Using merge fields on labels in Labels by Zaweba

Every address label in a batch shares one design but carries different words. Merge fields are how Labels by Zaweba does that. You type a field name in curly brackets, such as {Name} or {Company}, into a text item on the label, and when the labels are printed each one is filled from a different contact.

You don't need a mail merge wizard or a separate data file. The address book is already in the app, and the fields match its columns directly.

The fields you can use

The fields follow the contact record: {Name}, {Company}, {Address1} through to {Country} for the street lines, town, county, postcode and country one at a time, plus {Phone}, {Email} and {Notes}.

One field is special. {Address} stands for the whole postal address, from the street lines through to the country, with any blank lines left out. For most address labels it is the only address field you need.

The starter design uses exactly that: {Name}, {Company}, {Address}. Many people never change it, because it already produces a properly laid out label for both private and business addresses.

How blank lines are handled

Real address books are uneven. Some contacts have a company and some don't. Some addresses use three street lines, others one. A naive merge leaves gaps where the empty fields were, and a label with a hole in the middle looks careless.

Labels deals with this in two ways. Within {Address}, blank lines are dropped, so a short address closes up neatly. And on the label as a whole, a line whose fields are all blank disappears. If a contact has no company, the {Company} line simply isn't there and the address moves up. The result is that a label for a cousin and a label for a supplier both look tidy from the same design.

That rule also means you can add optional lines freely. A line with just {Notes} on it, for example, only appears on labels for contacts who have a note.

Building your own layout

Merge fields sit inside ordinary text items, so you can mix them with fixed words. A badge might say Hello, my name is above a large {Name}. A parcel label might start with a fixed To and then {Address}. You can put fields on separate text items too, giving the name a bigger, bold font and the address a smaller one.

As you design, sample data appears in the merge fields, so you see a realistic label rather than a row of curly brackets. That makes it much easier to judge sizes. Text can also shrink to fit, down to 5 pt, which helps when one or two contacts have unusually long addresses.

Fields beyond the address book

When you print from a CSV file rather than the address book, every column in the file becomes a field named by its header, alongside the standard fields. A spreadsheet with a column called Table could give you {Table} on a wedding place card, for example. QR code items accept merge fields too, so each label can carry its own link built from a field.

Where field names go wrong

Type field names exactly as listed, with the curly brackets. A misspelt field won't match anything in the contact. Check the sample data on screen: if a field shows as typed rather than filled in, the name is wrong.

Avoid using {Address} and the separate street fields together on one label, or the same lines will appear twice.

Finally, look at the preview before printing a whole group. The live preview shows every sheet exactly as it will print, so a quick scroll through catches the unusual contact, such as one with a very long company name, before it costs you a sheet of labels.