How to Create LABELS in Microsoft Word Using Mail Merge | Use Data From Microsoft Excel

Whether you’re mailing holiday cards or sending invitations to a wedding, you need a way to easily create mailing labels. Microsoft Word makes this easy to do, using a mail merge that pulls address information from Microsoft Excel.
In a hands-on demo, I’ll show you how to:
00:00 - Video intro
00:12 - Set up address information in Microsoft Excel
00:49 - Find a mailing label (using Avery 5160 as an example)
01:13 - Create a new label template in Word
02:23 - Select recipient information, pointing to addresses in Excel
03:36 - Insert merge fields
05:10 - Complete the mail merge
If you're having issues with blank lines from missing data, check out this video: • Mail Merge in Microsof...
And if you want to do mail merge on invitations, you might find this helpful: • Mail Merge to Create I...

[@ChaseAHansen]

When inserting merge fields, you can fill in the first field, then click Update Labels, and it will populate all of the other cells so that you do not need to copy paste the rest.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Thank you, Chase! You're 100% correct! Someone else mentioned that in the comments...I'll pin this one to the top so it's easy for people to find. Appreciate the tip!

[@kathrynamberg4151]

⁰

[@HHHfan33]

Thanks!

[@ReginaDeanReed]

Thank you!

[@Allknowingkeith]

thank you, this new "Update Labels" feature had me dumbfounded for two days on why its not populating.

[@ggrossman001]

Two years ago I asked how to associate my Word label file with my updated Excel data set and you provided wonderful instructions. They worked again this year!! THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Oh my goodness...how kind of you to comment TWO YEARS later!!! Thank you so much! 🥰🙏 I'm so glad things are still working.

[@bugaboo71]

By far the best instructional video to get me from an excel list to printed labels...and I didn't waste any sheets of labels!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

I love this!!! Thanks so much, Sarah! Made my day. :)

[@laurellynn8496]

I love your calm voice when teaching. I am about to do peel off type shipping labels by Avery an do team badges for kids day at my job and this is the best refresher…. Stay near as I may need you !!!! Thanks

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Haha! Stay calm...you got this! 🥰 Good luck!!!

[@jessicamcclanahan3332]

Fantastic Job! You gave just enough information without it being convoluted. I was able to follow along and figure it out while using a different version of MW. Thank you!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Yay!! I'm so glad to hear it. Thanks for the nice comment, Jessica! :)

[@dmancina]

Thank you. I watched two confusing videos on this topic and yours was clear, accurate, made sense, and worked. Thank you!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Yay!! I'm so glad it helped. Thanks for watching! 😊🙏🌟

[@mbz9219]

Oh geez! Finally a straightforward, exact tutorial. Huge thanks!! Old dog learns new trick!!😁

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Your comment made my whole day--thanks, MBZ! :)

[@richardthomson29]

This worked perfectly and your instructions were GREAT - Thank you!!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

You're welcome! I'm so glad it helped. Thanks for watching! :)

[@zeda1338]

What an amazing video, Thank you Tiny :) I was struggling for the past week how to label mail merge! My only mistake was not choosing the right label vendor. Your video helped immensely. Thank you :)

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Oh, I'm so glad! Thanks for such a nice comment--it made my day! :)

[@rockymajic2002]

I watched 2-3 videos before this one and could not get it to work. This video finally helped me get there. Thank you.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

That's awesome! I'm so glad it worked for you. Thanks for watching! :)

[@yomar2692]

Thank you so much! This is the best tutorial. I finally did it with this video of yours after trying many times. I got stuck on the label type but after I saw this, finally did it!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Awesome!! I'm so glad it helped! 😊

[@judyholmes1634]

Wonderful clarity of explanation and nicely paced. Thank you.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Oh, thanks so much!! This made my day. 🌟🙏😊

[@carlachirigos1576]

Thank you so much for this excellent tutorial. I would have never figured it out without your step-by-step instruction and demonstration. I do have a Mac and though I was apprehensive your instruction would work, it did! I downloaded the Microsoft template from Avery and opened it in Word and did the merge from my Excel file.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Oh, wonderful! Good to know it works on the Mac...hopefully this will help someone else too! Thanks for watching! 😊

[@08jmichael]

I agree wholeheartedly. Thank you so much for a great tutorial. Great information and pace of delivery! Well done.

