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It is more flexible to use a template to create envelopes from Word than to use the built-in envelope tool. To add convenience to that flexibility it helps to have access to the templates from the mailings ribbon. To that end I have created an add-in for Word 2007/2010 that adds that accessibility and as my numbered label add-in (available separately) also modifies the same area of the ribbon, this add-in should not be used together with the number labels add-in. To retain that functionality I have included the code from the number labels add-in in this one.

The addin is provided in the form of a zip file which contains four templates:

The three envelope template files should be extracted to the User Templates folder (which is the folder containing normal.dotm). Again this, by default, is a hidden folder and can be easily located by entering %appdata%\Microsoft\Templates in the address bar.

The add-in places commands on the Mailings Ribbon.

The Numbered Labels button is explained in a separate page.

The remaining two buttons provide access to the Air Mail Envelope template and the Envelope Size #10 template. Both templates are #10 size. The Air Mail envelope has air mail graphics. The C6 Template is not accessed from the ribbon to avoid clutter, but may be used to create new documents from Word and apart from the size behaves in the same way. The individual templates may be edited to change the fonts used and to (say) add company logos/return address etc.

The following illustrations are from the Air Mail Envelope, but the others work in exactly the same way.

When the envelope button is clicked the appropriate envelope document is created from the template and a dialog box of options is presented:

In order to collect the addressee information from the letter (first option), the addressee information must be within the first 9 paragraphs of the body of the letter and must be formatted with the Inside Address paragraph style. You may need to modify your letter template to use this named style for addresses. You could consider using the example at Using Macrobutton Fields to insert a formatted address from your Outlook Contacts.

If the Inside Address style is not found, the macro will warn the user and revert to the 'Type Address' Option (see later).

The second option allows the user to pick an address from Outlook Contacts. For this to work, Outlook must be the default e-mail application.

The final option allows the user to type the address directly on the envelope: