Video: Create mailing labels in Access

In this video we show you how to create a mailing label report in Access by using the Label Wizard. We use a table as the record source, but you can also use the data from a query, form, or report. This procedure is not limited to mailing labels; the Label Wizard includes measurements for many different types of labels.

Use the following procedure to create the labels:

1. In the Navigation Pane, select the object that contains the data you want on your labels.

2. On the Create tab, in the Reports group, click Labels.
   

Note:  If you're working in a web database, the Labels command is located under Client Reports.

1. If Access displays a security notice, click Open.
   Access starts the Label Wizard.

2. On the first page of the wizard, select the manufacturer and product number of the labels you are using.
   I don't know (or can't find) the manufacturer of my labels.

   If you can't find the manufacturer of your labels in the wizard, or if you don't have the product information, you can create a custom label by using this procedure:

   1. Click Customize.

   2. Select your unit of measure and label type, and then click New.

   3. In the New Label dialog box, set the unit of measure, the label type, orientation, and how many labels there are across a page.

   4. Measure your labels and enter the exact dimensions in the boxes on the label mockup.

   5. Click OK, and then close the New Label Size dialog box.

      Once you have entered a custom label, the wizard changes to only show custom labels. To toggle back to the original display of commercial label brands, clear the Show custom label sizes check box.

3. On the next page of the wizard, select the text formatting you want for your labels.

4. On the next page of the wizard, add the fields you want on each line of your label by using the following steps:

   1. On the Prototype Label, click the line to which you want to add fields.

   2. In the Available Fields list, double-click each data fields you want on that line.

   3. Click on the Prototype Label and type any spaces or punctuation you want to appear on the label, such as a comma and space after the City field.
      

      Tip:  If you accidentally add a field that you don't want, you can delete it by selecting the field and pressing DELETE.

5. On the next page, select a sort order for the labels. This step is optional.

6. On the next page, enter a name for the report, and then click Finish.

Access creates the labels and displays a message if there are any problems. With some label sizes, Access might display an information message that there's not enough horizontal space for everything to fit. If the message appears, click OK to clear it. Access opens the labels in Print Preview.

1. If the labels look good in Print Preview, print a test sheet on plain paper and hold it up to a sheet of the labels to see if the text lines up with the labels. If it does, you're ready to print onto the labels themselves.

What about the message about not enough horizontal space?

This message, when it appears, is a side-effect of the measurements of some labels. Usually it occurs when the labels come very close to the left and right edges of the label sheet. This causes the wizard to specify some measurements that are outside of the normal printing range, and that, in turn, causes the message to appear when you preview or print the labels.

If you are satisfied with the alignment of the text on the labels, and you're not getting a blank page every other page, then we recommend leaving the design of the report as it is, and just clicking OK on the message each time. You can try tweaking the alignment and Page Setup settings in Design View, but it's likely you'll just throw off the alignment.

Note:  Print Preview is the only view in which you can see the columns as you have laid them out. If you view the report in Report View or Layout View, Access displays all the data in a single column.

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