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MS Office Forum / Word / General MS Word Questions / January 2008Word 2007-Mail Merge has lost link to source
Hi, I have a user who we've just switched over to Vista and Office 2007 (previously used Windows XP, Office 2003). When she starts one of her mail merges (the main document and source have already been saved) she receives the message asking if she wants to connect to her source, and references the correct source file. When she chooses to connect, she receives a message that Word cannot find the source. So, she hits the "find source" button and locates the file manually (the source is a Word table). However, even after selecting the source manually, she still gets the "can't find source" message. The first question is: why does Word still not see the source even after selecting it manually? So, we cancelled the message just to get to the letter, and used the mail merge task pane to connect to the source. This works fine, but the source is not saved with the mail merge letter. After saving and closing the main document, we reopened it, but do not get the message about connecting to the source - Word takes us right to the main document, where we have to again select the source manually. Somewhere along the way the source has lost it's link. The second question is: how do we relink the source so that the user does not have to keep selecting the source manually by using the Ribbon, or the Mail Merge Wizard, every time she does a mail merge? We tested two different mail merge documents and they are behaving the same way - not being able to find the original source after prompting that Word is going to connect to the source file prior to starting the mail merge, not recognizing the file we select after clicking the "find source" button, and then not saving the source after going through the steps of selecting the source in the Mail Merge wizard. She never had a problem with these files in Office 2003 - this just started after switching over to Office 2007 and vista. Thanks for any comments. What is the data source, and where is it? (if it is a "file data source" such as an Excel file or .txt file, is it on a network drive or a local drive, and how long are the pathnames to the file (e.g. c:\mycontainingfolder\) and the full pathname (e.g. c:\mycontaining folder\myfilename.xls)  SignaturePeter Jamieson http://tips.pjmsn.me.uk > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > > Thanks for any comments. Thanks for replying, Peter. The data source is a Word document (we've tried .doc and .docx). The files are stored on a network drive. An example of the path to the files, as well as the sources, is as follows: K:\PSC\PSC_Admin\Placement\2007 Documents An example of the full path is: K:\PSC\PSC_Admin\Placement\2007 Documents\2007 portfolio name page.docx I was in her office this morning doing a lot of testing, and tested using a couple different locations. If she saves this to her Documents folder (which is also a network drive (H:)), she has the same problem. However, if she saves the files to her Desktop, which is a subfolder of her Documents folder, everything works fine. Keeping up with me on this one? :) I'm pretty confused. As I said in my first post, she did not have any problems with these mail merges until she was switched over to Vista and Office 2007. Not sure what other info you may need... Thanks, again! > What is the data source, and where is it? (if it is a "file data source" > such as an Excel file or .txt file, is it on a network drive or a local [quoted text clipped - 50 lines] > > > > Thanks for any comments. There are a number of problems in this area, unless Microsoft has issued a fix since I last checked. Most of the ones I know about, however, are to do with trying to edit and then save a Word data source when it is on a network - what seems to happen is that Word makes a read-only temporary local copy of the .doc or .docx and issues either a Read-only, "wrong file name" or "File Permissions" type error. Microsoft certainly knows about those problems. Unfortunately I am not sitting at my Vista/Word 2007 config now but I am fairly sure that I did not experience a problem simply getting my original data source to re-open as in your case, at least when it was a Word document on a network drive with a fairly short pathname. However, in that case I would probably look at a. whether the data source is also attached to the template (I don't think I looked at that scenario as much)? b. the network folder and share permissions (I would guess that if they work with Word 2003/XP they should also work with Word 2007/Vista but it might be as well to verify that - here I would try to test with a folder where the user/share where the user has full control). c. the following KB article - I doubt if it is applicable to Word 2007 but it could be worth checking. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/834699/en-us Peter Jamieson > Thanks for replying, Peter. > [quoted text clipped - 93 lines] >> > >> > Thanks for any comments. Thanks, again for replying to my post, Peter. I really appreciate your time. I've gone through quite a few tests and am experiencing problems with the mail merge only when the source is stored on a network drive - I've tested .docx and .doc file formats for both the main docs and the sources, and have mixed the file formats for each. (used a .doc for main document and .docx for source, and vise versa) When the main doc is a .doc file, it doesn't matter if the source is a .doc or .docx file format - if the source is stored on a network drive, the main document opens without any data source prompts. Just brings you to the letter, where you have to go through the steps of manually starting the mail merge and selecting the source. Even after saving, when you reopen the main doc, it brings you right to the letter, doesn't prompt for a source. If both files are saved as .docx, and the source is stored on a network drive, we go through the loops of dialog boxes saying the source cannot be found, even after hitting the "find source data" button (it seems that it doesn't matter where the main document is