Navigation:  Mail merge > Viewing test records in the text

Write usually displays database fields inserted into the text in the form of the field name in curly braces – for example:

{Name}

To see how the mail merge document will actually look when printed, you can instruct Write to display the field contents from any record in the database instead of the field names. The prerequisite is that a database has already been assigned to the document with the ribbon command Mailings | Select database | Use existing database.

Once this has been done, turn to the command group Record on the ribbon tab Mailings (see figure below): Here, enable the option Show merge record to display the field contents of the records.

Important: Make sure that the Field names button in the group Fields is not enabled (the enabled option is indicated by the darker gray of the button). This option is responsible for switching between showing only the field names or showing the field contents.

Using the command group "Record" for mail merges

The display of test records can be conveniently controlled using the input field on the ribbon tab Mailings| group Record.

After you have selected the Show merge record checkbox, you can use the input field below it as follows:

▪Click on the left or right arrows to scroll from record to record. (If you only want to scroll between the selected records, use the inner arrows.)

▪Alternatively, enter the number of the record to be displayed in the input field and press Enter↵.

▪If you want to see the field names again instead of the test record, disable the option Show merge record by deselecting it.

Note: The settings you have enabled here are also applied directly to the View tab of the dialog box File | Properties. The display of data records and field names can also be set here.

Tip: If you now choose the command Mailings (or File) | group Print | Print merge, mail merges are still printed with all selected data records. If you choose the command File | Print, on the other hand, Write prints only one letter with the address you selected above.

To select certain records for the mail merge, open the database module with the ribbon command Mailings | group Recipients | Select recipients. For more information, see Selecting records for a mail merge.