| Home |
| Search |
| Today's Posts |
|
#1
Posted to microsoft.public.word.mailmerge.fields
|
|||
|
|||
Adding Fields to Mail Merge
We updated to Word 2003 and when I try to go back into previously saved Mail
Merge databases, I have to first answer "yes" to a pop up that asks, "Opening this document will run the following SQL command: Select *From (file's location). Data from your database will be placed in the document. Do you want to continue?" I click yes, then I get into the database, but when I click on Edit, I cannot find a way to add additional fields to what I already have. I notice that when I create a new Mail Merge database in Word 2003, I can click on Edit and add fields, but not, seemingly, from databases saved from before the Word update. Can anyone advise me on how to customize (add fields) to my old Mail Merge stuff? |
|
#2
Posted to microsoft.public.word.mailmerge.fields
|
|||
|
|||
|
Adding Fields to Mail Merge
I have to first answer "yes" to a pop up that asks, "Opening
this document will run the following SQL command: Select *From (file's location). Data from your database will be placed in the document. Do you want to continue?" There's a discussion about this that started a few days ago with a message titled " KB 825765 - just making sure..." which you might want to read. However, the simple workaround is to make the registry change described in the following Knowledgebase article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/825765 I click yes, then I get into the database, but when I click on Edit, I cannot find a way to add additional fields to what I already have. I notice that when I create a new Mail Merge database in Word 2003, I can click on Edit and add fields, but not, seemingly, from databases saved from before the Word update. Yes, the rules have changed /and/ even when the Edit button is not greyed out it does not necessarily do what you expect. Can anyone advise me on how to customize (add fields) to my old Mail Merge stuff? If your previous "databases" were created in the older version of Mail Merge, then they are probably tables in Word documents - you can open those documents and edit them directly in Word. Although you may find that Word still successfully notices the changes you make without saving/closing the data source document, I would save and close anyway these days. For almost all data sources you have to open the source in the "creating application", e.g. open a .mdb in Access, a .xls in Excel and so on. The new format used by Word when you create a list in mailmerge is an "Office Address List" which is a .mdb file in a particular format that Word recognises and lets you edit. In some cases you may find that you cannot have your Mail merge Main document and the data source open at the same time (e.g. probably with Excel worksheets). Peter Jamieson "April B." wrote in message ... We updated to Word 2003 and when I try to go back into previously saved Merge databases, I have to first answer "yes" to a pop up that asks, "Opening this document will run the following SQL command: Select *From (file's location). Data from your database will be placed in the document. Do you want to continue?" I click yes, then I get into the database, but when I click on Edit, I cannot find a way to add additional fields to what I already have. I notice that when I create a new Mail Merge database in Word 2003, I can click on Edit and add fields, but not, seemingly, from databases saved from before the Word update. Can anyone advise me on how to customize (add fields) to my old Mail Merge stuff? |
|
#3
Posted to microsoft.public.word.mailmerge.fields
|
|||
|
|||
|
Adding Fields to Mail Merge
Peter,
I'm trying to understand your directions... please bear with me, I don't know a lot about how any of this works... I've sort of hacked my way through Word and discovered how to do things, but delving into things like "tables" is beyond me. But I'm not totally clueless, so if you could give me some clarification? You said, "If your previous "databases" were created in the older version of Merge, then they are probably tables in Word documents - you can open those documents and edit them directly in Word" How do I do this exactly? For instance, I'm looking at the screen and I see a whole page full of: «FirstName» «LastName» «Address1» «City», «State» «PostalCode» «Next Record»«FirstName» «LastName» «Address1» «City», «State» «PostalCode» From there, I usually click on the icon for "Mail Merge Recipients" then Edit and I keep adding contacts. But the things I need to add are secondary address, phone number, etc to the fields I already have (like name, primary add, etc.). Any help you can give is so appreciated. Thanks, April "Peter Jamieson" wrote: I have to first answer "yes" to a pop up that asks, "Opening this document will run the following SQL command: Select *From (file's location). Data from your database will be placed in the document. Do you want to continue?" There's a discussion about this that started a few days ago with a message titled " KB 825765 - just making sure..." which you might want to read. However, the simple workaround is to make the registry change described in the following Knowledgebase article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/825765 I click yes, then I get into the database, but when I click on Edit, I cannot find a way to add additional fields to what I already have. I notice that when I create a new Mail Merge database in Word 2003, I can click on Edit and add fields, but not, seemingly, from databases saved from before the Word update. Yes, the rules have changed /and/ even when the Edit button is not greyed out it does not necessarily do what you expect. Can anyone advise me on how to customize (add fields) to my old Mail Merge stuff? If your previous "databases" were created in the older version of Mail Merge, then they are probably tables in Word documents - you can open those documents and edit them directly in Word. Although you may find that Word still successfully notices the changes you make without saving/closing the data source document, I would save and close anyway these days. For almost all data sources you have to open the source in the "creating application", e.g. open a .mdb in Access, a .xls in Excel and so on. The new format used