[@chandracarrington7566]

Thank you so very much for making a very easy video to follow. I appreciate you so much!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

You are so welcome! Thanks for supporting the channel!! 🥰

[@craigemilycurrier3788]

super quick and helpful, just what I neeed!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Excellent! I'm glad it helped! :)

[@curtmagurt21]

Worked great!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Great to hear! Good luck with the mailing! 💪😊

[@spinningchickenwe]

Wonderful tutorial! Thank you!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

You're very welcome! :)

[@lilitbabayan1885]

Thanks a lot!! Very detailed explanation.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

You're so welcome! Thanks for watching! 🙏😊🌟

[@adricontreras1562]

This has helped me so much. Thank you!!!!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

I'm so glad! Thanks for the nice comment!! :)

[@MariaGarcia-ec3he]

Awesome! Thank you. I had to watch many tutorials before I got to yours. Yours is the only one that made sense! You just made my life a whole lot easier. :) Also, I like your voice, you sound like Jan Levinson from the office.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

You're very welcome! And your comment about my voice made me laugh. I'll have to pay closer attention to Jan's voice next time I watch! :)

[@gregorytobin5754]

Cheers thanks this helped a lot!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Glad it helped! :)

[@davidselby9939]

Super great tutorial. Thanks

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@missrowniii]

Super helpful!!!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

I'm so glad! Thanks for watching!!

[@fongfongfong1978]

Thank you~~😊😊😊

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

You bet! Thanks for watching! 🙏🌟🤓

[@JessicaSterlingPhotography]

Thanks!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Jessica!!! Thank you SO much! Really appreciate the support, and I hope the mailing goes well! 🙏🥰

[@Skyrunner13]

Excellent.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Thank you! Cheers! :)

[@TM-ed9hz]

one of the best online tutorials i've seen. very well done, clear and to the point. i am sending out a mailing for a regional disabled veterans group and our address has up to 5 lines. Would you please share what do I need to do in the setup to accommodate 5 lines with avery 5160 labels.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Hi TM! 👋 Thanks for such a nice comment, and sorry for the slow response! If you're still needing help, probably the best thing to do is decrease the font size to fit all five lines. You could also try adjusting the line spacing just a little bit (from the Home tab, then the Paragraph section). Hope this helps, and thanks for sending out such an important mailing! 🥰

[@seantom1672]

Thank you

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

You bet! Thanks for watching! 😊

[@kanikahunter4549]

thank youUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!🥳

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

You're very welcome!! 😊🙌

[@kerifoerster]

I really like your explanation. super easy to follow. I need help with my address labels when I pulled data from excell it used one sheet filled with one record

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Glad it helped! 😊 Hmmm...I haven't had this issue before, but I'd suggest a couple things: -Make sure you're doing the actual merge instead of just looking at the merge preview. The preview can sometimes do weird things. -Check that your "next record" merge field is properly placed at the top of each label. These should get inserted automatically with the mail merge wizard, but it almost sounds like they might be missing? And here's a link that might be helpful...seems to describe a similar issue: answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/problem-w-mail-merge-label-mailing-list-the-next/d200c722-b551-4139-918b-6172d4e41ba0 Hope that helps! Good luck! 💪🤓

[@beckyleovich2313]

Thank you! Thank you! I go through this trouble every Christmas time when I have to make labels for work! I get so aggravated about it. I had been through at least six videos trying to find this help. Most were folks from across the pond. Then I didn't have the options they had on their dropdown list. Ugh. I was not happy and wasted a lot of time! Yours is the very first easy to follow and had all the same options I had on excel on my Macbook Pro. Yay! I was having issue with my options under "Insert Merge Fields". I don't know why they wouldn't show up but, they finally did and my list of 300+ labels are done. Thank you! One question: I thought that excel/word would automatically fill in the whole sheet of the requested fields. Is this no longer an option? I had to manually add them just like you did. Thankfully, we only have to do that on this one sheet and not all ten of them! Thanks again for a great help! Take care.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Hi Becky! Your comment made my whole day--THANK YOU!!! I'm so glad you found it helpful! :) I think for labels, you've always had to manually fill in all the cells on the first page (for letters and envelopes, you only have to do a single address). I agree it's a bit tedious, but you're right...at least it's only one page! Hope everyone loves their Christmas cards (with labels)!!!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Becky - In a comment from today, Dubbe Moulder Architects pointed out that at 4:45, to avoid entering all field names manually, you can click "Update Labels" on the ribbon. I just started a new merge from scratch, and it works (it's grayed out if I open an existing template)! Learn something new every day!! :)

[@hendersonjohnson3750]

Thanks for the tutorial. You made me look good. My wife said, how did you do that. I answered KZbin videos.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Haha! This made my day!! :) Thanks for the comment, Henderson, and welcome to the channel!

