I've just spent a full evening trying to set up Mail Merge in LibreOffice 3.6 without success.
Is there anyone on the board who has successfully set up Mail Merge, and if you have could you please help me to do the same.
I use Gmail as my email client.

Thank you,
gael.

As you don't say exactly what you've done and how far you got, I may be telling you things you know already.

First, "Mail Merge" is traditionally a process where you stuff data from a data source (database, spreadsheet, whatever) into fields in a document, creating a number of identical-sounding letters to a list of recipients. We're talking physical letters here, as in documents that get printed out and stuffed into envelopes. Hence, if you do a Google search for "mail merge", the various tips and tutorials that turn up may not mention bulk e-mail functionality at all.

Second, your mail client is not Gmail. Your mail service may be Gmail, but in order to send bulk e-mails from an application, a mail client of some sort has to be involved. A web-based interface will not work.

Usually, bulk e-mails are sent using a locally installed mail client (Thunderbird, Outlook, whatever), not a Word Processor. In order to send bulk e-mails directly from LibreOffice, LibreOffice Writer would have to interact with the default mail client on your system, or act as an e-mail client itself. I was somewhat surprised to learn that Writer seems capable of doing the latter.

You asked if anyone has successfully done mail merge with e-mails in LibreOffice. I myself have not, but as there are specific settings in Writer for doing just that, it's probably possible.

If you were a bit more specific about what you've tried, you'd be more likely to get a response from someone who's actually done this (but who may not feel up to writing a 5-page tutorial in response to a non-specific inquiry).

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Hre's an example based on a small training I did for one of my clients some time back when they migrated from MS to OO. (I also used it in libre office).

Scenario. A form letter to employees regarding salary revision.
Input data : test_data.ods contains input data one record per row in a sheet called RevisionList
Form letter : test_data1.odt
Filled up form letter : test_data2.odt
Output : test_output.odt
Support file : mail_merge.pdf (downloaded instructions).

Steps:

1. Prepare your data source (obviously).
2. Register the data source (uses odb). This is one time. (Step 3 of tools->mailmergewizard)
3. Create your empty form letter (test_data1.odt)
4. Populate it (place cursor and) with the fields in the data source using Insert->Fields->Other->(tab)Database->MailMergeFields ... (Final0.jpg)

Open Tools->MailMergeWizard and select 8 save, print or send. (See Final1.jpg) for the options.

I find that I cant upload odt and ods files to LQ (why!?!?) and the pdf file is too big.

Hope this helps.

OK.

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Ser_olmy.
Mail merge always meant that you
(a) Create a form letter.
(b) Keep your data in a data source.
(c) Link the fields in the form letter to the data source.
(d) Fire the print job.

Now using office packages like OO, you can
(a) register ODBC, mySql, ADO, Spreadsheet, text data etc etc as data sources.
(b) Output can be sent to a single file, multiple files, e-mail and of cource to your local printer.
(c) As you say, open office uses the locally installed mail client.

Attached is a sample of the e-mail option for sending. As you may have observed, the TO: fields is populated form the data source.

OK

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Thank you all for your help and recommendations. I will try them later when I have more time.

Thanks,

gael.