[Cindy B]

Hi Macropod. Thanks for your advice. Everyone is on the right page with the
problem.

I did test it and it does merge if the text is not set as hidden text.

As far as changing the color - I did think of that and in some cases, it
works great but in this case, the merge letter needs to be printed on
beige/linen colored letterhead and not having any luck matching the text
color just right.

I've done hundreds of merges like this and sometimes it works and sometimes
it doesn't. I haven't discovered any rhyme or reason for the issue. I've
searched for known bugs or issues with this but haven't found any. I've also
searched for settings that could cause the problem and haven't found anything
there either. Has anyone else had inconsistant results when merging using
Word 2002 or newer?

"macropod" wrote:

Hi Cindy,

Try UNhiding the text, to confirm that it merges.

If that works, select the mergefield you want to hide, but DON'T format it as hidden. Instead:
.. press Shift-F9 to expose the field code, which will look something like {MERGEFIELD Data}
.. formatted the font colour for 'M' in 'MERGEFIELD' as the same colour as the background (eg white)
.. add '\* Charformat' to the field (i.e. {MERGEFIELD Data \* Charformat}
.. delete '\* Mergeformat' if it's there
.. press F9 to update the field.
Now run your mailmerge and everything should be OK. The text will be in your merged output, but won't be visible or print because
it's the same colour as the background. If you need to see it, simply change its colour.

Cheers

--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]


"Cindy B" wrote in message ...
| No, the text is not merged at all.
|
| "Peter Jamieson" wrote:
|
| However, once I merge, the hidden text is completely
| ignored.
|
| Can we assume that you mean that the hidden attribute is ignored and so the
| text is visible? Please spell it out if that's not right.
|
| It seems OK here, but
| a. which version of Word (I'm using 2003)?
| b. how are you hiding the MERGEFIELD fields (and are you hiding other types
| of field) ?
| c. presumably you are outputting to a new document, but what type of merge
| are you performing (Letters, Directory,...) ?
|
| Peter Jamieson
| "Cindy B" wrote in message
| ...
| I have several merge fields set as hidden text because I need to be able to
| see them on the screen but not print once I've completed my merge - seems
| reasonable right? However, once I merge, the hidden text is completely
| ignored. Has anyone encountered this and more importantly found a
| resolution?
|
|
|