[@user-gp2ek8fs7q]

You can select the "address block" and update the name and address all at once rather than individually with insert merge field.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Nice! Thanks for the tip, Jen! 🙏

[@chrisbrantley_]

Great tutorial! It really helped a lot. Thank you for this. Have a question for ya. My Excel list contains individuals with and without businesses. What do I do to keep the merge from leaving a blank line under the individuals' names WITHOUT a business on the labels? Right now I'm having to manually go in and delete the line (after the merge) from the label, which takes up too much time. Any suggestions? Thank you, in advance!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Hi blueroxy427! Thanks for the comment--so glad you enjoyed the video! :) Word used to have an easy way to suppress empty fields, but it seems that has gone away in more recent versions. But there are a couple options to accomplish what you need. 1) The easiest would be to use Find/Replace to remove the extra line in your final merged document (vs. doing each one manually). If you show paragraph marks (Home tab, in the Paragraph section, it's the paragraph marker button), you should see one paragraph marker on your blank line, and then one at the end of the line above it (I'm guessing after the last name?). So you basically need to search for any place where there are two paragraph markers together. Press Ctrl+H to bring up the Find/Replace dialogue. In "Find what," enter ^p^p (^p is the symbol for a paragraph marker, and you need to find two together). In "Replace with," enter ^p (a single paragraph marker). This should replace any extra lines. 2) The second option is to update the merge field itself, but it's harder to explain since I can't show paragraph marker symbols or screenshots here in KZbin comments. I found instructions here that might help (see the final post): answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/mail-merge-how-to-suppress-blank-lines/2039a43b-9c84-4423-abf2-3213043ae4b3. This works, but is a little harder to understand in my opinion. If you have troubles with these instructions, let me know and maybe I can post a short video for you.

[@chrisbrantley_]

@@TinyTechnicalTutorials Thank you! You're correct, #1 is the easiest by far. I did try option #2 and though I followed the instructions that both gentlemen shared, neither worked for me. Possibly because those examples were from 2015 and I'm currently using Office 365? Looks like I would definitely benefit from a tutorial from Tiny Technical. 🙂 Thank you again! Keep up the great work!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

blueroxy427 - You got it! I'm working on a couple other videos this weekend, and it would be no problem to do a short one for this. I'm sure you aren't the only one who will need it! :)

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

@blueroxy427 - Here's that video! kzbin.info/www/bejne/boDRnYiEfqd0ors Hope it works for you!

[@dubbemoulderarchitects8012]

Helpful, thank you. But at 4:45, to avoid entering all field names manually, you can click "Update Labels" on the ribbon.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Dubbe Moulder Architects - Oh my goodness, THANK YOU!! When I've noticed this button, it's always grayed out for me, but I just started a new merge from scratch and sure enough--fills in everything automatically! How easy! Someone else actually asked about that here in the comments so I'll pass along the tip, and see if I can overlay a note on the video here on KZbin. Thanks again!

[@dubbemoulderarchitects8012]

@@TinyTechnicalTutorials Glad that was helpful!

[@nicolephillips2312]

Oh my goodness, thank you!!!! I was thinking man that doesn't seem right to have to hit every label... that defeats the whole purpose of mail merge!! I have a thousand entries to fill out!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Yes, a life-saving tip! :)

[@carlachirigos1576]

If I want the Font larger do I (1) edit the size of Font on the Excel Spreadsheet (2) edit the size font on the MS Word Template (globally or each individual entry)? I'm afraid to tinker with the merged file so I am thinking I need to create a new template. What do you recommend?

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Hi Carla! 😊 You can edit the font size in either the MS Word template (which will carry over to the merged file) or in the merged file itself. But you probably can't increase it too much or else the text will be too large for the labels. If you need something a lot larger, you'll probably want to find a new label template.

[@MarcWNY]

I liked your simplified video. I would like to know how to reduce the space size between the Name/ Address/ City-St-Zip. Thanks

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Hi MarcWNY! Sure thing. It's a little hard to describe here in text, so I grabbed a few screenshots and uploaded them on a slide for you here: docs.google.com/presentation/d/1uwfMv9zplGgMINWF92ATVSoCOme1Bxr6U0LdcEXlgLs/edit?usp=sharing. Hope that helps! :)

[@MarcWNY]

@@TinyTechnicalTutorials Thank You! :D

[@MarcWNY]

@@TinyTechnicalTutorials I also need help with lowering the address information in all the label fields to better center the addresses. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Hi again, MarcWNY! To lower the address information, you'll want to play with the "Before" setting in the paragraph settings (from the screenshots). Select the address line, then increase the "Before" number to something higher. That should push the address line down. Unfortunately, you'll have to do this one label at a time (if you select all labels, it will push all lines down on all labels, which I don't think you want).

