Bullets & Numbering

Can I use bullets and numbering in my mail merge?

This article describes how to use bullets and numbering when merging to letters from Google Docs.

Applicable to only Google Docs

General

NOTE: The information below is applicable to merging to letters only as the issues discussed do not affect merging to emails.

When using bullets or numbering, it is best if you merge to letters using multiple documents. From the Mail Merge sidebar, click on Options, select Multiple Documents from the Merge Letters Into drop-down menu (highlighted red in the screenshot below), then click on Save to apply the changes.

To print multiple documents at once, refer to this article.

If you need to merge all rows into a single document, you might have to implement some workarounds as mentioned in sections below.

Bullets

Bullets within a table are not supported.

In the body of the letter template, only the first bullet type (highlighted red in the screenshot below) is supported. If any of the other five bullet types are used, they display as a solid disc.

As a workaround, you can insert special characters instead of bullets. Click on Insert > Special Characters, and then click on a special character to insert.

You can choose from hundreds of symbols. Some of those most similar to bullets are listed under Geometric Shapes (examples highlighted red in the screenshot below).

Numbering

Formatting is not preserved for paragraphs with automatic numbering.

As a workaround, you can create a table with two columns and as many rows you require by clicking on Insert > Table.

In the first column, insert your numbers. In the second column, insert your formatted text.

You can then remove the table border by right-clicking on the table, clicking on Table Properties and setting the Table Border to 0pt (highlighted red in the screenshot below).

Report abuse