stored). After choosing "Options" instead of "Find Data Source" it doesn't matter if we choose "Remove Data/Header Source" or "Remove All Merge Info" - they both work the same way: Word takes you to the Main document where you have to go through the steps of manually selecting the source. I'm a little confused as to what "Remove Data/Header source" means. I've tried looking up a definition, but only got more confused. Can you explain what that means, or advise of a link I could follow where it's explained in plain language? The source is just a word table with the first row indicating the names of the fields. When I "X'd" out of the dialog box, instead of choosing to "Remove Data/Header source" or "Remove All Merge Info" I received the message that "The Office Open XML file *filename* cannot be opened because there are problems with the contents." After clicking OK, another dialog box opens and says "Word found unreadable contents in *filename*. Do you want to recover the contents of this document? If you trust the source of this document, click Yes." After clicking Yes, the loop of dialog boxes happens again. (Can't find source, etc...) I did read the article you sent as a link and another article that references the XML error I just described. After testing, it seems that the only fix is to have to go through the manual steps of a mail merge whenever using a source stored on a Network drive - which seems very clunky considering A LOT of users store their files on a network drive where they can be shared. I guess, at least, they won't have to retype the main document - and, once the source is finally recognized, the merge fields seem to display without a problem. But you still have to go through all the manual steps next time you want to do a mail merge. It's too bad mail merge just can't work in 2007 like it did in previous versions - without these network issues. I just wanted to pass along my findings. Thanks, again, Peter! > There are a number of problems in this area, unless Microsoft has issued a > fix since I last checked. Most of the ones I know about, however, are to do [quoted text clipped - 119 lines] > >> > > >> > Thanks for any comments. Hi Tammy, I am back at my Word 2007 workstation and still cannot currently reproduce this. But maybe my test data source is too simple or some such. Is the behaviour the same even with very simple data sources (say, 3 columns of text, 3 rows of data?). When you manage to connect to the data source, can you open the Developer tab, start the VBA editor, and in the Immediate window, type print ActiveDocument.MailMerge.DataSource.Connectstring and print ActiveDocument.MailMerge.DataSource.Querystring and see what is displayed. > After choosing "Options" instead of "Find Data Source" it doesn't matter > if [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > I'm a little confused as to what "Remove Data/Header source" means. I don't think there is any difference in practice between the two Remove options these days, but in Word 2000 and earlier there was an option to set up a "Header Source" separately from a "Data Source". The header source let people insert merge fields from a dropdown list even though no particular data source had been selected - this used to be quite a common way to work. The facilities are still there in Word 2002 and later but are not shown in the out-of-the-box user interface. > I've > tried looking up a definition, but only got more confused. Can you explain [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > indicating > the names of the fields. SignaturePeter Jamieson http://tips.pjmsn.me.uk > Thanks, again for replying to my post, Peter. I really appreciate your > time. [quoted text clipped - 214 lines] >> >> > >> >> > Thanks for any comments. Hi Peter/Tammy, I have spent the last few days working on this and I am having exactly the same issues. Any standard word document that is on a network drive of any kind will not save the path to its data source. I am working with .doc as the main documents and .dta as the data sources. I have covered all areas of permissions and file attributes. (There is still the same error with micrcosoft where you remove the read only attribute marker from a folder or file and return to find it is still there) I thought this may be something to do with the new "Trusted Areas" that are in Office2007, but this has no effect when I add the path to the Trusted Areas zone. I am the support managaer for a company that supplies Electoral Registration software and much of our systems use as standard mail merge interface for their WP aspects. Attaching the data source manually each time is not a viable option for us, especially when working with documents that have multiple data sources. I think the root of this problem lies either within the XML settings for Office2007 or within the increased security, preventing default connection to network data sources. I would appreciate any further suggestions or information with regards what Microsoft intend to do to resolve these serious issues. Thanks, Glenn. > Thanks, again for replying to my post, Peter. I really appreciate your time. > I've gone through quite a few tests and am experiencing problems with the [quoted text clipped - 172 lines] > > >> > > > >> > Thanks for any comments. Hi Peter/Tammy, I have continued to investigate this issue and have found a "work around" until the source of the problem is resolved by MS. If you allow an existing version of Office to remain on the PC where you are installing Office2007, the data source association with the main document is not lost. a) If the main document is created in an earlier version of word AND b) The association betweeen the document and the data source already exists AND c) The older version of office remains installed on the PC then the mail merge will work correctly as before, even if the data source and/or main document reside on a network drive. Thanks, Glenn. > Hi Peter/Tammy, > [quoted text clipped - 208 lines] > > > >> > > > > >> > Thanks for any comments. Hi Glenn, Thanks for pushing forward on this one - I've been away but will try to have a look when I'm up and running again. SignaturePeter