January 13, 2016

Printing An Envelope

Filed under: Main — Tags: — admin @ 12:01 am

A while back (over 6 years ago, in fact), I wrote a post about how to do envelopes in Word. It’s time for an update!

The quick and easy way to spit out a printed envelope in Word is to summon the Envelopes and Labels dialog box:

1. Click the Mailings tab.
2. In the Create group, click the Envelopes button.
3. Type the Delivery Address into the box.

Press Enter to type the address; it’s automatically single-spaced.

In Figure 1, you see the Envelopes and Labels dialog box. You don’t need to add any formatting to the text; it’s all single-spaced and properly positioned on the envelope.

Figure 1. The Envelopes and Labels dialog box, Envelopes tab.

Figure 1. The Envelopes and Labels dialog box, Envelopes tab.

4. Type the Return address, if necessary.

Word may supply the return address for you.

5. Place a single envelope into the printer’s envelope slot.

Ensure that the envelope is properly oriented; a graphic image should be available showing you which side is up and in which direction to shove the envelope.

6. Click the Print button.
7. If the printer prompts you, feed the envelope or press the button to continue.

And there’s your envelope.

The Envelopes and Labels dialog box is merely a shortcut. What it does is to quickly create a single page document, print that document, then remove the document. For envelopes you plan on printing more often, you can save the document: In Step 6, click the Add to Document button. You see the envelope as part of the document, inserted as the first page.

In Figure 2, the envelope as part of the document, shown in Print Layout view.

Figure 2. An envelope as part of a document.

Figure 2. An envelope as part of a document.

You can save that document for use again in the future, but it’s very difficult to remove the second, blank sheet of paper (see Figure 2). That’s probably now what you want.

As an alternative to using the Envelopes and Labels dialog box, you can create an envelope document. After all, envelopes are special-sized paper. You simply set the page size to equal an envelope’s size and orientation, then you can add text boxes for the destination and return addresses:

1. Press Ctrl+N to start a new document.
2. Click the Layout tab.
3. In the Page Setup group, click the Size button and choose Envelope #10, or whatever size envelope you need. (If the size isn’t listed, choose More Paper sizes and work the Page Setup dialog box to set the size.
4. Click the Orientation button and choose Landscape.

The envelope appears on the screen. In the Print Layout view, it looks like an envelope.

To add the return address:

5. Click the Insert tab.
6. In the Text group, choose Text Box, Simple Text box.

The text box is inserted into the document, but it’s in the wrong spot (and it contains bogus text).

7. Click the Layout button near the top right corner of the text box.
8. Choose the setting In Front of Text; use Figure 3 as your guide.
9. Drag the text box to the upper left corner of the envelope.
10. Type the return address in the text box, formatting the text and such.

Figure 3. Adjusting the return address text box on an envelope.

Figure 3. Adjusting the return address text box on an envelope.

Press Shift+Enter to single-space the return address.

11. Click the Drawing Tools Format tab.
12. In the Shape Styles group, choose Shape Outline, No Outline.

Step 12 removes the box around the text box.

To add the recipient’s address, click on the envelope page outside the text box to de-select the text box. Repeat Steps 7 through 12 to place and format the second text box.

When you’re finished, save the envelope. Or, to use the envelope document again and again, save it as a template. Directions for saving and using templates are found in my book, Word For Dummies.

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