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Actions Tab — 5-Minute Start

DataPublisher for Word · May 2026

Three hands-on tutorials covering the three most common Actions workflows. Each is independent — do any one, or do all three.


Tutorial 1: Mail merge — personalized letters (5 min)

Goal: Generate 5 personalized letters from a CSV file.

What you need:
A CSV file uploaded in Data → Files with at least a name and address field.
A Word document open with your letter content.

Step 1 — Place placeholders in your letter
In Word, type your letter. Where you want the recipient's first name, type <<FirstName>>. Where you want their city, type <<City>>. The << >> syntax marks where data will be inserted.

Quick way: Go to Data → Files → click Insert Fields on your CSV → check the fields you want → they insert at the cursor.

Step 2 — Go to Actions → Merge
Click the Actions tab. Merge is the default sub-tab.

Step 3 — Configure
- Data File: select your CSV
- Word Template: leave as current document (your letter is already open)
- Data Flow: One per page

Step 4 — Run
Click Run Action. One page per recipient. Five records = five pages.

Result: A personalized letter for each person in your CSV, ready to print or save.


Tutorial 2: Create an email campaign (10 min)

Goal: Send a personalized email to everyone in a data file via your Microsoft 365 account.

What you need:
- A CSV with at least an email column and a name column
- A Microsoft 365 account

Step 1 — Connect your Microsoft account
Go to Actions → Email Config.
Click Connect Microsoft Account → sign in → return to taskpane → click Refresh Status.
Your name and email appear in the connected account card.

Step 2 — Launch the wizard
Go to Actions → Email Campaigns → click Launch Email Campaign Wizard.

Step 3 — Work through the wizard steps
1. Select your CSV data file
2. Map fields — identify which column has email addresses
3. Compose your email: subject line and body. Use <<FirstName>> in the subject or body — it will be personalized per recipient
4. Preview a sample record to confirm it looks right
5. Review the recipient count and click Send

Result: Each recipient receives a personalized email from your own Microsoft address. Open and click tracking is automatic.

Check results: Go to Actions → Email Analytics to see open, click, and reply counts as they come in.


Tutorial 3: Build a complex placeholder with conditional content (5 min)

Goal: Insert a conditional block that shows different text based on a field's value.

Scenario: You have a CSV with a status column containing values like "Active" and "Inactive". You want your document to say different things based on each record's status.

Step 1 — Go to Data → Builder → Conditionals
Click the Data tab → Builder sub-tab → Conditionals tab inside the Builder panel.

Step 2 — Configure the condition
- Select Data File: your CSV
- Condition Field: status
- Operator: =
- Value: Active
- Content when TRUE: This account is currently active and in good standing.
- Content when FALSE: This account is currently inactive. Please contact support.

Step 3 — Preview
The Preview box shows the complete block:

{#IF status = Active}
This account is currently active and in good standing.
{ELSE}
This account is currently inactive. Please contact support.
{/IF}

Step 4 — Insert
Click Insert Conditional Block. The entire block is inserted into your Word document.

Step 5 — Run a merge
Go to Actions → Merge → Run Action. Records where status = Active show the first message; all others show the second.

Result: One template that produces different content per record based on data — no manual editing required.


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