1. Microsoft is not listening to your comments here - this is a peer group
forum.
2. Microsoft is not going to change mail merge back to the way it was done
in Word 2000.
3. The only thing that really changed with the later versions was the way
Word connects to its data and this was done to increase stability as much as
anything.
4. All the things that you complain about are easily resolved. See
http://www.gmayor.com/mail_merge_lab...th_word_xp.htm and for the
anomalies caused by changing the way Word connects to its data, see
http://www.gmayor.com/formatting_word_fields.htm
Yes it came as a shock when Microsoft introduced the new methods of working
in Word XP, but if you use the mailmerge toolbar, it is no more trouble than
it was in 2000.
--
Graham Mayor - Word MVP
My web site
www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site
http://word.mvps.org
lrose33 wrote:
I will not use Word 2002, 2003, or any newer version of Word until
mail merge is fixed. I use mail merge everyday and the newer version
is truly awful. I still use Word 2000 because the mail merge function
is much simpler & faster. I have read the comment about adding the
old mail merge helper to the toolbar (a very esoteric procedure - No
one would ever find it on their own. ) I've experimented with this in
Word 2003 and find it is a pain. It is slightly better than than the
idiot mail merge wizard in newer versions. In Word 2000, you can set
up the merge fields quickly and all at one time. Using the helper or
the wizard in the newer version for addresses, you have to insert one
merge field, close the box, insert a lline return, reopen the box,
insert the next merge field, close the box, etc. This was easy in the
old version. You have managed to take a simple procedure and make it
insanely complicated. If something's not broke, DON'T fix it.
However, feel free to fix this new "feature" asap.
"gkoval" wrote:
I finally had a chance to do a Mail Merge in 2003 and what happened?
Even though I think I'm in the wrong spot, I have to vent. I've
been doing Mail Merges since Word 6.0 and 2003's is awful. Why the
change from 3 simple steps to 5 non-simple steps? It's one of the
reason of why the whole company isn't being upgraded to the new
version - the user's won't like it.
Any chance things will be back to normal (and functional) for the
next release?
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