Make your merge template read-only.

Make it so it is much harder to open your template than it is to create a
new document based on your template. You can do this by putting it on menus
even. http://addbalance.com/word/templatesmenu.htm
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide

See also the MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/ which is awesome!
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"DPurplRose" wrote in message
...
Now, I know that it is impossible to lock a document that contains mail
merge. I also read that if I change the document into a template I can do
it
that way. Here's my problem:

We have a shared letter than uses mail merge. My coworkers keep deleting
fields in the letter itself and then wonder why it doesn't have all the
information. Is there a way that they can add/change the data source
without
them being able to change the mail merge document itself? (I hope I got
all
of the terminology correct)

These folks won't consider learning how to open the template through a new
document, they will just open and change the template. Most of them
aren't
too savvy when it comes to computers (really, neither am I, so use small
words please , and I'm getting sick of fixing the mail merge document.
Hence, why I need them to have access to the document without changing
anything besides the records.

We use Microsoft Office Word 2003 for all of our word processing needs.