How to mail merge from Excel or Google Sheets
Save the sheet as a CSV file, then use Tools, Mail merge from a CSV file in Write by Zaweba to make one letter per row as a .docx, a PDF or straight to print.
Save the sheet as a CSV file first, then open your letter in Write by Zaweba and choose Tools, then Mail merge from a CSV file. The columns in the file become the fields you can put in the letter, and Write makes one letter per row, to a merged .docx, a PDF or the printer.
Why CSV is the bridge
Excel and Google Sheets each have their own file formats, but both can save a sheet as CSV: plain text with the values separated by commas. It is the most widely understood way of moving a table of data between programs. Write reads CSV files with commas, semicolons or tabs between values, and copes with quoted values, so names with commas in them stay in one piece.
Getting the CSV out of your spreadsheet
Tidy the sheet first. Put one person per row and give every column a clear heading in the first row, such as Name, Address, Town and Postcode. Those headings become the field names in Write, so keep them short and plain. Remove blank rows and any totals at the bottom.
In Excel, use Save As and pick a CSV type. In Google Sheets, use the download option in the File menu and choose comma-separated values. Either way you get a .csv file containing just the sheet you were looking at, so make sure the right sheet is showing first.
Running the merge
Write the letter in Write, leaving gaps where each person's details should go. Then choose Tools, then Mail merge from a CSV file and pick your .csv. Write reads the column headings and offers them as fields. Put each field in the right place in the letter: the name after Dear, the address lines at the top, and anything else you need, such as a membership number or an amount due.
Choose where the letters go. A merged .docx gives one document with a letter for every row, which you can check and edit before printing. A PDF gives a fixed file to print or keep. Or send them straight to the printer.
Checking before you print a hundred letters
Look at the first few merged letters carefully. Check that every field landed where you meant, that long addresses do not push the letter onto a second page, and that rows with a missing value look all right. A missing town line leaves a gap that is better fixed in the spreadsheet than by hand in each letter.
Print one copy and read it on paper. It is much cheaper to fix the spreadsheet and merge again than to reprint a whole batch.
Starting from a template
Write's templates include a UK letter and a DL envelope. Starting the merge from the UK letter gives you a properly laid out page, and the spell checker uses UK English as standard, so the letter reads right on the doormat.
If your contacts live in Labels by Zaweba
If you keep your addresses in Labels by Zaweba instead of a spreadsheet, Write can merge from that directly. Pick a group in the Labels address book, put fields such as {Name} and {Address} in the letter, and Write makes one letter per contact, with the same choice of .docx, PDF or printer.
Either way, Write by Zaweba turns a list in a spreadsheet into a pile of personal letters without an account, a subscription or a connection to the internet.
