Prepare the data
- One header row: First, Last, Address1, City, Postcode, Amount. No merged cells.
- Dates as real dates, money as numbers. Preview will expose locale bugs.
- Save as XLSX, close the sheet so Writer can lock it if your build requires that.
- Filter out blanks. Empty First names print as ugly gaps or leftover field codes.
Connect Writer
- Open a copy of the letter, not the only copy.
- Start Mail Merge, pick the XLSX, confirm the header row.
- Insert fields where the name and address go. Use the preview: record 1, 10, last.
- Watch currency and dates. 1/2/2026 is January or February depending on locale.
- Finish to a new document or PDF. Then spot-check page 1 and the last page.
Labels
Set the paper size to the actual label stock. A4 with a tiny table in the corner wastes a pack. Print one page on cheap paper, hold it against the label sheet to the light, then commit.
Writer deep dive: WPS Writer.
Personal data
A merge list is a personal-data file. Do not park it on a shared USB. Do not upload it to a random converter. If you are in the EU, treat it like the spreadsheet it is. After the mailout, do not leave 2,000 addresses in an untitled XLSX on the Desktop.
Email merge
If your build offers email merge, you still need a real mail account and you still need not to spam. Many people should finish to PDF/DOCX and send through the tool their org already blesses. A 2,000-row merge to Gmail from a consumer box is how you meet a spam filter.
Logos on letters
Header logo once, not a 12 MB photo in every record. Compress. Or the 2,000-page output is a 4 GB joke and the printer dies.
The 10-row law
If record 1 looks perfect, check 10 and the last. Record 1 is the one the template author stared at. The last row is where an extra space in Postcode lives. Print one page of labels on cheap paper. Then the box of stock.