how to merge spreadsheet data for labels

That is probably a special case of Mail-Merge. It is a little complicated.

The technique that Word has always supported was to export the spreadsheet as a comma-delimited plain-text file, then set up a template in Word to read that file for the data records.

It was listed in the manual under Mail-Merge, and was one of the few operations that really did require you read the manual. It was just too complicated otherwise.

The only twist is that you don't have three paragraphs of a letter in between, your merge is almost exclusively made up of merged data. And the pages you are printing may be eleven labels tall.

Lenaics,

I know how to print labels from a Numbers spreadsheet dataset, and I suspect that Grant does too. I'm not going to write a book about it though. Unless you want to be specific about which labels (Avery stock number) and the nature of your data, you are on your own with external links, etc.

Jerry

Pages merges data from both Numbers spreadsheets and Contacts/Addess Book.

The method is detailed in the Pages09_UserGuide.pdf downloadable from under the Help menu.

Also here:

http://www.freeforum101.com/iworktipsntrick/viewtopic.php?t=182&highlight=labels &mforum=iworktipsntrick

Peter

Len,

Here's a start...

Looking up the dimensions for the Avery 8160, we find that the layout is:

Margins: Top 0.5" Bottom 0.5" Left 0.1875" Right 0.1875"

We mock-up the label layout in a blank Pages Word Processing Template

This is trial and error on the dimensions of the (Inline) text boxes, although I suppose a calculator could speed things up a bit.

We only need one text box, but we want to see what 30 per page will look like after a merge.

Next we delete all but the first box, and add your field designations for the merge...

You will have a database that could look something like this...

Create the Mail Merge links per the instructions in the Pages User Guide p. 248.

Caution: before creating the links, make sure your Numbers document is stable and Saved, and Save after any changes.

Do the Merge to a new Pages document and you will have one record per Section/Page...

Using Find and Replace, get rid of all the Section Breaks. Doing that collapses the text boxes to three per line, 10 lines per page...

Prent a test sheet and if the alignment doesn't exactly match your label sheet, adjust the left and top margins a bit. You may also find that the Inset Margin in the Text inspector will help you to fit the text to the labels better.

This took longer to write about than to do.

Jerry

A.

A Numbers Merge Field is a column with a label in the Header Row. The label is the name of the Merge Field. The first merge field in my Numbers document above is "Name". A Pages Merge link is a block of text that you have linked to the Numbers Merge Field using the merge link tool in the Link Inspector.

The Merge menu item in Pages is under the Edit menu.

B.

There are man ways to do a merge to labels. I showed you how to do it with Text boxes.

I suggest that you do a simple merge exercise with just names, and no text boxes, no intention to print a label sheet, until you get the hang of how Mail Merge works. Once you have mastered making the links and you have examined the results of the merge, you can come back to my instructions for printing to labels and attempt the more complex issues.

Jerry

I may have confused you by referring to Merge Fireld as a Numbers concept, rather than a Pages concept. I had the two reversed. Here's a graphic:

The Pages fields are on the left and the Numbers fields are on the right in the dialog box.

Jerry

Read about Find and Replace on p. 120 of the Pages User Guide. Select and Copy the Section Break character, Paste it into the Find field, leave the Replace field blank, then Replace all. That merges all the sections into one, putting the text boxes into a tight sequence. Turn on View > Show Invisibles so you can more easily find the Section Break.

Jerry

Lenalcs wrote:

once again, I know find and replace but what?

select and copy the section break character? I will look it up.

OMG - why hasn't apple simplified this? I could have handwritten the labels by now.

The Pages manual has not been helpful at all.

I know what a section break looks like but how do I enter a section break character?

ok I looked in NOT OBVIOUS PLACES -

Edit - Find - Selected Find

Simple vs Advanced, I went to Advanced

Insert had a pull down menu, I found section break....

Find: in the box is the symbol for section break, nothing else

Style: Any

Search Previous Text: checked off

Replace: box left empty

Replace ALL nothing happened.

Please reread my previous posts. Nowhere did I refer to inserting from a menu. If there is a character separating your content and you need to eliminate that character; you copy it and paste it into the Find field and you Replace with a blank replace field. It's easier if you are in the Show Invisibles mode, but that's not necessary. I created the example I posted here in 5 minutes and it took me 10 minutes to compose the answer to you. The most difficult part is the determination of the Text Box size. But, you do that only once and save it as a template for the next time. It's only difficult until you get the hang of it.

I know the learning curve can be frustrating, but try to remember that we are volunteer helpers, not the complaint department.

Jerry