November 2026 · Folder Suggest

Outlook Mail Merge: How to Send Personalized Mass Email With Word and Excel

Q: How do I test a mail merge without emailing everyone?

Check every message with Preview Results first. Then connect a copy of your spreadsheet where every email address is your own and run the merge on it. On Windows you can instead put your own address in the first row and send only that row with Send records set to From 1 To 1. When the test looks right, connect the real list (or clear your own row in Edit Recipient List), preview again, and send.

You need to send the same email to a list of people, each with their own name or details, and each as a separate message. Outlook can’t do this on its own. The standard route is a mail merge in Word, with your list in Excel, sent through classic Outlook.

In short: put your list in Excel with a column of email addresses, then open Word’s desktop app and go to Mailings > Start Mail Merge > E-mail Messages. Choose Select Recipients > Use an Existing List to connect the spreadsheet, add fields with Insert Merge Field or Greeting Line, and check every message with Preview Results. Before you send to the list, run the merge once on a copy of the spreadsheet where every address is your own, and check what arrives. Then connect the real list, select Finish & Merge > Send E-mail Messages, pick the address column under To, type the Subject line, choose a Mail format, and select OK: that sends at once. On Windows, Word sends through classic Outlook: new Outlook for Windows doesn’t support the connection Word uses. Each person gets their own message, with no Cc, no Bcc and no attachments.

Which Outlook Works With Mail Merge

Word’s mail merge to email needs a MAPI-compatible email program, and Microsoft’s comparison of new and classic Outlook lists MAPI as available in classic Outlook and not supported in new Outlook. In February 2024 a Microsoft moderator on Microsoft Q&A answered that sending a mail merge from Word was not supported in new Outlook for Windows, and suggested switching back to classic Outlook with the toggle at the top right.

Outlook	Word mail merge to email	Built-in mail merge
Classic Outlook for Windows	Yes, with Word for Windows	No, it goes through Word
New Outlook for Windows	No. Switch to classic Outlook	Basic only, no personal fields (listed as “Partially Available”)
Outlook on the web (work or school)	No. Word for the web can’t create a mail merge	Basic only, per Microsoft’s roadmap
Outlook.com (personal)	Yes, if the account is set up in classic Outlook on Windows or in your Mac’s default email app	–
Outlook for Mac	Word for Mac sends through your default email app (Microsoft doesn’t say whether new Outlook for Mac works)	–

Microsoft’s Create a mail merge page says creating a mail merge isn’t currently possible in Word for the web, so you need the Word desktop app on Windows or Mac. Microsoft documents no way to run a mail merge from the Outlook app on a phone.

Before You Start: Prepare the Excel List

Microsoft’s Excel mail merge article gives these rules:

Name each column to match the field you want to insert, such as First Name, Last Name and Email. Use separate columns for first and last names.
Put all the data on the first sheet of the workbook.
Format percentages, currencies and postal codes correctly so Word reads them. Microsoft’s guide to preparing the Excel data source adds: format postal code columns as text, or leading zeros are dropped.
Store the file on your computer, and finish your edits before you connect it to Word.

How to Do a Mail Merge in Outlook (Word for Windows and Classic Outlook)

Make sure classic Outlook is set up with the account you want to send from. These steps follow Microsoft’s bulk email article, its data sources page and its merge to email page. Steps 7 to 14 send a test to yourself first, and step 15 sends to the list.

Open a blank document in Word and go to Mailings > Start Mail Merge > E-mail Messages. Write the message.
Select Select Recipients > Use an Existing List. Browse to the Excel file and choose Open.
In the Open Workbook box, pick the sheet. Leave Cell Range blank to use the whole sheet, then select OK.
To leave people out, select Edit Recipient List and clear the check box next to each one.
Click where a personal detail belongs. Select Greeting Line, choose a format and select OK, or select the arrow under Insert Merge Field and pick a column, such as First Name. Then save the document.
Select Preview Results and step through the records with Next and Previous. Check names, spacing and formatting in several messages.
Connect a test list before you send anything. Save a copy of your spreadsheet, keep two or three rows, and replace every email address with your own. In Word, connect the copy with Select Recipients > Use an Existing List. Until you reconnect the real list, the merge can only reach you.
Select Finish & Merge > Send E-mail Messages.
Under To, choose the column that holds the email addresses.
In Subject line, type the subject.
Under Mail format, keep HTML (the default) or choose Plain text. Plain text drops all formatting and graphics.
Under Send records, keep All. On the test list, every row is you.
Select OK. There is no review screen after it: Word sends one message for each selected row through Outlook at once.
Open the test messages in your inbox and check the subject, the fields and the formatting. If something is wrong, fix the document and repeat steps 8 to 13 on the test list.
When the test looks right, connect the real list with Select Recipients > Use an Existing List, check Edit Recipient List and Preview Results again, then repeat steps 8 to 13 to send to everyone.

Save the Word document if you want to reuse it: it keeps its link to the spreadsheet.