[@MarcWNY]

@@TinyTechnicalTutorials thank you again for all your extra time and help. 👍🏻

[@amaliagrumanlaird7296]

Is there a big issue with having the first and last names in one column? We are pulling data from software and we can only pull out reports with the last name first and then first name in one column.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Hi Amalia! 👋 No, that should be fine. When you set up the merge template, rather than inserting 2 merge fields for first name and last name, just select the one column (whatever that's called in your data source). Shouldn't be a problem! 👍

[@ashleycollinsworth9458]

Any tips on how to still go back to use or add more addresses to the labels left blank? They are left over on the last page?

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Hi Ashley! When I have extra labels, I try to re-use them the next time I do a mailing. But it's a little tricky as far as the printing goes (getting them to start printing at the correct spot on the correct side of the labels). I usually take a blank piece of paper and pencil in roughly where the labels are, then feed it through the printer to see if it prints in the right place. It always takes me multiple tries. :) I suppose you could also use the extra labels for arts-and-craft projects, handwriting on them? As far as the document itself and the merge, I don't know of an easy trick there. I usually just copy/paste/delete the cells I need/don't need so that they match up with the physical labels I have left. Not sure if any of that helps? Let me know what you come up with!

[@hollyhimes6485]

My document is only generating one page of Labels. How do I get it to print all the names from the excel spreadsheet? there is no way I can see to insert sheet. Seems like it should just merge all the names on Excel sheet into the word document labels.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Hi Holly! 👋 It *should* merge all names, onto however many pages you need. If you're just previewing the data, it will only show one page, but if you "Finish & Merge," it should create multiple pages. You're sure you're not stuck in preview mode somehow?

[@robertconroy8686]

Thanks for the video very good. I am doing this on a Mac. The only problem I have is I cannot specify a range from my address source file. I can only pull data from the entire spreadsheet or nothing. Any tips on what to enter into the dialog box when it asked for cell range? By default the field has "ENTIRE Wookbook" filled in.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Hi Robert! Thanks for watching! 😊 I don't have a Mac myself so I've done a bit of Googling for what that dialog looks like. I'm finding very little! I found a video here: www.avery.com/help/article/word-for-mac-mail-merge-import-spreadsheet-or-apple-contacts. The first video on that page, at 02:29, on the ribbon, there are two text boxes just to the left of the red circle (with a "to" in-between them). Is that what you get in a dialog? This video doesn't talk about what to do there, but I'm guessing you could do something like "1" to "100" to only merge the first 100 records (or whatever you want to merge)? If that doesn't work, you might just have to create a spreadsheet with only the records you want, then merge the whole thing. Not sure if that helps?

[@robertconroy8686]

@@TinyTechnicalTutorials Thank you very much for this link, I will look at it as soon as I can. LOL--the joys of Mac ownership. Mac version office programs I find are not as good as their PC counterparts---thanks again.

[@ggrossman001]

I have done this before a few years ago. How to I associate my Word label file with an updated Excel data set (same column names)?

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Hi Georgette! You should be able to re-use your original Word doc. On the top ribbon, just go to Mailings-->Select Recipients-->Use an Existing List, and then browse to the updated Excel file. If all your column names are the same, you shouldn't need to insert them again in Word. Just click "Finish & Merge" in Word and everything should get pulled over from the updated Excel data set. Let me know if it works!

[@ggrossman001]

@@TinyTechnicalTutorials EXCELLENT... it works! Thanks for the quick reply.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Yay--I'm so glad!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

What other Word features do you want to learn about? Comment below!

[@kel8129]

Will those symbols stay on there? It looked like the P symbol remained. Thank you.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Hi K EL! I think you're talking about the paragraph marker for new lines? No, you can turn those off if you don't want to see them (Home tab, then in the Paragraph section, click the button to "Show/Hide" that symbol). And they don't print either, so no worries there. :)

[@kel8129]

@@TinyTechnicalTutorials thank you!

[@ferroherre9906]

2:07 for me after I press ok it doesn't show the outlines for the labels. How do I make them appear. you know what I mean?

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Hi Ferro! You probably need to turn on the "show/hide formatting" button. If you go to your Home tab, the button is about halfway over on the ribbon, in the "Paragraph" section (a carriage return/new line character). (It looks like the same as the single character shown in the document at 01:15 in the video). You can also use the shortcut of (Ctrl+*). Once you turn that on, it should show you the outline for the table. Hope this helps! :)

[@clarestokolosa]

For some reason I can only print the first page and the other oages of labels print blank?! Any suggestions?

