I'm printing hundreds of letters to post in windowed envelopes. What is a good format to collect the addresses in? And how can I feed the address list into OpenOffice or InDesign (or anything else), so that it can feed into my document and print one copy of each?
CSV - comma separated values is a good format because it can be imported to just about anything. You can import a CVS file into open office or microsoft office exell. Its a standard format that just everything will recognize. I remember my wife using microsoft works to print out mailing list. These were the removable sticker type, there were something like 30 addresses per page. But she had a list of about 200 people, and used works to get the job done. I think was for my step-daughters wedding, when they were sending out the invitations. I know open office has a type of address list, but I dont know how good it works for printing out addresses for envelopes.
Hi there, Kev is correct the best way to merge the data is via a CSV or connect via a database. I work as a data manager for a mailing house in the UK and we do this everyday. If you would like I can get the mailing set up for you with your data to fit your window pos etc either in MS Word or indesign. PM if you would like me to help on this, or MSN me.
Thanks for the replies everyone. I eventually got it working. I made my list in OpenOffice, exported it as a CSV, then imported it using data merge into InDesign. For anyone looking to do something similar, here's a good tutorial on how to do it with InDesign: http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/indesign/articles/indcs2at_datamerge.html