Department of Technology

TECH 394 - Tech Computer Applications

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Word Tables

One feature of Word that is not well documented is tables. Although you can use them to display data inrows and columns, like a spreadsheet, I often use them to lay out text in unique ways, as in the example Word document, Resume Upgrade.doc.

I often want to set out text on a page with some on the right, and some on the left.  I've tried using tabs, but if the font is non-proportional, they get screwed up. You can control this by inserting a table.  

• From the menu bar - selecting Table, Insert Table brings up a box that lets you set the size of the table
  
  
• The Inset Table button lets you drag open as large a table as you like.

You can drag the boundaries of the table cells to any width you like.  Be careful not to select any cells before dragging, or you will change the size of the selected cells only.

You can turn the boundary lines of or change their appearance to fit your needs.  With the boundaries turned off, the words appear formatted on the screen with no evidence you've used a table.

Other table features to explore:

• Formatting
• Formulas
• Cell height and width
• Position of text in a cell
• Position of the table on the page

Mail Merge

Mail merge is a feature that lets you create a single document, and automatically update data in the document from a list of information.  For example, you can write a letter and mail merge in the correct name and address for each person on the list.

To do mail merge, you need two things:

• A data table.  This can be a table created in Word, an Excel spreadsheet, or an Access table.  In each case,
  • Each row represents one record - Word will create one copy of the document for each record. 
  • Each column represents another piece of data that might be included in the document - Name, address, etc.
  • The first row must contain the name for each field.  If not, Word will ignore the data in the first row and use what it finds for field names!
• A form letter - a document that would be complete if Word entered the right data in the right places
  • Any information that should appear on all copies of the document should appear on the form, including spaces, punctuation, etc.
  • Where you would normally insert data that is included in the table, you must insert a Merge Field.

You start the process by creating the data table using a Word table, or Excel or Access.  Next, you write the form letter, entering dummy data where you intend to add merge fields.  Then select Tools, Mail Merge from the menu. The window that appears allows you to select Create a main document. 

You will then be asked whether you want to make the existing document into a form, or start with a blank document. 

If you've already started to lay out the letter, choose Active Window.  finally, it asks you to Get Data.  You will then be prompted to browse for the file containing the data. (You can also create a table at this point, but for most projects, its much easier to create the table first.)

The third button lets you merge the data with the form.  You can also choose to close the window, and merge from the Word screen. You can see what the document looks like by selecting the View Merged Data Button on the merge toolbar.

To develop more complex forms, you may want to incorporate Word Fields, that let you include If-Then-Else logic in the merge.

Two sample files, Sample Merge Table.xls and Sample Merge Letter.doc are provided for practice.  Save these to a floppy for practice.

Note that the Merge process links the form letter and data files. If you create the merge with the data in your "T" drive folder, and then move the files to a floppy or zip disk, Word will try to find the data on the "T" drive. If it finds it, it will ignore whatever data is on the floppy, and will use the file in "T". If no data is available there, it will give you an error message, and ask you if you want to browse to find the data file.