Microsoft KB Archive/286847

= First mail merge recipient is duplicated when you connect to the data source through the DDE method =

Article ID: 286847

Article Last Modified on 1/29/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Office Word 2003
 * Microsoft Word 2002 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q286847





SYMPTOMS
In the Mail Merge Wizard, when you attempt to sort or filter the Mail Merge Recipients list, you may receive the following error message:

Word could not re-establish a DDE connection with Microsoft Access to complete the current task.

When you click OK to clear the message, the first record in the Mail Merge Recipients list appears twice.



CAUSE
This behavior can occur if you are using the Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) method to connect to your data source.



WORKAROUND
To refresh the Mail Merge Recipients list and get rid of the duplicate first record, follow these steps:
 * 1) Proceed to step 5 of the Mail Merge Wizard, and then click the scroll buttons to preview the recipients.

The list now appears without the duplicate first record.
 * 1) Click Next, and then complete the merge operation.

NOTE: Do not clear the check box beside one of the duplicate first records. Because both copies of the first record have the same unique identifier, canceling one has the effect of preventing both copies from being included in the mail merge operation.



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the &quot;Applies to&quot; section.

Additional query words: WD2002 WD2003

Keywords: kbbug kbmerge kbpending KB286847

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