Microsoft KB Archive/26415

Word: Using Excel Data for Print Merge

PSS ID Number: Q26415 Article last modified on 03-07-1997

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= SUMMARY =

To use an Excel version 3.0 or 4.0 document as a Word print merge data document, follow the appropriate procedure below.

Word Version 5.1
You can use a version 3.0 or 4.0 Excel file saved in Excel’s Normal Format as a print merge data document without modifying it.

Word version 5.1 includes an Excel converter. When this converter is installed in the Word Commands folder, Word is able to read version 3.0 or 4.0 Excel files directly. You do not need to open the Excel file in Word prior to executing the print merge.

Word Versions 5.0 and Earlier
To use data from an Excel document as a Word print merge data document (used to produce form letters, mailing labels, and other form documents), do one of the following:

  Copy the data from Microsoft Excel to the Clipboard and paste it in Word. -or-   In Excel, choose Save As from the File menu and Save the Excel file in Text file format. 

= MORE INFORMATION =

Saving the Excel File in Text Format
If you save your Excel file in Text format, the program will place quotation marks around any fields that contain commas (this is the preferred method if any fields contain commas). Make sure that your data (field titles/header record) begins in cell A1 (row 1, column 1) on the worksheet; otherwise the beginning of your Word data document will be filled with returns and tabs and will produce error messages when you perform you print merge.

In this procedure, Excel will not place a return character after the last record in the table. If you are using Microsoft Word versions 1.x, you must manually add this final return character manually when you open the document.

Copying the Information from Excel to the Clipboard
If you copy your Excel data to the Clipboard and paste the data in Word, your data does not have to begin in cell A1, and you do not need to insert a return at the end of the last record.

This method will not automatically place quotation marks around fields containing commas. Word versions 4.0, 5.0, and 5.1 will paste data from Excel versions 2.2, 3.0, and 4.0 as a table. Therefore, quotation marks are not needed around fields that contain commas.

KBCategory: kbinterop kbprint KBSubCategory: kbmerge kbtable Additional reference words: macword macword5

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