The main document is your starting document. You set it up to be the same size and shape that you want the final letters, e-mail messages, envelopes, labels, coupons or other documents to be.
In the main document, you add all the information that will be same in every copy. For example, in an envelope main document, you might type your return address. Or, in a form letter main document, you might insert a company logo and type the message you want all recipients to read.
You also add placeholders to the main document. Placeholders indicate where the unique information will appear and what it will be. For example, you'd add a placeholder for delivery addresses to an envelope main document. Or, you might add a placeholder for first name after "Dear" in a form letter main document.
Tip You can also use mail merge to create directories, such as lists of all of your customers, employees, or products. Unlike labels, envelopes, and other documents you create with mail merge, where each set of unique information appears in a separate document, a directory creates one entry for each set of unique information in a single document.
