Mail merge > Assigning a database to a document

Before you insert the fields of a database into a mail merge document, you must tell Write which database you want to use by assigning a database to the document.

You use the ribbon command Mailings | group Recipients | Select database | Use existing database to open the dialog box in which you select the database. Type the file name of the desired database or select a file from the list of databases that are displayed.

The following formats are supported:

File extension	Description
.sqlite or .db	Databases in SQLite format.
*.dbf	Databases in dBASE format.
*.pmdx	Open data from a PlanMaker file as a database
*.xlsx	Open data from an Excel file as a database
.txt or .csv	Open data from a text file as a database.

You determine the file format by selecting the required format from the list of file types in the aforementioned dialog box. Depending on the database format, the program displays another dialog box in which you specify the exact options for the selected database. For more information, see notes in Opening a database.

Note on dBASE: Most dBASE databases are stored in the dBASE/DOS format. Windows database programs also generally use the DOS format instead of the Windows format.

Once you have selected and opened a database, Write knows from which database you want to insert fields, and you can proceed as described in the next section.

Write remembers which database has been assigned to the document as soon as you save it. The next time you open the document, this database will be reassigned to it. Of course, you can assign a different database to the document at any time.

Clearing an assignment

You can undo the assignment by choosing the ribbon command Mailings | group Recipients | Select database | Clear database assignment.

Alternatively: Mailings | group Recipient | Select database | Use existing database in the open file dialog box with the Clear database button.

Displaying the assigned database in the database module

To obtain an overview of the content of your assigned database, you can open the database module via the ribbon command Mailings | group Recipients | Select recipients. For more information about the database module, see Using the database module.

You can exit the database module again by clicking on the Close database icon . Changes to the database are automatically saved.