«Next Record» Rule
How to mail merge multiple rows from Google Sheets into a single page for letters and emails using Mail Merge add-on without the Next Record rule?
Mail Merge add-on does not support the Next Record rule provided by Microsoft Word. This article provides two solutions for two common problems to mail merge multiple rows from Google Sheets into a single page using Mail Merge add-on where the Next Record rule could be used.
Problem 1
A school secretary creates a spreadsheet containing students' grades across a number of subjects. Each grade is listed in a separate row (see screenshot below). To send a student all of their grades, multiple rows need to be merged into a single page for a letter or an email using Mail Merge add-on.
Mutiple rows of data for same student
How it is accomplished in Microsoft Word using «Next Record» Rule
Solution 1
A solution is to have one row containing all the data that is to be mail merged into a single page. The school secretary creates one row for each student and lists each grade in a separate column, rather than in a separate row.
This solution reduces the Google sheet file size and the time required for data maintenance.
Problem 2
By default, when merging to letters, a new page is started for every row to be merged. If the document template is short, this could result in wasted paper, especially If many rows need to be merged.
A school secretary wants to create report cards for students, but each report card does not require a full page, instead two or more report cards could fit in a single page.
How it is accomplished in Microsoft Word using «Next Record» Rule
Solution 2
A solution is to repeat a Google Docs template multiple times in a single page, as demonstrated in this article.