Why can't Word initiate DDE link with Excel in mail merge?

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ANorth - 16 Jan 2006 19:41 GMT

I use Word 2000 for mail merge frequently. Lately when trying to merge a
spreadsheet from Excel into a form letter it just runs and runs and won't
finish "initiating the DDE link". I receive the Excel spreadsheets, via
email attachment, from another person who may be using Office 2003. My
operating system is XP.

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Peter Jamieson - 18 Jan 2006 19:01 GMT

The old DDE communications method hasn't been reliable for quite some time
now (not that any of the other methods are ideal). In this case, it may be
worth checking to see whether older Spreadsheets work fine (in which case
something has probably changed at the "other person's" end). If not, the
problem might be
a. the result of a Windows or Office update applied recently on your system
b. that you are using another application that relies on DDE and which is
hanging for some reason

If it's (b) you'll probably know about it as it would suggest you are using
something you hadn't used much before.

If it's (a), there are a couple of potentially relevant Microsoft KB
articles concerning DDE (have a look at http://support.microsoft.com - I can
probably be more specific if you can't find anything that looks relevant)

In any case, you could always try connecting to the Excel sheet using ODBC
or the Excel converter (check "Select method" in the Open Data Source dialog
box, and select the ODBC or converter option). However, there are
significant differences in the way that the DDE/ODBC/Converter methods
behave, and in particular you may need to start using numeric and date/time
"switches" in your Word MERGEFIELD fields to get similar results to the ones
you're used to.

Peter Jamieson

>I use Word 2000 for mail merge frequently. Lately when trying to merge a
> spreadsheet from Excel into a form letter it just runs and runs and won't
> finish "initiating the DDE link". I receive the Excel spreadsheets, via
> email attachment, from another person who may be using Office 2003. My
> operating system is XP.

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ANorth - 23 Jan 2006 17:55 GMT

Thank you for your reply. After several attempts I (think) I have concluded
that the problem is with the Word form letter, rather than the Excel
spreadsheets I receive. My sender creates a letter in Word that I am to
convert into a merge form letter. I went back and used an older form letter
that I knew would merge with the spreadsheets. So, it appears that it has to
do with Word; either their version or, as you suggested, an update I've
installed. Any further suggestions you have are most appreciated. Thanks!

> The old DDE communications method hasn't been reliable for quite some time
> now (not that any of the other methods are ideal). In this case, it may be
[quoted text clipped - 27 lines]
> > email attachment, from another person who may be using Office 2003. My
> > operating system is XP.

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Peter Jamieson - 23 Jan 2006 18:18 GMT

It may be worth trying to do something like:
a. use File|Save As to save whatever document is provided to you in a
different format, such as rtf or an older .doc format, or disconnect from
the data source altogether (only the data source info. and sort/selection
info is lost - all the fields should be preserved) by changing the document
to be a "normal Word document", then try to reconnect, or try to save in a
different format
b. re-open and try to make the connection.

Of course, you may not be able to do that if the connection hangs.

I would actually guess it's a problem at the sender end, in which case it
may be worth trying to persuade them either to
a. disconnect from the data source before they send you the document, or
b. save in a different format before they send, or
c. do a bit of troubleshooting, e.g. rename their Normal.dot or
rename/delete the data key in the Word part of the Windows registry. I'm not
sure any of the articles at http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/index.htm is the sort
of thing you could direct your sender to in this particular case, but
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/ProbsOpeningWord.htm may be relevant
even if their copy of Word is not crashing or opening slowly.

Peter Jamieson

> Thank you for your reply. After several attempts I (think) I have
> concluded
[quoted text clipped - 52 lines]
>> > email attachment, from another person who may be using Office 2003. My
>> > operating system is XP.

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ANorth - 23 Jan 2006 18:31 GMT

Thank you for your suggestions. I think you are on the track about having
the sender "disconnect from the datasource" before they send the doc. I
believe they have been just re-typing current info into a formerly merged
letter...that could be the hang up. Anyway, you have been very helpful.
Thanks again!

> It may be worth trying to do something like:
> a. use File|Save As to save whatever document is provided to you in a
[quoted text clipped - 76 lines]
> >> > email attachment, from another person who may be using Office 2003. My
> >> > operating system is XP.

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ANorth - 24 Jan 2006 22:15 GMT

An update! I used an older form letter to try the merge and it worked fine;
this letter was saved as Word 97. So, I took the new letter, saved as "Word
97-2000 & 6.0/95-RTF" and then created the merge letter. I guess this points
to the problem being with Word 2000 and 2003. As you suggested, it's either
from an update I installed or from the 2003 version that my sender creates
the letters in. I'm just glad to finally get around this problem! Thanks
again!

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