Microsoft Word 2003

Working with Envelopes

This document illustrates how to work with envelopes and build awareness of some special issues related to printing envelopes.

Things to Consider
Selecting Envelope Size
Generating Envelopes

Things to Consider

Computer-printed envelopes can be used to help you convey a professional image with your correspondences. Word offers two ways to create envelopes:

Creating an envelope for each address
This may be helpful when you want to print envelopes for mailing but the names are not already typed into Microsoft Word.
Creating custom envelopes using Mail Merge
This allows you to print unique envelopes based on a mailing list. This is especially helpful if you already have the names in a Microsoft Word data file.

Purchasing Your Envelopes

Envelopes are available in a variety of sizes. The most popular size for business correspondence is the Number 10 envelope (4 1/8 X 9 1/2 ). Word also supports several other envelope sizes and provides the option to specify your own envelope size.

Tips for Printing Your Envelopes

Generally, envelopes are inserted into your printer using the manual feed. However, refer to your printer documentation, if available, for specific instructions. Instructions or guidelines may also appear on the printer itself.

Selecting Envelope Size

The Envelopes and Labels dialog box is a large part of creating envelopes and will be used often. If you wish, a button can be added to your toolbar, allowing faster access to the Envelopes and Labels dialog box. For instructions on how to add the button to your toolbar, refer to Additional Options for Creating Envelopes.

Pre-defined Envelope Sizes

Microsoft Word offers many pre-defined envelope sizes for you to choose from. A frequent choice is the Number 10 envelope (4 1/8 X 9 1/2 ), which is the standard business size. When creating envelopes, always verify, from the Envelopes and Labels dialog box, that the envelope size is the one you want.

From the Tools menu, select Letters and Mailings » Envelopes and Labels...
The Envelopes and Labels dialog box appears.
Select the Envelopes tab
Click OPTIONS...
The Envelope Options dialog box appears.
From the Envelope size pull-down list, select the correct size for the envelope you will be using
NOTE: If the size you will be using is not listed, refer to Custom Envelope Sizes.
Click OK
You return to the Envelopes and Labels dialog box.
Continue with Generating Envelopes

Custom Envelope Sizes

From the Tools menu, select Letters and Mailings » Envelopes and Labels...
The Envelopes and Labels dialog box appears.
Select the Envelopes tab
Click OPTIONS...
From the Envelope size pull-down list, select Custom size...
The Envelope size dialog box appears.
In the Width text box, type, or use the nudge buttons, for the desired dimension
In the Height text box, type, or use the nudge buttons, for the desired dimension
Click OK
This returns you to the Envelope Options dialog box.
Click OK
This returns you to the Envelopes and Labels dialog box.
Continue with Generating Envelopes

Generating Envelopes

The Envelopes and Labels feature can be used to easily generate envelopes. With the Envelopes and Labels feature, you can specify the size of the envelope, the return address (if any), and the address for the envelope. The formatting of the envelope can be adjusted in the Envelope Options dialog box. For instruction on formatting envelopes, refer to Using Envelope Options.

Generating a Single Envelope: Directly to the Printer

From the Tools menu, select Letters and Mailings » Envelopes and Labels...
The Envelopes and Labels dialog box will appear.
Select the Envelopes tab
NOTE: If the envelope that you are using is not selected, refer to Selecting Envelope Size.
In the Delivery address scroll box, type the address for the person the envelope will be going to
In the Return address scroll box, type or verify the return address
If it is not correct, make the appropriate changes.
NOTE: You will have the option to save your current return address as the default return address upon printing or adding the address to your document.
OPTIONAL: If you do not want a return address, select Omit
Insert your envelope into the printer based on your printer's requirements
Click PRINT
NOTE: Depending on your printer, you may be prompted to manually feed the envelopes.

Generating a Single Envelope: As Part of a Word Document

Open the Word document that will contain the envelope
If the address is already typed, select the information
From the Tools menu, select Letters and Mailings » Envelopes and Labels...
The Envelopes and Labels dialog box will appear.
Select the Envelopes tab
NOTE: If the envelope size that you are using is not selected, refer to Selecting Envelope Size.
Verify that the correct addresses appear in the Delivery address and Return address scroll boxes
Click ADD TO DOCUMENT
Your envelope appears on the screen. It is now a separate section at the beginning of the document from which it was created.
To print,
1. Place your insertion point within the envelope
2. From the File menu, select Print...
3. To print only your envelope, in the Print dialog box, from the Page Range options, select Current page
  The default setting in Page Range option is All and will print both your envelope and the document associated with it.
4. Insert your envelope into the printer based on your printer's requirements
5. Click OK

Creating Envelopes Using Mail Merge

Another way to generate envelopes using Microsoft Word is by using mail merge. Mail merge allows you to set up one mailing envelope (your starting document). Using data from a table or external database, you can print one envelope with different information for each record in the database or table. For information on setting up and performing mail merges, refer to Mail Merge: Creating Merged Envelopes.

Additional Options

Microsoft Word offers additional options for working with envelopes. To access this information, refer to Additional Options for Creating Envelopes.