Microsoft KB Archive/212702

= Date and number formats change during mail merge in Publisher =

Article ID: 212702

Article Last Modified on 1/24/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Office Publisher 2003
 * Microsoft Publisher 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Publisher 2000 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Publisher 98 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q212702





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, 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

Alternatively, if you enter numbers that contain leading zeros or ending zeros, they will be ignored during the Publisher mail merge. This occurs if the leading and ending zeros appear correctly in Microsoft Excel. The example below is a zip code for Boston, MA and for currency amounts:   02110                $120.00 The data may appear like this in your merged publication:   2110                  120.



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 dynamically.

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.

All versions of Microsoft Excel for Windows, and Microsoft Access for Windows use input masks and exhibit the symptoms described in this article.



RESOLUTION
Most programs that create databases and spreadsheets have a feature to save as a delimited text file. 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 that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

Additional query words: 9 2k pub2k pub9 mspub2k mspub9 dates format changed zipcode zeros leading pub2000 pub2003 pub2002 pub98

Keywords: kbinterop kbmerge kbprb KB212702

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