# Merge Excel Documents into MailMerge Templates using IncludeText Fields > IncludeText fields in TX Text Control templates reference external Excel files during mail merge. The process loads .xlsx files as temporary ServerTextControl instances, using Bookmark to target specific sheets. Merged Excel content renders directly within the document template output. - **Author:** Bjoern Meyer - **Published:** 2019-08-13 - **Modified:** 2026-03-05 - **Description:** IncludeText fields in TX Text Control templates reference external Excel files during mail merge. The process loads .xlsx files as temporary ServerTextControl instances, using Bookmark to target specific sheets. Merged Excel content renders directly within the document template output. - **2 min read** (288 words) - **Tags:** - Excel - Mail Merge - Reporting - Windows Forms - **Web URL:** https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2019/08/13/merge-excel-documents-into-mailmerge-templates/ - **LLMs URL:** https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2019/08/13/merge-excel-documents-into-mailmerge-templates/llms.txt - **LLMs-Full URL:** https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2019/08/13/merge-excel-documents-into-mailmerge-templates/llms-full.txt - **GitHub Repository:** https://github.com/TextControl/TextControl.WindowsForms.MailMergeExcel --- IncludeText fields can be used to merge external references into a mail merge template using the reporting engine TXTextControl.DocumentServer.MailMerge class. External documents of type DOC, DOCX, RTF and TX can be referenced and are automatically included during the merge process. The TXTextControl.DocumentServer.MailMerge.IncludeTextMerging event can be used to inject other files or formatted text by returning a document in the event. The following code shows how to handle Excel file references: ``` private void MailMerge_IncludeTextMerging(object sender, TXTextControl.DocumentServer.MailMerge.IncludeTextMergingEventArgs e) { // custom handing of XLSX files switch (Path.GetExtension(e.IncludeTextField.Filename)) { case ".xlsx": // Excel file detected if (!File.Exists(e.IncludeTextField.Filename)) return; // load document into temp. ServerTextControl using (TXTextControl.ServerTextControl tx = new TXTextControl.ServerTextControl()) { tx.Create(); // Bookmark name is the sheet name of the Excel document TXTextControl.LoadSettings ls = new TXTextControl.LoadSettings() { DocumentPartName = e.IncludeTextField.Bookmark }; try { // load the Excel document tx.Load( e.IncludeTextField.Filename, TXTextControl.StreamType.SpreadsheetML, ls); } catch { return; } byte[] data; // save the document using the TX format tx.Save(out data, TXTextControl.BinaryStreamType.InternalUnicodeFormat); e.IncludeTextDocument = data; // pass back to the field } break; } } ``` In case the reference ends with *.xlsx*, the file is loaded into a temporary TXTextControl.ServerTextControl class. The *Bookmark* property of the *IncludeTextField* is used to define the sheet name in the Excel document. After the document is loaded successfully into ServerTextControl, it is exported in the internal TX Text Control format and returned to the TXTextControl.DocumentServer.MailMerge.IncludeTextMergingEventArgs.IncludeTextDocument property. The following screen video shows this in action: ![Screen video merge Excel](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2019/08/13/a/assets/animation_excel.webp "Screen video merge Excel") Download this sample from our GitHub repository and try this on your own. --- ## About Bjoern Meyer As CEO, Bjoern is the visionary behind our strategic direction and business development, bridging the gap between our customers and engineering teams. His deep passion for coding and web technologies drives the creation of innovative products. If you're at a tech conference, be sure to stop by our booth - you'll most likely meet Bjoern in person. With an advanced graduate degree (Dipl. Inf.) in Computer Science, specializing in AI, from the University of Bremen, Bjoern brings significant expertise to his role. In his spare time, Bjoern enjoys running, paragliding, mountain biking, and playing the piano. - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjoernmeyer/) - [X](https://x.com/txbjoern) - [GitHub](https://github.com/bjoerntx) --- ## Related Posts - [MailMerge: Conditional Table Cell Colors using Filter