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Hey @CSART! Gosh, I really have no idea. That's super bizarre. When my printer is behaving strangely, I usually try uninstalling/reinstalling it from my computer, which works about half the time. And/or maybe it's time for a printer driver update? Let me know what you come up with!

[@clarestokolosa]

@@TinyTechnicalTutorials thank i will try.

[@michaelolson9881]

thanks, very concise but.... for some reason my merge isn't filling in the P in "PO box" or in another case 525 S. 4th St #100, it is only printing St#100 the other thing is my printer is ejecting 4 sheets before printing the labels... Grrr.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Thanks for the comment, Michael! Hmmm...the only thing I can think of is there might be an issue with the data itself in Excel? For example, if the "4th" originally came from Word, maybe it had the "th" in superscript, then it got copied into Excel, and the superscript didn't translate so it there's a weird character there now? Just a guess...I haven't personally come across this issue. Not sure what the "P" in "PO box" issue could possibly be. Maybe try adding a new row in Excel, manually type the address info, merge again and see if that solves it? And I'm equally clueless about the 4 sheets of labels. Let me know if you're able to solve things...I'm curious now!

[@michaelolson9881]

@@TinyTechnicalTutorials I built the db myself, entered all the data. Perhaps is I widen the colum it will print the P?

[@winniemahajan8921]

If I’m printing it on Horse labels it goes up & down

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Hi Winnie! I'm not sure I follow...Horse labels?

[@jasonskindell9578]

and what if the previews show all the correct info but your labels come out with no names in every box?

[@jasonskindell9578]

cause thats what happened

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Hey Jason! I've had that happen a few times with my printer over the years, but I have no idea why. Sometimes restarting the printer helps, but other times I've had to uninstall/reinstall it from my printer settings. If you have luck with that, feel free to post an update here...it might help someone else too! 😊

[@onedecibel2lo]

Great video, but how do I create an address database in Excell?

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Hi @onedecibel2lo! 😊 Maybe this will help get you started? www.exceldemy.com/create-a-contact-list-in-excel/

[@onedecibel2lo]

@@TinyTechnicalTutorials Thank you! I'll check it out!

[@michaelolson9881]

I am getting all the fields on different lines.... what is going on?

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Are you able to delete the new line/paragraph marker in-between the fields?

[@michaelolson9881]

@@TinyTechnicalTutorialsit turned out to be the wrong label size.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Thanks for the update! Good to know. 👍

[@eileenodonoghue1789]

What if they are international and you need 4 lines?

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Hi Eileen! Hmmm, great question. You could try reducing the font size and squeezing in a fourth line. Not sure how readable the labels would be, though. The other option would be to go with a larger label size (and then pick that brand/size in the setup of the labels). I haven't done a ton of research into other sizes, but maybe something like this would give you the space you need? www.amazon.com/Avery-Shipping-Printers-Permanent-TrueBlock/dp/B00004Z6LV/ref=sr_1_10

[@eileenodonoghue1789]

@@TinyTechnicalTutorials thanks. I solved it by using an Avery template!! All 4 fit as they did in my old program!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Oh great! I'm glad you were able to figure it out. And thanks for looping back with your solution...this might help someone else in the future. Cheers! :)

[@eddpedro477]

How can you print out 4 lines?

[@eddpedro477]

Company name, Contact name, Street address, City, State & zip. i have been able to do it over the last 5 plus years, but this year it only shows 3 lines?

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Hi Edd! Any chance you were using a different label template in the past? If memory serves, I think this Avery 5160 template has always been three lines? You could always try shrinking the font size to fit a fourth line if you wanted to keep this Avery template.

[@eddpedro477]

@@TinyTechnicalTutorials Thanks so much for the reply, yes I have always used the avery 5160 labels, I'll try shrinking the font!

[@gerardnorton1740]

Hey Tiny, you do realize that the very first address in your merge is incredibly racist, don't you? Blue Gum = N-word. Specifically describing dark skinned blacks.

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Thanks for letting me know, Gerard.

[@marcomartinez8623]

Great job except when you have 3000 mailing labels to print the cutting and pasting doesn't work. @ChaseAHansen wrote to just click the 'Update Labels' option and no cutting and pasting is needed. I took his advice and IT WORKS!!!! Thank you Chase!

[@TinyTechnicalTutorials]

Yay! I'm glad you found that comment. I didn't know that trick either at the time I made the video! I'm actually going to go pin it to the top for others. Thanks for watching! 😊