Why Does "Next Record" Show Up in Microsoft Word Mail Merge Instead of My Address?

After the label stock is configured and you've selected the spreadsheet you want used in Word's Mail Merge feature, a template of labels will be created with the words "Next Record" in all but the first cell. The primary purpose of the "Next Record" field is to direct Word to merge subsequent data -- in other words, the next name and address on the spreadsheet -- into the following label instead of starting a new sheet of labels with each listing.

Completing the Configuration

Ignore the cells with the "Next Record" label and focus only on formatting the first cell, which tells Word how to format the rest of the labels. Click the "Address Block" button, then enable "Match Fields" so data is identified in Word by the headers on your spreadsheet. Follow the prompts to choose which of those data fields you want pulled for the labels and click "OK." Additional formatting -- like font modifications or logo insertion -- can then be established using the placeholders in the first cell.

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