Are you pathetic when it comes to formatting a professional looking letter?
Are you still using old-fashioned formats? Do you forget what goes where in
a business letter? If you need a little help making your business letters look
professional, fear not! You can use Word's Letter Wizard to lend a helping
hand.
Double click the Tools menu to expand it fully. In Word 2000, you'll see the
Letter Wizard on the menu. In Word 2002, you'll see the Letters and Mailings
option, click that and you'll see the Letter Wizard. Click the Letter Wizard
option to open it's dialog box.
Keyboard users will hit Alt/T+Z in Word 2000, or Alt/T+E+Z in
Word 2002.
Although the dialog is fairly self-explanatory, we'll go through it to make
sure you understand how it works.
If your document needs a date, select the Date line option (Alt+D)
and then click the drop down (Alt/DownArrow) to choose the way you'd like the
date formatted.
You'll also choose the way you want your letter to look. Choose a page design,
such as elegant; and choose a letter style, such as full block.
If you'll be using your own pre-formatted letterhead, you can advise the wizard
that you need space added at a particular location on the letter. Then you can
break out your ruler and measure your stationery, to enter the proper spacing
setting to make sure your letter doesn't print over your letterhead.
Once the letter format is designed, it's time to fill out the details for the
Recipient. Notice that you can click on the Address Book icon
to pull the details directly from your Address Book, or Contact List
if you use Outlook.
Various salutations are available for you to choose from the drop down list.
Note! Each of these drop downs are actually ComboBoxes. That
means that you can click to choose an item from the list; however, if the item
you want isn't in the list, you can just type it in the way you want it. After
you click OK on the dialog, that addition will be added to your list,
so you can easily choose it the next time.
After you set up the Recipient information, move to the Other Elements tab.
If you never learned the proper location for which to place these items in a
business letter, no need to worry. Just choose the items you need to add to
your letter and they'll be formatted and placed on the letter in it's proper,
professional location.
The Reference line option.
The Mailing Instruction option.
The Attention line option.
The Subject line option.
Lastly, it's time to add your own information.
Notice the Closing option drop downs. Again, these are ComboBoxes,
so you can add your own personal Closing and it'll be added when you
click OK. But keep the Letter Wizard dialog box open until you've
entered in all the pertinent information. When you click OK, your letter
will be created.
A Type your text here field will be highlighted, ready for you to enter
the content of your letter.
Remember to add details to those Other Elements you may have selected.
If you used the Attention line and didn't add the details into the ComboBox,
because you didn't need to save that specific information, then it's time to
enter it now. Click just after the colon for the items in your letter, such
as Attention:, Subject:, or In reply to: and make sure
you enter the needed details.
Once your letter is finished, you can quickly print an envelope by highlighting
the Address lines within your letter and clicking Tools/Envelopes
and Labels (Alt/T+E in 2000, Alt/T+E+E in 2002).
The Envelope dialog will appear and the highlighted address from your letter
will have been automatically inserted, so you don't have to retype it.
Be sure to select all the specific options you want. You can see how the envelope
will be printed in the display image on the dialog. If the envelope isn't the
right size, or the feed isn't the right style for your type of printer, click
the Options dialog and make the necessary adjustments.
Also notice the button on the above image of the Envelope and Label
dialog box that says Add to Document. You can click that button (or hit
Alt+A) and the envelope will be added to your letter file. You can print
the envelope from the file. Then it'll be saved with the letter. Should there
be a future issue regarding whether you typed the address on the envelope correctly,
you'll have it saved to verify.
If you find yourself writing a lot of letters, you should create a Template
as your master format. And if you need to create a lot of envelopes for
letters, you might want to add the envelope icon to your toolbar or a
customized menu. Then you can save a few clicks by not having to click Tools/Envelopes
and Labels/Envelopes. You can just highlight the Address text and click
the Envelope Icon on your toolbar to automatically open it with the address
inserted. After the dialog box opens, just hit Print (Alt+P) or
Add to Document (Alt+A).
If you don't know how to customize a menu or toolbar, this article will provide
step-by-step illustrations: Customized
Toolbars and Menus. Note in the image below, you'll see how to locate the
Create Envelope icon. Click Tools/Customize/Commands (Alt/C+C).
Locate All Commands in the left column and ToolsCreateEnvelope
in the right. Click and drag it to your toolbar or menu.
Note! If you add the icon to a customized menu, you'll then be able
to access the command from your custom menu by using shortcut keys. In my menu,
I could then just hit Alt+D to access my Dian menu, the E to activate
the Envelope dialog box. Our many blind readers should note that creating
your own customized menu is a good way to add those items you might otherwise
find difficult to locate. By right clicking a new menu item while still
in Customize mode, you can customize your hotkeys.
If you would like to learn how you can add a MacroButton
right into your letter template so users can print an envelope just by double clicking
a link right within a letter, be sure to check out this other TechTrax article: Instant Envelopes Using the MACROBUTTON Field and VBA!
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