Can Word97 Word2000 and XP all read the same MailMerge file?

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Judy - 07 Sep 2005 23:23 GMT

Or do I need to create different files for different Word versions? I
started out with Word 2000 on my own system but I'm having difficulty
testing it with the other versions of Word. I seem to be running in
circles trying to please all three flavors of Word. Any suggestions or
advice?

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Graham Mayor - 08 Sep 2005 09:12 GMT

They should all be able to handle the same files, unless you employ some
complex formatting that was only available to the later versions. Word
2002/3 changed the way mail merge operated, but any changes caused by this
can be addressed - see
http://www.gmayor.com/mail_merge_labels_with_word_xp.htm and
http://www.gmayor.com/formatting_word_fields.htm

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Graham Mayor - Word MVP

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> Or do I need to create different files for different Word versions? I
> started out with Word 2000 on my own system but I'm having difficulty
> testing it with the other versions of Word. I seem to be running in
> circles trying to please all three flavors of Word. Any suggestions
> or advice?

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Judy - 09 Sep 2005 16:56 GMT

Graham,
Thanks for your reply! After a few days of experimentation I've come
to the conclusion that the biggest incompatibility problem is the data
source file. I needed a .dat file for Word 97 instead of a .txt file
like I use for the other versions of Word.

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Graham Mayor - 10 Sep 2005 06:45 GMT

It has been a while, but I am pretty sure that Word 97 could merge from
comma delimited text files.
Why don't you convert the file to a table -
http://www.gmayor.com/convert_labels_into_mail_merge.htm ?. All versions
seem to have less trouble with tabular data.

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Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site http://word.mvps.org
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

> Graham,
> Thanks for your reply! After a few days of experimentation I've come
> to the conclusion that the biggest incompatibility problem is the data
> source file. I needed a .dat file for Word 97 instead of a .txt file
> like I use for the other versions of Word.

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Judy - 10 Sep 2005 17:57 GMT

I appreciate the suggestion but my goal was to try to develop as simple
a system as possible to share with a group of artists to enable them to
easily print out title cards and sales labels for their paintings for a
show that we're preparing for. I've created the templates and tested
using XP, 2003, 2000, and 97. I *thought* that once I saved my text
file as a dat file for 97, that everything was working fine but now I
realize that if there are more records selected than will fit on a
single page, the following records will try to print in the bottom
margin and that throws off all the alignment for the next pages. I've
tried starting over with new template pages and selecting different
Avery products from the list and I've even tried creating them from two
different computers with Word 97 and they ALL seem to behave in the
same way. I expected to find some mention of this problem but it seems
as though no one has tried to use Word 97 templates with more records
than a single page would hold. (or maybe they gave up) If you happen
to still have access to a copy of Word 97, I'd be VERY interested in
your results if you also have the time to test it.

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Graham Mayor - 11 Sep 2005 06:22 GMT

I do not have access to Word 97 and I am having difficulty imagining what
you are doing wrong here. Labels are merely tables with cells of fixed
dimensions. If you run a label type merge new rows will be added that match
the layout. Some labels have narrow cells between them and the only way to
reproduce this type of label is to actually run the merge. I can't see any
reason why a normal label merge would cause the additional records to print
in the bottom margin.

If you are merging graphics, into the cells, then to ensure the correct
images are displayed, you need to merge to a new document and update the
fields in that document.

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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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> I appreciate the suggestion but my goal was to try to develop as
> simple a system as possible to share with a group of artists to
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> access to a copy of Word 97, I'd be VERY interested in your results
> if you also have the time to test it.

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