MS-Word --- Letter Wizard

Computer Info – October 20, 1999
Silly Question Day         John Watkins will be hosting "Silly Question Day" for the program this Wednesday. Ask any question – and he will try to answer it. He is also going to explain what is the Internet and how does it work – what is FTP and how can I get the handouts from the FTP server. Mail Merge in MS-Word         I have been ask to write out the steps for doing the Mail Merge in Word that was demonstrated by John Watkins last week. There was a lot of interest in this topic. So, hopefully, this will work as a refresher to those who were at the meeting. You may also refer to the handout for April 7, 1999 as we covered making an address list and printing labels.
        (1) Start by writing a letter in Word and placing maybe five capital X’s (XXXXX) at every spot that you would like to print someone’s name, address, nickname, etc.
        For example:

    XXXXX
    XXXXX
    XXXXX, XXXXX XXXXX

Merry Christmas, XXXXX
How are you doing, XXXXX

Then save your document and give it a name that you will remember --- maybe, MAIL MERGE LETTER.DOC. Close your document.

        (2) Now let’s create our database for our addresses.
        Start a new blank document.
        Under the Table menu, choose Insert Table. Set the number of columns to seven – leave the number of rows at two and the column width to ‘auto’. Click on OK. This will create a two row table for you and the cursor will be flashing in the top left cell. Now we will type in the names of the columns ---- First Name – Last Name – Address – City – State – Zipcode – Telephone. To move from cell to cell, use the ‘TAB’ key. If you use the ‘ENTER’ key, it will assume that you wish to place another line in the same cell. You also use the ‘TAB’ key to move from the last cell in the first row to the first cell in the second row. If there are no additional blank rows, when you press the ‘TAB’ key, a new row will be created.
        DO NOT INSERT ANY ROWS ABOVE YOUR TITLES. The first row of your table is always considered your titles. Maybe you would like to change the font size, the font type, make the font bold, change the text color or add highlighting to your titles to help you remember that they are always suppose to be at the top of your table. To perform these tasks, left click just to the left of the row (just outside of the table frame) – this should highlight that row. Then you can make any adjustments to the titles that you wish.
        You may sort your table by any column that you wish. To specify which column to sort by, place your cursor in one of the cells of that column – or left click above the column that you wish to sort (just outside of the table frame). Then if your toolbar has an icon for sorting (A-Z or Z-A) then click on the icon to perform the sort. If you do not have an icon for sorting, then from the Table menu, choose Sort and make sure that it says that My List has HEADER ROW.
        Now it is time to save your table. From the File menu, choose Save As. Decide where you wish to save your document. Give the document a name like ‘Address Book’. Then click on the Save button.
        Now close your document. From the File menu, choose Close.

        (3) Now it’s time to merge the two documents together. Open your form letter that you created in step one (the one that we suggested you name MAIL MERGE LETTER.DOC.
        From the Tools menu, choose Mail Merge. Under Step One, main document – press the Create button. From that menu, choose Form Letter. On the next window, choose Active window. Under Step Two, data source – press the Get Data button. From that menu, choose Open Data Source. This opens a window which allows you to locate the table that we created in Step Two. When you find your table, highlight it and then choose OPEN. You will be told that Word did not find any fields to merge – therefore, push the button labeled Edit Main Document. Now move your cursor to each set of five capital X’s – delete the five X’s and then click on the button labeled INSERT MERGE FIELDS – you will find all of your fields listed. Click on the one that you want inserted first (probably first name). When inserting these fields, remember to type in the space you want between the first name and last name – the space between state and zipcode – and the comma and space you want after the city. When you have finished filling in the merge fields (where the XXXXX’s were) – maybe you should now save MAIL MERGE LETTER.DOC with the changes that you have made. Now it is time to return to the Mail Merge Helper – you can do this, by choosing TOOLS from the main menu – then MAIL MERGE.
        You are now ready to press the MERGE button. In the next window, you can choose to merge all the records or a portion of the records. Merge them to a new document where you will be able to view them on the screen and do any editing necessary before sending them to the printer. When you are ready, you can press the MERGE button on this window to view your results.
        When you are ready, you can now go to the File menu and choose Print.

Resolution and Colors of your Display         Having the wrong resolution chosen for your system can result in strange displays on your screen. You may have multiple desktop windows or portions of your desktop. If you come across something like this, check the setting of your resolution by right clicking on your desktop and choosing PROPERTIES from the menu – and then the SETTINGS tab. Be sure your resolution is set to a standard like 640 x 480 – 800 x 600 – 1024 x 768. You should probably not have it set to anything higher.
        You may also find that you cannot change your resolution to anything more than 640 x 480. The slider will move over, but when you apply it, it returns to where it was. We have found that this is because your colors is only set to 256. If you increase your colors, then you can increase your resolution.
        I know that this sounds backwards from how resolution and colors use to work – and I’m not sure when it changed - but I do know that we have found this happening. Melissa Virus Returns in New Form         The Melissa virus is back in the form of two new variants. At this time, it has been reported in other parts of the world – but not the United States at this time. These new variants of the Melissa virus can be caught by anti-virus software employing heuristic scanning methods. It does spread rapidly via e-mail.
        For the Melissa U variant, the subject line will be "pictures". For the Melissa V variant, the subject line will be "My Pictures". There will be an infected Word document attached. That is where the virus is. As with the Melissa virus, this one will send itself to the first 40 names in your email address book (if you are using Outlook Express – it doesn’t seem to do it on Netscape’s mail program). Internet Café         We recently learn that Orange City has an Internet Café. Their web page is http://www.dot-cafe.com. It is located in the Royal Oaks Professional Centre (which is the newly renovated shopping center behind Crafts N’ Stuff and across from Jade Gardens restaurant on 17-92).
        They have coffee, bagels, sandwiches and snacks --- and computers to use. On their computers, you have the ability to write your files to a CD – send your printout to a color laser printer – use their scanner – and they also offer training. Check their web site out to find their prices and services.