Mail merge with LibreOffice Writer - Solved

[Topher]

That should help. I'll try it tonight. Thank you

[Topher]

I tried different ways to make this work for me, but ran into some issues.
1. I didn't see any way to change the size of the name & address space, though after thinking about it, I can probably place it so the white space is on the top and the address is on the bottom of the outline. And there wouldn't be such a large clunky looking gap between the address and the body of the letter.
2. When I added numbers to the letter, the thousands separator did not show up, just the number.
3. I tried to skip the name & address block and just add the data into the body of the letter. I could choose the spreadsheet, but the spreadsheet data did not show at all, it just showed a white space where the data should be.

[CharlesV]

I tried different ways to make this work for me, but ran into some issues.
1. I didn't see any way to change the size of the name & address space, though after thinking about it, I can probably place it so the white space is on the top and the address is on the bottom of the outline. And there wouldn't be such a large clunky looking gap between the address and the body of the letter.
2. When I added numbers to the letter, the thousands separator did not show up, just the number.
3. I tried to skip the name & address block and just add the data into the body of the letter. I could choose the spreadsheet, but the spreadsheet data did not show at all, it just showed a white space where the data should be.

Can you show some pix of your letter, with fields for the data in the spreadsheet?
( you can PM me if you dont want to show it in forum )

Attached is a zip file with 3 files in it. The Mail merge main file, the ods data and then the resulting output file. If you open Wirter_Mail_Merge_Example.odt and make sure the Mail Merge Toolbar is open and then click on the Data Sources, you should see the table, and clicking on the merge arrows should show the data in the letter.

The output_file.odt file is the result of clicking on the Save merged documents button and choosing to Save as a single file.

I will look at number formatting in a merge.

[CharlesV]

2. When I added numbers to the letter, the thousands separator did not show up, just the number.

In order to format a number field you have to:
1) Make sure the field in the ods is numeric, and then
2) Change the formatting in the document .
- Right click on the number field in your letter, and click on edit Fields
- Change the Radio Button on Format. Select User Defined, change the format to the format you want and then click Ok

[Topher]

I didn't know it was possible to edit a field. I can use mail merge now for some things that I used glabels for.
It would be nice if I could use it without the name address block it seems to want to insist on being there. Just skip that part and add data into the body of the letter.
Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.

[CharlesV]

I didn't know it was possible to edit a field. I can use mail merge now for some things that I used glabels for.
It would be nice if I could use it without the name address block it seems to want to insist on being there. Just skip that part and add data into the body of the letter.
Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.

Your very welcome. And no, you do not have to use that address block, you can just use straight from the data and in any location in the letter that you want. ( You just cant use the mail merge wizard... it has to be done "manually" )

[Topher]

And no, you do not have to use that address block, you can just use straight from the data and in any location in the letter that you want. ( You just cant use the mail merge wizard... it has to be done "manually" )

OK, I'll bite. How do you do it manually? I assume you don't mean to enter the information into each letter manually, but there is a way to do it automagically.

[CharlesV]

And no, you do not have to use that address block, you can just use straight from the data and in any location in the letter that you want. ( You just cant use the mail merge wizard... it has to be done "manually" )

OK, I'll bite. How do you do it manually? I assume you don't mean to enter the information into each letter manually, but there is a way to do it automagically.

No, there are two methods to doing mail merge in libre. 1) the wizard - which appears to attempt to do an address block. and then 2) Using the Mail Merge buttons on that Mail Merge toolbar.

Using method 2, you can pull in fields from your ods, never using the address block, and then once you have "manually built" the document (ie adding your fields from the ods), then click one of the buttons on the toolbar. (ie Save Merged Documents, Print Merged Documents, or Send Email Messages.)

That is all in that document I linked / attached and it works via method #2 . ("manually" )

[Topher]

I have tried method2 before as it seemed to me that if I could skip the Mail Merge part wanting the name & address block and go right into choosing fields from the spreadsheet then I would be golden. But even though the spreadsheet file I wanted was listed, it would never show the spreadsheet unless I started with Mail Merge. That is why I thought that you had to start with Mail Merge.
If I right click on the spreadsheet, it brings up two choices: Edit Database File - which does nothing and Registered Databases. Clicking on Registered Databases - brings up a popup showing the Bibliography File showing where it is located. And my file that shows: vnd.sun.star.pkg://file:%2F%2F%2home2 - I can't see the rest of the string and can't copy it either. But if I click on EDIT then I can see the whole string and location. And lo and behold it is pointing to the document that I am in, not the spreadsheet, so no wonder there is nothing showing up on the right. So I click on browse to point to the spreadsheet file, but it is only looking for ODF database files and I can't point to the spreadsheet.
Maybe I need to start over but I still would have the problem of pointing to a spreadsheet. Is there something I need to do the register the spreadsheet?

[CharlesV]

You have to connect your data ( Edit | Exchange Database ) and then add the spreadsheet.

Full instructions are in that document I attached.