Filed under: Software, How-tos, Tips and tricks
Manage your holiday mailing list with Address Book
There's something about hand writing the names and address of each of your holiday card and gift recipients. That "something special" is frustration! Hand cramps, errors, wasted envelopes. How pleasant.Forget all that and let Apple's Address Book take care of it for you.
First, create a new Smart Group. I went through my list of contacts and identified the lucky few who will receive cards from me this year (jealous?). In the note field of each, I added the keyword "holiday."
Next, I selected "New smart group..." from the File menu and set the criteria to be "Note contains 'holiday'." Next, I named the Smart Group "Holiday" and presto! My list was complete. In the future, I can add new contacts to the list by simply typing "holiday" in their notes field.
Now to print. Address Book prints directly to standard Avery labels. With your new Smart Group selected, simply select "Print." The print dialog box appears. First, set the "Style" menu to "Mailing Labels." Then, click the "Layout" tab and select the labels you're using. Then click print and you're all done!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
omnitech said 6:12PM on 12-07-2007
Yeah, but they still haven't made it possible to make your own return address labels. You can only print one label per person, not your address repeated on a whole sheet of labels. Talk about hand cramping!!
Any freeware solutions out there for this? You'd think this is such a basic thing that it would be common...every year I have to seek out something to print out return labels...
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Label Guy said 7:26PM on 12-07-2007
Just get a template from avery.com (or the equivalent) and copy/past then print. Works like a charm for repeat addresses.
DrWho said 10:32AM on 12-08-2007
Yeah thats one of my biggest gripes with address book.
Jer said 6:26PM on 12-07-2007
This year we made cards via iPhoto for the first time and when we got the cards w/envelopes we used address book to print the address & return address on each card. There's a number of pre-defined envelopes formats.
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PB said 2:09AM on 12-08-2007
I've wanted to do this for a long time, but the problem I have is the names I use in address book are a different form than those I want on the label. For example I have a contact for my sister and one for my brother in law, but I'd prefer to send one card addressed to both of them or to their family.
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м6 said 6:48PM on 12-07-2007
I don't really see how typing in notes is easier than just dragging contacts into a regular group. Especially if you have to delete that stuff after the holidays.
But that's just me.
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Mike said 7:55PM on 12-07-2007
I was thinking the same thing. You'll have to delete "holiday" from every contact when you're done. If you made a non-smart list you could just highlight all the people on it and delete them in one fell swoop.
One of my co-workers always uses the phrase "smarter, not harder" to describe using an overly complicated method to solve a simple problem. In this case, smart lists are a dumb idea because they require MORE work than a regular list.
Rafe H. said 1:29AM on 12-08-2007
Smart lists are not a dumb idea. I have a smart list showing all of the contacts who share the email domain name of the company I work for. That's easier than remembering to drag new entries into a regular folder.
The use of smart folders in this example is too much work though, I agree.
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s4 said 1:37AM on 12-08-2007
Address book is tricky smart.
Give your Jim Jones card a spouse named Amy and your address label will come out "Jim Jones and Amy"
Give him a spouse named Amy Jones and the Label is "Jim and Amy Jones"
Give Jim and Amy a child named Billy and output is "Jim and Amy Jones and Billy"
Lots of couples have children with the name of "Family" in my book, that way output is "Jim and Jones and Family"
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nathan said 12:57PM on 12-09-2007
How about Mr. & Mrs. Jones or simply Jones family? Possible?
Ryan said 7:15AM on 12-08-2007
Great tip - although perhaps tagging with holiday2007 would be more useful so that you'll have a record of who you sent cards each year.
The only problem I have with address book printing labels (and maybe they fixed this in 10.5) is that you cannot pick an arbitrary spot on the sheet to start printing, requiring you to commit to an entire sheet of labels each time, no matter how many actually fill the sheet. Word, on the other hand, allows you to start printing on the 3rd row, 2nd column... etc.
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wscott said 8:54AM on 12-08-2007
To start in the 3rd row, 2nd column, that would be the 8th label on a 30 label sheet, put 7 dummy names and addresses in your database alphabetically before the label you want to start with. Those dummy names will be printed on the labels that are missing and you'll start with that name and address you want on the label in the 3rd row, 2nd column.
Or you could turn the Avery sheet over and start from the bottom.
magpie said 2:54PM on 12-08-2007
Is there a way to "print to file" instead of direct to labels? So that you could then edit in Word as needed?
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Steve Denton said 2:55PM on 12-08-2007
Is it possible to write 'Christmas'? Or were you just too scared?
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Mary O'Donnell said 9:11PM on 12-08-2007
I am trying to print address labels from Address Book for my Christmas cards. When I originally set up each card, I put Bill and Mary Jones as the name on the card. But I want my address label to read Mr. and Mrs. William Jones. I have put this in as the Company Name (in other words, in one of the blank fields on an Address Card). BUT when I go to print the 2007Christmas group, I can't access the Company Name - the label is addressed to Bill and Mary Jones. Address Book has given us the option to choose which mailing address we want to use for each contact, but not any option for choosing other fields as a name source. Do any of you smart folks out there have a solution or do I need to rename all of my cards to Mr. and Mrs.xxxx?
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DD said 7:23PM on 12-10-2007
This doesn't work if you have information about "Spouse" or "Child" in the V-Card info because Address Book prints those fields no matter what you pick to pring
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Rich said 12:06PM on 12-10-2007
Cool idea. Now if they'd just make Address Book's lists and phone book options as useful and flexible. They're horrible as it is.
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Ralph said 6:42PM on 12-11-2007
I got tired of trying to game the system, as it were, and just brewed a pot of coffee (or some hot chocolate), put on "A Christmas Story", and wrote them out by hand.
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nancy said 10:26PM on 12-12-2007
Getting return address labels is simple! Just make one donation to one charity, and you will receive more address labels than you can use. I receive them every year from The Nature Conservancy, Audubon Society, Disabled American Veterans, etc., etc. Whatever name you use to donate is the name that appears on your labels.
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art2know said 12:00PM on 12-17-2007
LOL
Best suggestion yet!