Create labels in your Word Merge report template to fit commercial formats
Creating labels to fit specific commercial formats involves some extra steps in Word. These instructions are for the latest version of Word (Word 365) but should be similar for earlier versions.
Steps
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Follow the steps in Part 1 of Create a Word Merge report template, making sure that you select Labels at step 5.
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When you have reached Part 2, and you have Word open, go to the Mailing tab, click Start Mail Merge and select Labels.
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In Label Options, select your Label Vendor (for example, Avery), and the code for your labels, then click OK.
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Let Word remove the contents of the file — the page will appear blank. If you can't see the outline of your labels, you can go to the Table Layout tab and click View Gridlines.
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Go back to the Mailing tab, click in the first label (at the top left), and click Insert Merge Field. Select and insert your merge fields and click Close.
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Format the label as required. Once you have the first label set up, click Update Labels.
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Produce your report to check the formatting. Go to the View tab, click on Macros, then View Macros, then select VSL_Produce_Report and click Run.
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If you need to change anything, go back to the template document (which will still be open in the background), edit it and produce it again.
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Once you are happy with the template you can save it. See Part 3 of Create a Word Merge report template.
Tip: Print your first few attempts on plain paper and compare how they line up with your actual labels — some printers might require you to adjust margins slightly.
Tip: Turn Autosave off in Word while you prepare the template. If Word autosaves during the process of editing your template, it will delete the Vernon data which is being held in memory, and Word will no longer recognise it as a merge template. Once you have saved the template, you can turn Autosave on again.
