Using Tables and Mail Merge

Aim

• To raise awareness of the wide range of uses of Word tables.
• To develop the skills needed to create tables for a variety of purposes, (including a mail-merge data source).

Prerequisites

• This module assumes a good working knowledge of Word and a reasonable typing speed. A knowledge of Windows and file handling would also be an advantage.

Content

• Functional overview – where can tables be used and what advantage do they offer over other methods, (such as tabs)?
• Drawing a table – how to ‘sketch’ your table with the mouse
• Creating a table – defining column and row requirements, setting table properties and style, creating from existing text
• Making selections in a table – how to select columns, rows, cells or the entire table
• Moving and sizing a table – techniques for adjusting column widths, row heights and table position on the page
• Inserting and deleting – methods of removing unwanted elements and adding new ones
• Splitting and joining – how to split an existing table or cell into two and how to join them back again
• Using gridlines and shading – adding, removing, changing and previewing table gridlines and cell shading
• Long tables – repeating rows in tables which span several pages
• Using calculations within a table – using simple functions to create an automatic invoice
• Mail merge – overview of the basic principles, setting up a merge document, linking to a data source, performing the merge
• Other merge techniques – creating your own data source with a table, selecting specific merge records, merging to an envelope or label, using an Excel data source