WPS Writer is one the best free alternatives to Microsoft Word. It has lots of features related to correspondence, including mail merge which you can use to create personalized mass letters. Compared to other word processors like Microsoft Word and LibreOffice Writer, the use of mail merge feature on WPS Writer tend to easier.

WPS Writer itself uses ET format as the data source. ET is the default format of spreadsheet file created with WPS Spreadsheet. In other word, you can use WPS Spreadsheet to create the spreadsheet file to collect the data you will use on your letter, like name, address, company and so on.

Follow the steps below to create personalized mass letters on WPS Writer.

Create the data source using WPS Spreadsheet

To create a personalized mass letters on WPS Writer, the first thing you need to do is preparing the data you want to use on your letter in a spreadsheet file. You can create the spreadsheet file using WPS Spreadsheet and save it in the ET format.

• Launch WPS Office and create a new spreadsheet file using WPS Spreadsheet.
• Save your spreadsheet file in ET format. To do so, go to Menu -> File -> Save As (F12)

• On the confirmation dialog, select WPS Spreadsheet Files and click the Save button.

When creating the spreadsheet file, notice the first row (header) of each column. WPS Writer uses the header of each column as the reference variable. It will insert all contents beneath the column header as you insert the reference variable on your letter. Following is the example of the spreadsheet file.

On the example above, Name and Address are the column headers that will be used by WPS Writer as the reference variable.

Create the letter using WPS Writer

Once you are done preparing the data source in a spreadsheet file, you can start writing your letter.

• Launch WPS Office and create your letter using WPS Writer.
• Once you are done writing the letter draft, go to the References menu and click Mail Merge.

• Click Open Data Source and select the spreadsheet file you have created.

• Put your cursor to the section of your letter where you want insert your data. For instance, you can put your cursor on the name section. Next, click Insert Merge Field and select the reference variable (column header) of your spreadsheet file. Take a look at the screencast below.

• Repeat the steps above to insert another data on your letter.
• To figure out if you have successfully inserted your data, click the View Merged Data. Click the navigation buttons to switch between records.

The verdict

WPS Writer is a great free alternative to Microsoft Office. This word processor app features mail merge to create personalized mass letters. You can also mail merge to create other mass documents that are need to be personalized like salary slip.