Microsoft KB Archive/157788

= PUB98: Date and Number Formats Change During Mail Merge =

Article ID: 157788

Article Last Modified on 11/6/1999

-

APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Publisher 98 Standard Edition

-



This article was previously published under Q157788



SYMPTOMS
If you use a database that contains dates or numbers as the data source for a Publisher mail merge, those dates or numbers may have a different format in Publisher than in the program that created the database. For example, if you have cells in a Microsoft Excel Workbook that appear to contain the following data   January 1, 1996       $3.25         98025-1234 the data may appear like this in your merged publication:   1/1/96                3.25          980251234

-or-

Entering numbers containing leading zeros will be ignored during the Publisher mail merge. This occurs even if having the leading zeros appear correctly in Microsoft Excel. The example below is a zip code for Boston, MA.   02110 the data may appear like this in your merged publication:   2110



CAUSE
Many database and spreadsheet programs use input masks to control how data appears when you view it on screen. In Microsoft Excel, for example, if you type some data in a date format (such as 1/1/96) or a number format (such as 02110), Microsoft Excel automatically applies an input mask to make that data appear as January 1,1996. The actual number that is saved in the workbook is 1/1/96, Microsoft Excel changes the appearance of the data on the fly.

Input masks are part of the source application, not the database file itself. When you use a database as a data source in Publisher, Publisher receives the raw data without the input masks.

Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0c and Microsoft Office 97 for Windows use input masks and exhibit the above symptoms.



RESOLUTION
Most programs that create databases and spreadsheets have a feature to save as a delimited text file. Usually, if you export a database or spreadsheet as a text file, the text file contains the result of the input masks, not the raw data.



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

Additional query words: 98 dates format changed zipcode zeros leading

Keywords: kbinterop kbmerge kbprb KB157788

-

[mailto:TECHNET@MICROSOFT.COM Send feedback to Microsoft]

© Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.