Classic Outlook mail merge hangs trying to initialize Word

Last Updated: February 7, 2025

ISSUE

When you initiate a mail merge by using contacts as a data source Outlook hangs at Initializing Microsoft Word.

STATUS: INVESTIGATING

The Outlook and Word Teams are investigating the issue. We will update this topic when we know this issue will be addressed.

WORKAROUND

Workarounds until a fix:

• Start classic Outlook by running as Administrator. Some users in the community found this worked for them.

• Start mail merge in Word and filter for contacts there, Use Outlook contacts as a data source for a mail merge.

• Export contacts to an Excel CSV file to run the mail merge in Word, Mail merge using an Excel spreadsheet.

Additional Resources

Use Outlook contacts as a data source for a mail merge

More Resources

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See Also

Fixes or workarounds for recent issues in classic Outlook for Windows