Christmas Cards Addressed?

Open Address book and use the Look for Duplicates… command. You will see a window that looks like this if duplicates were found:

Click the Merge button to begin the cleanup process.

This would also be a good time to look for duplicates that Address Book Might not find:

Scroll through your list, looking for entries where the information is different enough not to be found by Address book. Select the first card, then hold down the Command or Apple key to the select second card. Go to Card > Merge Selected Cars and use the command.

There is more clean-up to do, but let’s make this year’s card list now.

Begin by making a new group. Click the arrow at the bottom of the Group column. Christmas 2008 might be a good name. You can keep this group together as a starting point for next year’s list. If you have an earlier list, you may want to select that list, then select all the members of the group and drag them to the new list.

Of course, if someone is off the list and you need to eliminate them, just select them in the group and press the Delete key. Address book will ask you what to do with the card at that point:

Now it is time to scroll your main list to see if you’ve missed anyone:

Hold down the Option Key and select people in your list. The groups that they are in will be highlighted in the Group Column.

If you need to add someone to the Christmas Card list, simply drag their name on top of the group:

Don’t worry, Address Book will not add duplicates to the list.

Now the last part of the cleanup can be done. Check your list to clean up the information.

• If a spouse has died or a couple has split, be sure to make that change on their card.
• Make sure you have the latest address.
• Make sure addresses are labeled properly.

In the example above, I need to change the label to Home.

Just how you have entered data will affect how the printing on envelopes or address labels will be formatted. In the example below, notice how the data in the second column affected the look of the labels.

If you would prefer more formal addresses, you will need to add Prefix and Suffix labels. If you want children or spouse names to appear, they will need to be in the address cards.

If you don’t have the fields shown here, they can be added in Address Book > Preferences:

Choose the template and keep selecting Add Fields until the ones you desire are either checked or grayed out.

Spouse is one of the choices available in the friend pop-up:

When your data is cleaned and your list is complete, it is time to print the envelopes or address labels.

I wrote several entries last year that will help you plan your print-outs they are:

• How to add custom paper sizes
• Just what size is it?

There are several important selections here. We will set up envelopes first:

In Style select Envelope. You will then have three sub-selections.

In Layout, you can select from various envelope sizes and styles. Refer to the list in Just what size is it? to help determine which size is closest to your envelope.

In Label, there are other choices to make. You can even choose to print foreign countries for you overseas friends. You can also choose a decorative font or one that resembles hand-writing for a more personalized look. Notice that you can also print clip art on the envelope.

The last section, orientation, may require some trial and error or some research in the manual that came with your printer. Once you learn how to load the envelopes in your printer, record the information on a label and attach it to an inconspicuous spot on your printer for next time!

If you choose to print labels to attach to the envelopes, go to an office supply store and look for clear labels. Ink jet printers and laser printers require different glue formulations to adhere properly, so be sure to check the package to make sure it is appropriate for your printer type.

While some people will have no trouble following the steps listed above, others need just a bit more help. In addition to fixing computers that just aren’t working the way they should, we at Bob LeVitus Consulting help our clients with tasks such as getting Address Book files in order and setting up holiday envelopes and letters. Need a hand? Give us a call at 408 627-7577, send us a note at urgentrequest@boblevitus.com or fill out the form on our web page and we can discuss giving you a hand!

Good luck with your holiday cards!

Pat