Jamieson http://tips.pjmsn.me.uk > Hi Peter/Tammy, > [quoted text clipped - 320 lines] >> > > >> > >> > > >> > Thanks for any comments. Hi Glenn, Thanks so much for taking the time to respond to my posts. I appreciate the testing you've done. I work for a university where we have all been migrated over to Vista and Office 2007, and do not have access to older versions of the software. Through A LOT of testing on my own, regardless of whether the main documents or sources are saved in the .doc version, or .docx version, if the source is stored on a network drive, you will have to always manually select the source again at the start of the merge - Word 2007 just won't recognize it. Regardless of document versions, if the source is stored on your home drive, Word will find the source every time. It appears that the main document can be saved anywhere you desire - network, or home drive - as long as the source is on the home drive, Word can find it. My user are aware that they now must add the extra steps of manually reselecting their recipient list, if they are required to store the list on a network drive. Hopefully, this will be a something Microsoft fixes in the future. I'm pretty curious as to the "whys" of this, but sometimes it's just what i refer to as the "mom" answer - "That's just the way it is, because I said so." Thanks, again to you, Glenn, and to you, Peter, for taking the time to answer my posts. > Hi Peter/Tammy, > [quoted text clipped - 234 lines] > > > > >> > > > > > >> > Thanks for any comments. guys, try this..!! open IE ; goto Internet Options-Tools-Security-Local Intranet-Sites; click Advanced - enter the network drive or path of the folder where your datasource is (i.e. K:\xyz) and try again... I was caught up with the similar situation and this was my work around!! hope this will help.. cheers.. Bhavin > Hi Glenn, > [quoted text clipped - 261 lines] > > > > > >> > > > > > > >> > Thanks for any comments. Hi, Just wanted to say I also have this same exact issue with the data source files being on a network drive. The difference is that we are running MS Office Pro 2003. The other difference is that the Office 2003 is ran on XP Pro Platforms & W2K Pro platforms and there seems to be a difference. When you first get the following message when opening a merge doc; Opening this document will run the following SQL command: SELECT * FROM <network path\<datasource.txt>>. Data from your database will be placed in the document. Do you want to continue? and you answer "Yes" on an XP PC you have 2 more messages to get through to get the letter even open as mentioned earlier, but on a W2K PC it will open the letter but you still have to go open your data source & then merge, which of course is a lot better than what you have to do on the XP platform. So there has to be something in XP causing this issue but I have not found it yet! :-( any ideas would be much appreciated! Thanks, Debbie > guys, > [quoted text clipped - 273 lines] > > > > > > >> > and > > > > > > >> > then not saving the source after going through the steps of selecting Sorry, Correction, on the W2K PC the Merge doc does open with the data source linked to it and all you have to do is merge the info, which is still better than the XP PC. > Hi, Just wanted to say I also have this same exact issue with the data source > files being on a network drive. The difference is that we are running MS [quoted text clipped - 271 lines] > > > > > > > >> > is > > > > > > > >> > not saved with the mail merge letter. After saving and closing the main Have you applied the registry change described in http://support.microsoft.com/kb/825765/en-us (which should deal with the SQL message, at least)? SignaturePeter Jamieson http://tips.pjmsn.me.uk > Hi, Just wanted to say I also have this same exact issue with the data > source [quoted text clipped - 418 lines] >> > > > > > >> > then not saving the source after going through the steps >> > > > > > >> > of selecting In addition, the following may be relevant - it was mentioned earlier in the conversation and Bhavin Shah's suggestion is ismilar: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/834699/en-us SignaturePeter Jamieson http://tips.pjmsn.me.uk > Have you applied the registry change described in > [quoted text clipped - 426 lines] >>> > > > > > >> > then not saving the source after going through the steps >>> > > > > > >> > of selecting Peter and Tammy Your posts are very interesting. We've experienced a host of identical problems when some users were "upgraded" to Office 2007. Our true and tried mail merge letters, used daily for years by dozens of users started failing. After much miserable research and some useless advice from Microsoft (like - use a separate PC with older OS for your mail merge needs ?!!?! - see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/834699/en-us), the solution was a combination of steps scattered in the above exchange. 1. Apply the registry change 2. Add your data source location to the trusted sources list and your mail merge will act normally, as it used to in Office 2000 and 2003, regardless if the data source in on your PC, or your network. This mail merge problem in Office 2007 had wasted a ton of time, and only provided fake security. Someone with MS deserves a good dope slap. Vojin Thanks for your input, but this fix doesn't work. the merge letters & data sources have to stay on the server for there are 3 users accessing them. One has W2k (works fine) and the other 2 have XP (doesn't work). > Peter and Tammy > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Vojin Thanks Peter, but I have tried this and it didn't work. The data sources have to be on the network due to there are 3 other user that access the merge letters & data sources. One user has a W2k & the others have XP. The W2k works fine & the XP doesn't. > In addition, the following may be relevant - it was mentioned earlier in the > conversation and Bhavin Shah's suggestion is ismilar: [quoted text clipped - 270 lines] > >>> > > > > > There are a number of problems in this area, unless Microsoft > >>> > > > > > has issued a |
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