Microsoft KB Archive/65370

Word: Print Merge Fails, Header/Record Separators Mixed Format

PSS ID Number: Q65370 Article last modified on 03-07-1997

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= SUMMARY =

In Word versions 4.0 and 5.0, if you create a print merge data document where the header record of the data document is in a table but the data records are NOT in a table, Word will not merge the document correctly. Word will not produce an error message for this merge problem. To correctly merge the document:


 * Put the data records in a table.

-or-


 * Convert the table containing the header records to text.

Note: Placing existing records in a table may not be suitable for some data records. For example, in a comma-delimited data file, records that have embedded commas will not merge correctly.

To place the data records in a table:


 * 1) Select all the records that you want to place in a table.
 * 2) From the Insert menu, choose Table. (In Word 4.0, from the Document menu, choose Insert Table.)
 * 3) A dialog box will appear suggesting the number of columns and rows to insert. Click the OK button.

To convert the table containing the header record to text:


 * 1) Select the table by holding down the OPTION key and double-clicking the table.
 * 2) From the Insert menu, choose Table To Text. (In Word 4.0, choose Table To Text, from the Document menu.)
 * 3) Select a character to separate the contents of each cell (this character must be either a tab or a comma). Be sure this delimiter is the same character that is used to separate the data in the data records.
 * 4) Choose the OK button.

= MORE INFORMATION =

In Word versions 4.0 and 5.0, the field headers (field names) and field data must be formatted the same way. For example, they should all be placed in a table, or they should all be separated with commas, or they should all be separated with tabs. If you use a combination of these separators in the same data document (for example, commas and tabs or tables and tabs), the print merge will not work correctly.

For more information, query in this Knowledge Base on the following words:

print and merge and mix and comma and tab

For more information on creating a data document, see pages 586-591 of the version 5.0 “Microsoft Word User’s Guide,” or see pages 72-75 of the version 4.0 “Reference to Microsoft Word.”

KBCategory: kbprint KBSubCategory: kbmerge Additional reference words: macword macword5 4.00 5.00 ====================================================================== ============================================================================= Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1997.