Instructions](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2019/06/06/mailmerge-conditional-table-cell-colors-using-filter-instructions/llms.txt) - [MailMerge: Using Filters to Remove Unwanted Rows](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2019/06/04/mailmerge-using-filters-to-remove-unwanted-rows/llms.txt) - [MailMerge: Conditional Rendering of Merge Blocks](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2018/11/28/mailmerge-conditional-rendering-of-merge-blocks/llms.txt) - [DataSourceManager: Using the Ready-to-Use Reporting Dialog Boxes](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2018/11/27/datasourcemanager-using-the-ready-to-use-reporting-dialog-boxes/llms.txt) - [Different Ways to Create Documents using Text Control Products](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2017/10/17/ways-to-create-documents-using-text-control-products/llms.txt) - [Windows Forms: Preview Mail Merge Results with the BindingNavigator and a BindingSource](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2016/01/08/windows-forms-preview-mail-merge-results-with-the-bindingnavigator-and-a-bindingsource/llms.txt) - [Loading and Processing Excel XLSX Spreadsheet Tables into TX Text Control using .NET C#](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2024/10/16/loading-and-processing-excel-spreadsheet-tables-into-tx-text-control-using-net-csharp/llms.txt) - [TX Text Control 32.0 Has Been Released](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2023/09/13/tx-text-control-320-has-been-released/llms.txt) - [Table Extension: Remove Empty Columns After Mail Merge](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2023/06/08/table-extension-remove-empty-columns-after-mail-merge/llms.txt) - [An Ultimate Guide to Mail Merge with MS Word Documents in C#](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2023/06/07/an-ultimate-guide-to-mail-merge-with-ms-word-documents-in-csharp/llms.txt) - [TX Text Control 31.0 and TX Spell .NET 10.0 Have Been Released](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2022/09/07/tx-text-control-31-released/llms.txt) - [Mail Merge with MS Word Documents in C# - An Ultimate Guide](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2022/05/25/mail-merge-with-ms-word-documents-in-csharp-an-ultimate-guide/llms.txt) - [Combining MailMerge and Table of Contents](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2022/03/22/combining-mailmerge-and-table-of-contents/llms.txt) - [Merging Form Fields using the MailMerge Class](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2022/02/21/merging-form-fields-using-the-mailmerge-class/llms.txt) - [MailMerge: Rendering Conditional Table Rows](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2022/02/17/mailmerge-rendering-conditional-table-rows/llms.txt) - [TX Text Control 30.0 and TX Spell .NET 9.0 Have Been Released](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2021/11/29/tx-text-control-30-released/llms.txt) - [Merging Merge Block Cells Vertically with Matching Content](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2021/10/20/vertically-merge-table-cells-of-merge-blocks-for-matching-content/llms.txt) - [TX Text Control X19 and TX Spell 8.0 Have Been Released](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2020/12/02/tx-text-control-x19-released/llms.txt) - [TX Text Control X18 has been Released](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2020/03/16/tx-text-control-x18-released/llms.txt) - [Windows Forms Ribbon: Displaying User-Friendly Merge Field Names](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2020/01/14/displaying-user-friendly-merge-field-names-in-the-ribbon/llms.txt) - [MailMerge Class Settings Explained](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2019/12/05/mailmerge-settings-explained/llms.txt) - [Using MailMerge with Chart Objects and JSON Data](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2019/07/18/using-mailmerge-with-chart-objects-and-json-data/llms.txt) - [TX Text Control X17 has been Released](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2019/05/28/tx-text-control-x17-released/llms.txt) - [Create and Modify Adobe PDF Documents within your .NET Application](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2019/05/27/create-and-modify-adobe-pdf-documents/llms.txt) - [Creating Templates: Typical Invoice Elements](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2019/04/16/typical-invoice-elements/llms.txt)