Microsoft KB Archive/166957

= WD97: Problems with Mail Merge Main Documents Saved as RTF =

Article ID: 166957

Article Last Modified on 1/19/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Word 97 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q166957



SYMPTOMS
After a mail merge main document has been saved in Rich Text Format (RTF) or Word 6.0/95 format, you may experience one or both of the following problems.

Case 1: Error Message Opening the File
When opening the file, you may receive the following message:

.rtf is a mail merge main document. Word cannot find its data source.

This message may be followed by:

.rtf is a mail merge main document. Word cannot find its header source.

NOTE: These error messages seem to occur most often when opening a mailing label main merge document in Microsoft Word 6.x for the Macintosh or Microsoft Word for Windows 95, version 7.x. But they may occur at other times.

Case 2: Merge Type Changed
Once the file is opened, the merge type of the main document is changed to "Form Letters."

NOTE: This problem occurs regardless of which merge type the mail merge main document is set to initially.



WORKAROUND
To work around this problem, use the appropriate method for your situation.

Method 1: If You Receive the Error Message When You Open the File
To find the data source, follow these steps:

 Click Find Data Source. Select the data file associated with the mail merge main document. Click Open. If the following message appears:

.rtf is a mail merge main document. Word cannot find its header source.

click Options. In the next dialog box, click Remove Data/Header Source.

Method 2: If the Merge Type Is Changed
Use the appropriate method for your situation.

Form Letters or Catalogs:

For form letters or catalog merge types, follow these steps:

 On the Tools menu, click Mail Merge.</li> In the Mail Merge Helper, click Create, and then click either Form Letters or Catalog.

You receive the following message:

You can change .rtf from form letters to or you can create a new main document.

</li> Click "Change Document Type."

The document "Merge Type" is now shown correctly in the Mail Merge Helper.</li></ol>

Envelopes or Mailing Labels:

For Envelopes or Mailing Labels merge types, follow these steps:

 On the Tools menu, click Mail Merge.</li> In the Mail Merge Helper, click Create, and then click either Envelopes or Mailing Labels.

You receive the following message:

You can change .rtf from form letters to mailing labels or you can create a new main document.

</li>  Click "Change Document Type."

This may activate the Setup button (in step 1 Main Document) which disables the Merge button (in step 3 "Merge the Data with the document"). To perform a mail merge if the Merge Button is disabled, use either of the following methods.

Use the Mail Merge Toolbar
 Click Close to close the Mail Merge Helper.</li> Click the "Merge to New Document" icon on the Mail Merge Toolbar.</li></ol>

Use the Mail Merge Helper
 Click Setup.</li> Select the Product Number and click OK.</li> Insert your merge fields and click OK.

You receive the following message:

This mail merge main document is not empty. Continuing will replace all text in this document with new text.

</li> Click OK.</li></ol>

NOTE: You may want to save your mail merge main document in Word format to prevent this problem from reoccurring. </li></ol>

<div class="status_section">

STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the versions of Microsoft Word listed at the beginning of this article.

<div class="moreinformation_section">

MORE INFORMATION
For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

161978 WD97: RTF Format Given to File Send in Word 6.0/95

162602 WD: Questions About Saving in the Word 6.0/95 File Format

Additional query words: 8.0 8.00

Keywords: kbbug kbinterop kbmerge KB166957

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