Mailmerge how to treat very long number as text ?

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OhmegaStar - 23 Apr 2008 11:33 GMT

Hio,

I have an automation integration with Word 2003 sp3, generating mail merges
from a dynamically created and selected data source. The data source is
generated and selected as the data source for the mail merge every time. The
mail merge runs on a server uising word (active-x i assume), and how this is
done is outside myy control.

the data source is a html file, that will contain a very long number (a
serial number) like this: 89450401070828037431, in word 2000 this came out on
the mail merged document fine, but after upgrading to word 2003 (the company
will no longer support word 2000) the number is "Translated" by word to:
8.9450401070828044E+19

THIS IS NOT GOOD!

Is there a viable workaround, besides the obvious to change the number as
exported in the data source to contain spaces. ?

Regards,

Henrik Ohm

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Graham Mayor - 23 Apr 2008 14:37 GMT

From the Tools menu in Word, select Options and then go to the General tab
and check the box against the "Confirm conversions at open" item. Then when
you attach the data source to the mail merge main document, you will be
given the option of using the DDE method of connection (as used in Word
2000) which should read the data as you have it formatted in the table.

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Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site http://word.mvps.org
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> Hio,
>
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>
> Henrik Ohm

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OhmegaStar - 23 Apr 2008 15:02 GMT

Hi Graham,

I found your previous post mentioning this, and it does infact fix the
problem. But just temporarily, as soon as I put my template into the system
making the mail merge this option is not invoked (in principle a new
datasource is created for each time the document template is called to do
mail merge)...

So I need some other way. For Now I have fiddled with the data source so
there are now spaces in the field exported - But I'm unhappy with this
solution.

Regards,

Henrik

> From the Tools menu in Word, select Options and then go to the General tab
> and check the box against the "Confirm conversions at open" item. Then when
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
> >
> > Henrik Ohm

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Doug Robbins - Word MVP - 23 Apr 2008 20:50 GMT

You are going to have to make some change with the way that you are
integrating this through automation, so that DDE method of connection is
used. It is not a function of the datasource being a new one each time, but
that you automation is establishing a new connection each time. You may be
able to avoid that by having the data source created with the same filename
each time and having the automation create a new document from a template
that has had a data source of that name already attached to it using the DDE
method of connection.

Signature

Hope this helps.

Please reply to the newsgroup unless you wish to avail yourself of my
services on a paid consulting basis.

Doug Robbins - Word MVP

> Hi Graham,
>
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>> >
>> > Henrik Ohm

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OhmegaStar - 23 Apr 2008 22:19 GMT

Hi Dough,

The data fsource (the file) has the same name each time, and also is stored
the same place each time - but regenerated from scratch for each merge.

I cannot modify the Integration - this is built into the application we're
using.

I think I can simulate the folder structure to the data source, and for this
set the correct conversion. Then from what youre telleing this should be
remembered in the word document (the mail merge template).

I Will try this - but it will give the non deveolpers a lot more trouble
developing new templates for the system. (having to create the same directory
structure in order to do the same trick.).

Regards,

Henrik

My problem is that I cannot acces the

> You are going to have to make some change with the way that you are
> integrating this through automation, so that DDE method of connection is
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> >> >
> >> > Henrik Ohm

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