implemented in Word. To get this to work, you have to paste the data from Excel into Word in a special way. In that case, choose from the menu for paste for Link and keep source formatting.
When the data is pasted into Word, you will see that the table has been given a different function. If you click on one of the cells with the right mouse button, you will see a new option in the list, namely Update link. If the data has been changed in Excel, it will not be changed directly in Word. As the owner of the document you can therefore display the latest data in the table by choosing Update link.
05 Formatted tables
Incidentally, this function also works when the original formatting in the table changes in Excel. As soon as, for example, the color or the thickness of the lines are changed in Excel and you choose in Word Update link, then those changes are also reflected in Word. This can of course also have disadvantages for the layout of your Word document. Fortunately, there is a solution for that. If you want only the data in the cells of Excel to be copied, but not the formatting itself, choose the paste option Linking and using target lists. The table is now copied without formatting in Word, but the data in the cells themselves will remain linked to Excel and any changes will be saved after you choose Update link implemented in Word.
If the table in Excel is modified from a design-technical point of view, this will therefore have no further influence on the formatting of the table in Word.
06 Create letters and mailings
You can also use Word to send a letter to multiple addresses. Fortunately, you don't have to make a separate letter for each addressee for this, but you can create a standard letter. With a standard letter you can easily send a letter to several people. You link a database with names, addresses and places of residence to such a standard letter. You can also use this function for printing envelopes. In this example, we'll show you how to automatically add addresses to your document.
07 Create address fields
Word has a special feature for automatically inserting names and addresses into your document. In the Ribbon you will find a separate tab for this, called Mailing Lists. There you can link Word to an existing mailing list, or you can also create a new list from here.
You must first have a list of addresses. You can create these yourself in Word, but you can also link Word to, for example, Excel to extract the address data. We will first show you how to create your own list of address details in Word. Under the tab Mailing Lists do you find the button Select addresses. Click on it and choose the option Type new list.
A window will now appear in which you can enter address details. In this example, we limit ourselves to (fictitious) address details such as salutation, initial, surname, address, postal code and place of residence. For each row, enter the details of the people you want to write to. When you're done filling in, press the button OK to save the list.
Word stores the address list as a Microsoft database (with the extension .mdb), which has the advantage that you can continue to use this file in Office, so you don't have to create a new address list every time.
If you have saved the database in Word, the button will appear in the Ribbon Start Mail Merge available. But before you click on that, you must first determine the position in your letter where you want to place the address field. To place it, click on the button Address block.
08 Check data
You will now see a new window in which you can check whether the data is correct. In principle, you don't have to change much here; if you have made a simple address list containing only the first and last name, street, house number, zip code and city and all addresses are in your own country, Word usually places it correctly right away. It can only be useful to change the settings if you also send international letters. Click on the button afterwards OK , then Word places a text code <>. That block indicates that the address data of the database will be placed there.
At the top of the Ribbon you will now see extra buttons with which you can browse through the letters with the addresses that have just been linked. This way you can check whether the address details are correctly stated on the letter. In addition to the arrow buttons for scrolling through the letters, you will also find a button called Example of the result. With this button pressed you can also see the actual address details per letter.
Now you can decide if you're happy with the current view, or if you want to change something. The layout, for example, because you might want to print the addresses a bit larger or provide them with a different font. You don't have to do this for each letter separately, but you can do this in one go by selecting the block <> in your document. To do that, you must first disable the address preview by pressing the . button again Example of the result to click. Only then does the address block reappear. Select <> in your document, and you can change its formatting.
09 Merge the documents
Are you satisfied with the result? Then you can combine the address details with your letter. With merging, Word makes multiple copies of the letter, with the unique address from the database on each letter. To start merging, click the button in the Ribbon Finish and Merge, all the way to the right. Three options will now appear, choose Print documents.
Specify which records you want to print, usually you print everything in one go. Word sends the command, after pressing the button OK, to the printer and your letters will be printed.
Tip: Print labels and envelopes
Do you want to print addresses on envelopes or labels in addition to printing letters? Then choose on the left side of the Ribbon for Envelopes or labels. When you click one of these two buttons, Word changes the layout of your current document to that of an envelope or label. You can choose from different formats.
10 Import addresses from Excel
You can also get your address files in Word from other programs or work with separate file formats. Entering via the Address Lists function in Word is sometimes quite difficult. It is very precise work, and pressing the wrong button can quickly mean that you have to re-enter a record. In addition, the small size of the input window makes it difficult to work with multiple records. In that case, it is better to choose a program that can handle records better, such as Excel or – if you prefer to work with database programs – Access. For this basic course we use Excel to import address data, which works fine in this case; Excel makes it much easier to use more rows.
If you have your records in good order in Excel, you can easily use them to create address data in Word. Each row in Excel that has to be used in Word for the address data, you give a clear name: Salutation, First Name, Last name, Street name, House number, Postal Code and residence. That row is then the first row in the table. On the following rows, fill in all the details of the addresses you want to use in the letter.
11 Save file
Have you finished your file? Then save it and then go to Word to import the data from the Excel file as an address file. To do this, proceed as follows: click in the Ribbon Mailing Lists on Select addresses and choose that Use existing list. Then select your Excel file.
Word now comes with a confirmation of the file. If you formatted the table in Excel, as in our example, the first row of data contains column headings. Then put a check in The first row of data contains column headings. Word recognizes this, and so you can easily place the right fields in the right place in your document.
12 Specify fields
In contrast to importing address data via Address List, you still have to specify the fields separately when importing data from Excel. Each column from your Excel file becomes a separate block in Word that ultimately contains the entire address field. In the Ribbon at Mailing Lists you will find a button called Insert merge fields. Under that menu you will find all the columns from the Excel sheet. You can now place it in your document by clicking on the correct name. First place the cursor where you want to insert the first field, in our example that is Salutation.
Place a space between each field in your Word document so that the salutation, first name and last name are not placed together, as below:
<><><>
Now give an enter for a new line, and place the fields below it Street name and House number, again with a space in between:
<><>
And on the last line you put Postal Code and residence, also here with a space in between:
<><>
The advantage of including separate fields in your Word document is that you can use them anywhere in your letter. In this way you can compose a personal letter based on the data from the Excel file.
