Microsoft Office offers a feature called mail merge which allows you to easily print a number of certificates from a list. Other word processing programs have similar features.

There will be a list of the names which can be in a text type file or in a database or spreadsheet file. Create a file in Word that is set up like the certificate you want, but put variables in it for the information you want to be individualized on each certificate that will come from the list file (you can use several fields for each entry, for instance name, city and state.) I will use a name in this example.

Start by making the list or knowing where you already have stored on your PC. Make your document like you want it to appear, but leave a blank space where the name goes. Go to the “mailings ribbon” (I am using Word 2010) and choose “select recipients” and choose “use existing list” (or you can create a list at this point) and find the file and open it.

Now go to the spot in the document you want the personalized information to appear (name for instance) and click the “insert merge field” and you will see a link appear there that looks like <>.

Click on “finish and merge” button on the ribbon and you will choose “edit individualized documents or print documents.” If you are certain you have it right you can choose “print documents.” which will take you to the print box. However my preference is “edit individualized documents” and it will merge the two files and create a file with as many pages as you will have copies of the certificates. Each will have each person’s name and you can edit them if need be before then using the print option from the file menu and printing them.

You have now produced a large number of individualized certificates. This will work whether you have a list of five names or 1000 names. The only difference is how long it takes you to create the list. If they are in a database you can use the “access file” directly. If it is in other databases such as “oracle” you can create a CSV (comma separated value) file from it and use it to merge from. You can work from Excel spreadsheet files directly also.

Send your questions to Dwight Watt at dwight@dwightwatt.com. He teaches at a technical college in northwest Georgia and does consulting work for businesses and individuals. His website is dwightwatt.com.