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MS Office Forum / Word / General MS Word Questions / September 2007Mail Merge Problem Word 2000
I'm running Office 2000 under Vista Home Basic. My mail merge data is in an Excel file. Columns are labeled in row 1, rows 2-48 contain the data of interest and row 49 contains data not relevant to the merge. My merge document is a Word document representing two half-page forms on each page, each containing multiple merge items. All merge items are in normal text - ie, not text boxes. One item is in a text box. First problem is that when I do a merge, I request items 1 through 47, and I get 16 pages totaling 32 filled forms. I have no idea why. Second problem is that two of the fields do not contain the correct information - ie, it does not correlate with the information for that line in the spreadsheet that corresponds to all of the rest of the information, which appears to be correct. I've tried deleting the merge fields for the two that are in error and reinserting them, but no change. Any tips on diagnosing and fixing either problem? Thanks! Optiker Do you have one or two { NEXT } fields (<<Next record>> fields) in your mail merge main document? If so, you should only have one, after the first half-page form and before the second. Otherwise, are the 32 records being processed the first 32? If so, have a look in your Excel data for unusual characters - most likely double-quote characters - around record 32/33/34. > Second problem is that two of the fields do not contain the correct > information - ie, it does not correlate with the information for that line > in the spreadsheet that corresponds to all of the rest of the information, > which appears to be correct. Let's leave this part of the problem until later. NB, there is a microsoft.public.word.mailmerge.fields group specifically for mailmerge issues.  SignaturePeter Jamieson http://tips.pjmsn.me.uk > I'm running Office 2000 under Vista Home Basic. My mail merge data is in > an Excel file. Columns are labeled in row 1, rows 2-48 contain the data of [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > Thanks! > Optiker > Do you have one or two { NEXT } fields (<<Next record>> fields) in your > mail merge main document? If so, you should only have one, after the > first half-page form and before the second. Ah...absolutely correct! Deleted the one at the end of the second form (bottom of the page) and I am now getting 24 sections (two forms per section, ie, physical page), all records with one blank at the end. Thanks! >> Second problem is that two of the fields do not contain the correct >> information - ie, it does not correlate with the information for that >> line in the spreadsheet that corresponds to all of the rest of the >> information, which appears to be correct. > > Let's leave this part of the problem until later. OK...suggestions on this one? > NB, there is a microsoft.public.word.mailmerge.fields group specifically > for mailmerge issues. Ah yes...I found it. I will hold off cross-posting the issue until I hear back from you regarding a possible solution. Thanks very much for the excellent result so far. Hoping you have as accurate insight on the second issue. Optiker OK, a. is either of the offending fields the one in the text box? b. what kind of data is in the offending columns? In particular, are many of the cells blank (there is an old problem where Word uses a value from a cell higher up the column when a non-blank value in a record is followed by a blank value, but I'm don't know for sure how to solve it). SignaturePeter Jamieson http://tips.pjmsn.me.uk >> Do you have one or two { NEXT } fields (<<Next record>> fields) in your >> mail merge main document? If so, you should only have one, after the [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > Optiker > OK, > a. is either of the offending fields the one in the text box? One is in a text box - the more important one. The other, if necessary I can correct by hand since it has few non-blank values in that data column - most cells blank. The one in the text box has all cells in the column filled. > b. what kind of data is in the offending columns? In particular, are > many of the cells blank (there is an old problem where Word uses a value > from a cell higher up the column when a non-blank value in a record is > followed by a blank value, but I'm don't know for sure how to solve it). Both are single character text data. As above, the one in the text box has all cells filled. The other has very few cells filled. Hope that helps. Thanks! Optiker > OK, > a. is either of the offending fields the one in the text box? > b. what kind of data is in the offending columns? In particular, are > many of the cells blank (there is an old problem where Word uses a value > from a cell higher up the column when a non-blank value in a record is > followed by a blank value, but I'm don't know for sure how to solve it). Peter... I did away with the text box and integrated the data item into the regular Word text, and that resolved the problem with the one in the text box. As for the other one, I found I had an error in the spreadsheet, and having corrected that, all is merging perfectly. Thanks for your assistance. Y'all have a great day! Optiker FWIW the problem with the text box is that it is in the graphics layer and it is not clear which record in the data source is "current" when the field/'s value is filled in. If in future you need to have a field in a box "out of line" from the text, it's generally better to try to use an old-style Word frame (you can convert a textbox to a frame via the textbox property dialog). You may also need to ensure that the frame is anchored to a paragraph that is positioned after the correct { NEXT } - i.e. if the frame data should appear in the first copy of your two-to-a-page form, anchor the frame to a paragraph before the { NEXT } SignaturePeter Jamieson http://tips.pjmsn.me.uk >> OK, >> a. is either of the offending fields the one in the text box? [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > Y'all have a great day! > Optiker > FWIW the problem with the text box is that it is in the graphics layer > and it is not clear which record in the data source is "current" when [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > - i.e. if the frame data should appear in the first copy of your > two-to-a-page form, anchor the frame to a paragraph before the { NEXT } Sounds like using a frame is the way to go for my needs, if I can't use normal text. Thanks for your help! Optiker |
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