Add or change IrisBG fields in a Microsoft Word label template

Using Mailmerge to create label templates lets you quickly and efficiently create a large set of personalized labels from plant accession and taxon data in IrisBG.

Doing so eliminates the need to manually type each field, saving time and reducing the chance of errors.

⚠️ Please read our article, Customize labels with IrisBG's label templates, to fully understand where templates and custom templates are stored, how to record a new label type, and more. 

🌱This guide shows how to add or change IrisBG merge fields in a Microsoft Word label template, modify a field’s display format, and set up multiple labels on a page.

For this example, we use the Lbl_L1 template as a starting point.

Table of Contents

1. Change an existing field
2. Add an additional field
3. Change a field’s text to uppercase
4. Create multiple labels on one page
5. Upload the custom template to IrisBG

Change an existing field

1. Open up the Lbl_L1 template.
2. Select and right-click the existing merge field you wish to edit.
3. Choose Edit Field.

4. Confirm that MergeField is selected.
5. In Field properties, change the Field name to the IrisBG field you want to use.
6. Click OK.

Add an additional field

When modifying an existing IrisBG template, you can instead:

1. Copy an existing merge field.
2. Paste it where the new field should appear.
3. Right-click the copied field and choose Edit Field.
4. Change the Field name to the IrisBG field you want to use.
5. Click OK.

This preserves the Word merge-field structure while allowing you to use another IrisBG field.

Change a field’s text to uppercase

1. Select and right-click the field you would like to change. Next, click Edit Field.

2. Under Field properties, change Format from (none) to Uppercase, then click OK.

The TaxonDistribution field is now displayed in uppercase

3. Select and copy the now uppercase field and paste it into the other labels. In our example, we replace the TaxonDistribution field in the template's other three labels with the new uppercase format. 

Create multiple labels on one page

If a Word template contains several labels on one page, the first label uses the first IrisBG record.

Every subsequent label must begin with a Word Next Record rule so that Word advances to the next selected IrisBG record.

For a four-label page:

• Label 1: no Next Record
• Label 2: Next Record
• Label 3: Next Record
• Label 4: Next Record

Upload the custom template to IrisBG

When you are happy with the result:

1. Go to the Custom templates screen, Definitions > Custom templates in IrisBG. 

2. Upload your new template document.

Your new custom template is now included in your database and can be used by other members of your team.

⏭️ Next, learn how to Add barcodes to labels using Microsoft Word Mailmerge.