[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

Hi kids - I have a conundrum and I know just enough to be dangerous.

Word 2007 SP2.

I've got a template(agreement1.dotx) on which the last page contents
are a link to a doc file (legal.docx). Legal.docx contains some
verbiage which needs to be standard on a agreements when we create
them (and we have a handful of other templates linked the same way).
It's an improvement over what they used to do, which was to have a
slew of documents they used as ersatz templates, and which all needed
to be updated any time there was a change to the legal verbiage.

When I create a new doc based on agreement1.dotx, the last page
properly inserts the current contents of legal.docx once I've
accepted the prompt to update the link.

Two things:

1) The prompt is annoying, and when I close / save the new doc, I am
prompted to save changes to the agreement.dotx ... I don't want that.
Minor annoyance, true, but still....

2) Most importantly, what I ultimately want is not a live link to the
current contents of legal.doc. A new document based on agreement.dotx
should ideally 'suck in' the contents of legal.docx so I can edit them
as needed; sometimes they need to vary by agreement. Also, if I create
a document when the legal.docx said one thing, and then want to
edit/open that doc later, I will not be seeing what we sent to the
client as a PDF - I'll see whatever the legal.docx says *now*. Not so
good.

So I'm guessing a merge is the thing I want, but I don't know how to
insert a field that merges in the entirety of a document.

Help me, Obi Wan!

[macropod[_2_]]

Hi Lanwench,

Try embedding your your INCLUDETEXT field in a QUOTE field, along the lines of:
{QUOTE {INCLUDETEXT "C:\\Document Path\\legal.docx"}}
After running a mailmerge coded this way, you should have the correct, unlinked text for each record.

Notes:
1. The field brace pairs (ie '{ }') for the above example are created via Ctrl-F9 - you can't simply type them or copy & paste them
from this message.
2. You can, if need be, have mergefields in your 'legal.docx' file, to control its content rather than having to edit the file
afterwards.


--
Cheers
macropod
[Microsoft MVP - Word]


"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]" ahoo.com wrote in message
...
Hi kids - I have a conundrum and I know just enough to be dangerous.

Word 2007 SP2.

I've got a template(agreement1.dotx) on which the last page contents
are a link to a doc file (legal.docx). Legal.docx contains some
verbiage which needs to be standard on a agreements when we create
them (and we have a handful of other templates linked the same way).
It's an improvement over what they used to do, which was to have a
slew of documents they used as ersatz templates, and which all needed
to be updated any time there was a change to the legal verbiage.

When I create a new doc based on agreement1.dotx, the last page
properly inserts the current contents of legal.docx once I've
accepted the prompt to update the link.

Two things:

1) The prompt is annoying, and when I close / save the new doc, I am
prompted to save changes to the agreement.dotx ... I don't want that.
Minor annoyance, true, but still....

2) Most importantly, what I ultimately want is not a live link to the
current contents of legal.doc. A new document based on agreement.dotx
should ideally 'suck in' the contents of legal.docx so I can edit them
as needed; sometimes they need to vary by agreement. Also, if I create
a document when the legal.docx said one thing, and then want to
edit/open that doc later, I will not be seeing what we sent to the
client as a PDF - I'll see whatever the legal.docx says *now*. Not so
good.

So I'm guessing a merge is the thing I want, but I don't know how to
insert a field that merges in the entirety of a document.

Help me, Obi Wan!

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

On Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:32:25 +1100, "macropod"
wrote:

Hi Lanwench,

Try embedding your your INCLUDETEXT field in a QUOTE field, along the lines of:
{QUOTE {INCLUDETEXT "C:\\Document Path\\legal.docx"}}
After running a mailmerge coded this way, you should have the correct, unlinked text for each record.

Notes:
1. The field brace pairs (ie '{ }') for the above example are created via Ctrl-F9 - you can't simply type them or copy & paste them
from this message.
2. You can, if need be, have mergefields in your 'legal.docx' file, to control its content rather than having to edit the file
afterwards.

Thanks, Macropod.

I had been using simply "insert | file" to get the doc in there... if
that's different perhaps I should try "includetext."

Will this method allow me to pull the contents of legal.docx in *once*
and then permit it to be edited as normal text in the main/new doc I
have created ?

What I don't know about Word would fill a ....well, lengthy multi-part
document.

[macropod[_2_]]

Hi Lanwench,

Using Insert|Object (As Link) generates LINK field that links the two documents together. In this case, the source document is
inserted as a Word object and can only span a single page. If the object contains more than one page, only the first page will be
displayed and will probably have to be scaled to fit the space available on the page into which it is inserted.

Using Insert|File (As Link) generates an INCLUDETEXT field that links the two documents together. In this case, the source document
is inserted as a text? stream which can span multiple pages, starting anywhere on the page into which the field is inserted.

In either case, you're able to edit both the target document and the source document, though the methods differ.

Ordinarily, the ability to edit the source document from the target document might be considered a good thing. However, in a
mailmerge situation, you'd probably want to be able to edit the result for one record without affecting either the source document
or the other records. For that, you need to unlink the inserted document from its source.

Embedding either an INCLUDETEXT field or a LINK field in a QUOTE field causes the mailmerge process to unlink the inserted
document/object from its source.

So, yes, this technique will allow you to edit each record's inserted document independently of both the source and the copies
inserted into the other records.

--
Cheers
macropod
[Microsoft MVP - Word]


"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]" ahoo.com wrote in message
...
On Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:32:25 +1100, "macropod"
wrote:

Hi Lanwench,

Try embedding your your INCLUDETEXT field in a QUOTE field, along the lines of:
{QUOTE {INCLUDETEXT "C:\\Document Path\\legal.docx"}}
After running a mailmerge coded this way, you should have the correct, unlinked text for each record.

Notes:
1. The field brace pairs (ie '{ }') for the above example are created via Ctrl-F9 - you can't simply type them or copy & paste
them
from this message.
2. You can, if need be, have mergefields in your 'legal.docx' file, to control its content rather than having to edit the file
afterwards.

Thanks, Macropod.

I had been using simply "insert | file" to get the doc in there... if
that's different perhaps I should try "includetext."

Will this method allow me to pull the contents of legal.docx in *once*
and then permit it to be edited as normal text in the main/new doc I
have created ?

What I don't know about Word would fill a ....well, lengthy multi-part
document.