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MS Office Forum / Word / Mailmerge and Fax / August 2006

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How can I change the format of data source?

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jKingsGirl - 02 Aug 2006 14:38 GMT
I created a data base in the Word mail merge but I am unable to really access
it or send it to others. Is there a way to reformat it so that it can be
accessed on another computer and possibly printed?
Peter Jamieson - 02 Aug 2006 14:53 GMT
If you're using Word 2002 or 2003 then the database is an Access/Jet
database with a .mdb extension. If you have Access /or Excel/, you can make
a copy of it, then open the copy and use Access's facilities to export the
data into a number of formats.

I would not work with the original, because Access then modifies the .mdb in
a way that makes it more difficult to use as a Word data source.

Alternatively, make a new mail merge main document in Word, specify that it
is a "Catalog" or "Directory" merge, then specify your existing data source
as the data source for the new merge. In the mail merge main document,
create a 1-row table with as many columns as you used in the data source
(you can only have up to around 63 columns in a Word table) and insert one
merge field in each cell.

Make sure there is nothing else in your document except that table. Merge to
a new document, and you have a Word table with all the data. Add a row of
column headings, then you can either provide that Word document as a data
source, or e.g. use "Table|Convert table to text" to remove the table, and
save the document in a number of other formats such as comma-delimited text
etc. (Be careful if your data has commas in it, though!)

Peter Jamieson

>I created a data base in the Word mail merge but I am unable to really
>access
> it or send it to others. Is there a way to reformat it so that it can be
> accessed on another computer and possibly printed?
yourcareercoach - 10 Aug 2006 03:36 GMT
Peter:

You asked if I had the problem solved. I have not. I am trying to test the
documents I create in Word 2002 with someone who has 2003. Then I would send
the tested documents to you for review. Please bear with me.

> If you're using Word 2002 or 2003 then the database is an Access/Jet
> database with a .mdb extension. If you have Access /or Excel/, you can make
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
> > it or send it to others. Is there a way to reformat it so that it can be
> > accessed on another computer and possibly printed?
 
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