Microsoft KB Archive/173209

= PUB97: Publisher Fails to Recognize Delimiter After Mail Merge =

Article ID: 173209

Article Last Modified on 11/7/2002

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Publisher 97 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q173209



SYMPTOMS
If you create a mail merge in Microsoft Publisher and change to a new data source, and that new data source uses a different field delimiter, Publisher does not recognize the delimiter for the new data source and uses the original delimiter. For example, if you create a mail merge with a comma-delimited text file, Publisher always uses a comma as the delimiter for any new data source. This is true even if you explicitly specify another kind of delimiter.



CAUSE
If the indexed sequential access method (ISAM) driver is already loaded in random access memory, the driver does update the field delimiter definition when you connect to a new data source.



WORKAROUND
To workaround this problem, cancel the original mail merge before you change to a different data source. To do this, follow these steps:  On the Mail Merge menu, click Cancel Merge.

You then see a dialog box with the following message:

Are you sure you want to cancel this merge?

Click Yes to clear all merge information permanently and convert all merge fields to plain text. Click No to retain all merge information.

 Click Yes to clear merge information. On the Mail Merge menu, click Open Data Source. Click "Merge information from a file I already have." Locate the new data source, select it, and then click Open.

The delimiter for the new data source is used.

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STATUS
Microsoft is researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

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MORE INFORMATION
Additional query words: iisam pub97 unable records messed up 4.00 mm mailmerge mail-merge

Keywords: kbmerge kbprb kbusage KB173209

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