How to Send a Test Mail Merge to Yourself First

A test catches a wrong column under To, a broken field or a bad subject before anyone else sees it. Steps 7 to 14 above use a copy of the list. If you would rather keep one spreadsheet, use a row of your own and a record range instead:

Add your own name and email address as the first row of data in the spreadsheet, and save it before you connect it to Word.
In Word, select Preview Results and check that record 1 is you.
Select Finish & Merge > Send E-mail Messages. Under Send records, choose From 1 To 1, then select OK. Only your row is sent.
Check the message in your inbox.
Before you send to everyone, select Edit Recipient List and clear the check box next to your row, so you don’t get a second copy.
Run Finish & Merge > Send E-mail Messages again with Send records set to All.

Current record sends to whichever row Preview Results is showing. On the real list, that is a real recipient unless the row on screen is your own.

How to Mail Merge on a Mac (Word for Mac and Outlook for Mac)

Your Mac needs a default email app set, or Merge to E-Mail stays unavailable. Microsoft’s Mac steps describe no record range, so test with a copy of your list. The steps, from the same Microsoft article:

Go to Mailings > Start Mail Merge > Email Messages and write the message.
Go to Mailings > Select Recipients and choose your list.
Go to Mailings > Insert Merge Field and add the fields you need.
Go to Mailings > Preview Results and use the arrows to check each message.
Connect a test list before you send anything. Save a copy of your spreadsheet in which every email address is your own, then go to Mailings > Select Recipients and choose the copy.
Go to Mailings > Finish & Merge > Merge to E-Mail. Set the To field, the subject and the format: text, HTML or attachment.
Select Mail Merge To Outbox.
Check the test messages you receive. When they look right, go to Mailings > Select Recipients, choose the real list, check Preview Results again, and repeat steps 6 and 7 to send to everyone.

If you choose the attachment format, each message has no body text and carries the document as an attachment instead.

Mail Merge in New Outlook and Outlook on the Web

Microsoft’s comparison page lists mail merge in new Outlook as “Partially Available.” Its Microsoft 365 roadmap item 423047 explains the gap. The current Mail Merge (Basic) in Outlook on the web and new Outlook for Windows does not fill in fields per recipient. Mail Merge (Advanced) is meant to send every recipient their own email, with only their address in the recipient list, personalized with details such as their name.

As of November 2026 the roadmap lists Mail Merge (Advanced) as “In development,” with a public preview in August 2026 and general availability in September 2026. Those dates have passed without a status change, so check the roadmap item before you plan around it. Until it ships, a personalized merge on Windows means Word and classic Outlook.

Mail Merge Limits: Attachments, Cc and Bcc

From Microsoft’s bulk email article, for Word on Windows:

No attachments on Windows. Microsoft says you can’t add attachments, but you can include links. Put the file on OneDrive or SharePoint and link to it.
No Cc or Bcc. Word sends a separate message to each address and can’t copy anyone else.

Outlook Sending Limits for a Mail Merge

A merge sends one message per selected row, so a long list can hit your account’s daily limit. As of November 2026:

Work or school (Exchange Online): Microsoft’s Exchange Online limits are 10,000 recipients per day and 30 messages per minute. Messages over 30 a minute are held and sent in the following minutes. Your organization also has a daily cap on external recipients, based on its number of licenses. If you send from the default address ending in onmicrosoft.com, your whole organization can reach only 100 external recipients a day. Once you reach 10,000, you can’t send again until your count for the past 24 hours drops below the limit.
Outlook.com: Microsoft’s sending limits page gives Microsoft 365 subscribers 5,000 recipients per day, of which only 1,000 can be people you have never emailed before. It says limits are lower for non-subscribers and for new accounts, without giving numbers.

Microsoft says Exchange Online isn’t built for bulk commercial email such as customer newsletters, and recommends a service that specializes in it. A mail merge suits a list of people you deal with, not a marketing list.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you do a mail merge in Outlook without Word?
Not a personalized one, as of November 2026. New Outlook and Outlook on the web have a basic mail merge that does not fill in names or other fields per recipient. Microsoft’s roadmap lists a personalized Mail Merge (Advanced) as in development. For now, use Word’s Mailings tab with classic Outlook.

Why doesn’t Word’s mail merge send in new Outlook?
Word sends a merge through a MAPI email program, and Microsoft lists MAPI as not supported in new Outlook for Windows. Switch back to classic Outlook, then run the merge again.

Can I add an attachment to a mail merge in Outlook?
Not with Word for Windows. Microsoft says you can’t add attachments, but you can include links, so put the file on OneDrive or SharePoint and link to it. In Word for Mac, the attachment format sends the merged document itself as an attachment with no body text.

Can I Cc or Bcc someone on a mail merge?
No. Word sends one message to each address in your list and can’t add Cc or Bcc recipients.

How many emails can I send with a mail merge from Outlook?
As of November 2026, a work or school account on Exchange Online can send to 10,000 recipients a day, at up to 30 messages a minute, and only 100 external recipients a day from a default onmicrosoft.com address. Outlook.com allows Microsoft 365 subscribers 5,000 recipients a day, but only 1,000 of them can be people you’ve never emailed before. Free accounts get less.

How do I test a mail merge without emailing everyone?
Check every message with Preview Results first. Then connect a copy of your spreadsheet where every email address is your own and run the merge on it. On Windows you can instead put your own address in the first row and send only that row with Send records set to From 1 To 1. When the test looks right, connect the real list (or clear your own row in Edit Recipient List), preview again, and send.