Use multiple contacts in a single iWork Pages document

Aug 29, '07 07:30:00AM

Contributed by: ggraff

Pages allows you to merge data from multiple contacts from the Address Book, but the merged data is used to create multiple documents for each contact that is inserted. Oftentimes I need multiple contacts to be used in one document (like a letter to several recipients.) Unfortunately, in Pages, you cannot define multiple contacts you want to bring into a single document. However, there is a workaround.

If you copy and paste defined Address Book Fields in Pages, it will preserve (copy) the "link" you have defined into the new Field(s). Dragging over a contact from Address Book will then fill both instances with the same data. If you then select one of these "instances," copy it, then paste it back in same place using "Paste & Match Style" it will lock that recipient in place. This allows you to drag over the next contact from the Address Book, and it will fill the other "instance" you have created. Hooray, you now a single document with more than one contact imported. This process can be repeated as many times as you need.

But, even better, if you place your defined Address Book fields inside a cell of a table, you can then easily use the "drag the bottom right corner of the cell" trick to duplicate the cell's contents. You then create multiple "instances" all of which lines up nicely.

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