Microsoft KB Archive/23673

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{| The information in this article applies to:
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 * Microsoft Word for the Macintosh versions 3.0, 3.01, 3.02, 4.0, 5.0, 5.1, 6.0

SYMPTOMS
When specifying a range of records to print merge in Microsoft Word for the Macintosh versions, Print Merge error messages that appear may not be caused by any of the records within that range.

Word Versions 4.0 and Later
When the data document is comma or tab delimited, Word checks every record before the range selected and one record immediately after the range selected.

For example, if you have 300 data records and you select records 30 through 40 to be merged, Word checks all records before 30 for errors and record 41 for errors. If all records are correct from 1 through 40 and record 41 is incorrect, you will receive a error message. If record 41 is correct, Word stops checking for errors.

NOTE: When the data document is in a table, Word only checks that specified range.

Word Versions 3.x
Word 3.x scans every record in your data file until it finds an error or reaches the end of the data file. Printing a range of records is not a way to find or skip an offending record that is causing an error.

For example, if you have 300 data records and the 300th record has an extra comma/tab, you will still receive a "Data record too long" error message if you try to print merge records 1 through 40.

Another example is if you have 300 data records and the first record has a missing comma/tab, and you try to Print Merge records 200 through 300, you will receive the "Missing comma in data record" message and nothing will print.
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Last reviewed: November 17, 1997

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