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MS Office Forum / Word / Mailmerge and Fax / April 2005Apostrophe Creating a Merge Problem
I have an Excel data file that I use as a master list for merges. Recently, I added a last name with an apostrophe (e.g., O'Donnell). Word comes back during a merge with the message, "Word could not parse your query options into a valid SQL string." I can get around this by omitting the apostrophe in the master list, but it does not seem very professional. Is there an alternative? Thanks in advance for any assistance. Gordon Biggar Houston, Texas Hi Gordon, In Word, select Options for the Tools menu and then on the General Tab, check the "Confirm conversions at open" item and then when you attach the data source to the mailmerge main document, select the DDE method of connection and see if that overcomes the problem.  SignatureHope 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 >I have an Excel data file that I use as a master list for merges. >Recently, [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Gordon Biggar > Houston, Texas Sir Douglas -- I'm not sure that I know what you mean when you say "attach the data source...select(ing) the DDE method..." If I use a blank space in the name field of the Excel file (in place of an apostrophe), there is no problem in creating a match-up during the merge. I think that the software doesn't like my single-quote in that it is looking for another closing quote, so to speak. Gordon > Hi Gordon, > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Gordon Biggar > > Houston, Texas It is explained in pictures at http://www.gmayor.com/mail_merge_labels_with_word_xp.htm Signature<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<> Graham Mayor - Word MVP My web site www.gmayor.com Word MVP web site http://word.mvps.org <>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<> > Sir Douglas -- > [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] >>> Gordon Biggar >>> Houston, Texas Gordon, Have you checked the box against the "Confirm conversions at open" item under Tools>Options>General? SignatureHope 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 > Sir Douglas -- > [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] >> > Gordon Biggar >> > Houston, Texas Sir Douglas -- Been on the road for the last week, so I did not see your post until this evening. Yes, the appropriate box was checked. Could the problem have something to do with different interpretations of an apostrophe by Word (the merge document) and Excel (the data file source)? Gordon > Gordon, > [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] > >> > Gordon Biggar > >> > Houston, Texas I don't get this particular problem no matter how I connect to the Excel sheet. But there is certainly the potential for a clash, in that Word generates an SQL statement to get the data, and single quote is used in SQL (at least the way Word does it) to quote text values, e.g. SELECT * FROM mydata WHERE surname = 'Smith' However, for this to cause problems you would really have to be specifiying "O'Donnell" - or whatever - as a filter criterion, in whch case Word would probably not generate valid SQL: SELECT * FROM mydata WHERE surname = 'O'Donnell' It seems unlikely but maybe you are doing something like that? Peter Jamieson > Sir Douglas -- > [quoted text clipped - 57 lines] >> >> > Gordon Biggar >> >> > Houston, Texas Peter -- This is a merge program that I have been using with success for at least two years. This is the only last name (of an individual, newly added to the Excel file) in the particular Excel column that contains an apostrophe. If I leave the apostrophe out of the name in the Excel file, and I enter the same spelling (without an apostrophe) in the Word merge program, I get a perfect match. For now, this is the route that I have taken, and then I have to remember to add the apostrophe into the name in the merged document (e.g., a letter, mailing label). This works, but it is not "pure," so to speak. Maybe I should leave well enough alone! Gordon > I don't get this particular problem no matter how I connect to the Excel > sheet. But there is certainly the potential for a clash, in that Word [quoted text clipped - 74 lines] > >> >> > Gordon Biggar > >> >> > Houston, Texas > This works, but it is not "pure," so to speak. Maybe I should leave well > enough alone! I often come to that conclusion these days :-) One other thing you could try is to use a different character in your data, e.g. if you are using character 39 (Unicode U+0027 Apostrophe), try Unicode U+2019 Right Single Quotation mark instead - you may be able to insert it from the Windows Character map, or using Alt+numeric-keypad-0146 on the keyboard. Whether or not you will be able to do that, and whether or not this character appears correctly in your merge results, I cnanot tell. Peter Jamieson > Peter -- > [quoted text clipped - 108 lines] >> >> >> > Gordon Biggar >> >> >> > Houston, Texas |
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