by Word when you create a list in mailmerge is an "Office Address List" which is a .mdb file in a particular format that Word recognises and lets you edit. In some cases you may find that you cannot have your Mail merge Main document and the data source open at the same time (e.g. probably with Excel worksheets). Peter Jamieson "April B." wrote in message ... We updated to Word 2003 and when I try to go back into previously saved Merge databases, I have to first answer "yes" to a pop up that asks, "Opening this document will run the following SQL command: Select *From (file's location). Data from your database will be placed in the document. Do you want to continue?" I click yes, then I get into the database, but when I click on Edit, I cannot find a way to add additional fields to what I already have. I notice that when I create a new Mail Merge database in Word 2003, I can click on Edit and add fields, but not, seemingly, from databases saved from before the Word update. Can anyone advise me on how to customize (add fields) to my old Mail Merge stuff? |
|
#4
Posted to microsoft.public.word.mailmerge.fields
|
|||
|
|||
|
Adding Fields to Mail Merge
First, some terms:
a. The thing with the «FirstName» «LastName» etc. is usually termed the Mail Merge Main Document b. the data that you merge into it is usually termed the Mail Merge Data Source (or Data Source, for short) You said you upgraded to Word 2003 but not what you upgraded from. c. If it was Word 97 or 2000, or perhaps even earlier, the data sources would probably have been a Word document (but they /might/ have been saved in a different format. d. if it was Word 2002 (Word XP) then the databases created in Word would have been "Office Address Lists" identical to the ones created in Word 2003. There are a few ways to find our what your data source is, e.g. with your Mail Merge Main Document open, go to Word|Help|About|"System Info" then wait for the utility to start... then "System Summary"|"Office 2003 Applications"|"Microsoft Office Word 2003"|"Mail Merge" then look at the Data Source item in the right-hand pane. If it is a .doc, note the full path name of the .doc, then close the System Info dialog box, close your mail merge main document, and try using Word File|Open to open the file named in System Info. With any luck, you should see your data, but it could be in a Word table or simply in a comma-delimited format or tab-delimited format within Word. If it's a table, ou can add a new field to the "database" by adding a column to the table and giving it the name you want to use. Then close the .doc, re-open your mail merge main document, and see if the new column appears in the list of fields. If it isn't a table, things are a little harder but I'd rather not try to deal with that unless I have to. If it isn't a .doc, let us know what the file name is. (If no extensions are displayed we'll have to try something else). Peter Jamieson "April B." wrote in message ... Peter, I'm trying to understand your directions... please bear with me, I don't know a lot about how any of this works... I've sort of hacked my way through Word and discovered how to do things, but delving into things like "tables" is beyond me. But I'm not totally clueless, so if you could give me some clarification? You said, "If your previous "databases" were created in the older version of Merge, then they are probably tables in Word documents - you can open those documents and edit them directly in Word" How do I do this exactly? For instance, I'm looking at the screen and I see a whole page full of: «FirstName» «LastName» «Address1» «City», «State» «PostalCode» «Next Record»«FirstName» «LastName» «Address1» «City», «State» «PostalCode» From there, I usually click on the icon for "Mail Merge Recipients" then Edit and I keep adding contacts. But the things I need to add are secondary address, phone number, etc to the fields I already have (like name, primary add, etc.). Any help you can give is so appreciated. Thanks, April "Peter Jamieson" wrote: I have to first answer "yes" to a pop up that asks, "Opening this document will run the following SQL command: Select *From (file's location). Data from your database will be placed in the document. Do you want to continue?" There's a discussion about this that started a few days ago with a message titled " KB 825765 - just making sure..." which you might want to read. However, the simple workaround is to make the registry change described in the following Knowledgebase article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/825765 I click yes, then I get into the database, but when I click on Edit, I cannot find a way to add additional fields to what I already have. I notice that when I create a new Mail Merge database in Word 2003, I can click on Edit and add fields, but not, seemingly, from databases saved from before the Word update. Yes, the rules have changed /and/ even when the Edit button is not greyed out it does not necessarily do what you expect. Can anyone advise me on how to customize (add fields) to my old Mail Merge stuff? If your previous "databases" were created in the older version of Mail Merge, then they are probably tables in Word documents - you can open those documents and edit them directly in Word. Although you may find that Word still successfully notices the changes you make without saving/closing the data source document, I would save and close anyway these days. For almost all data sources you have to open the source in the "creating application", e.g. open a .mdb in Access, a .xls in Excel and so on. The new format used by Word when you create a list in mailmerge is an "Office Address List" which is a .mdb file in a particular format that Word recognises and lets you edit. In some cases you may find that you cannot have your Mail merge Main document and the data source open at the same time (e.g. probably with Excel worksheets). Peter Jamieson "April B." wrote in message ... We updated to Word 2003 and when I try to go back into previously saved Merge databases, I have to first answer "yes" to a pop up that asks, "Opening this document will run the following SQL command: Select *From (file's location). Data from your database will be placed in the document. Do you want to continue?" I click yes, then I get into the database, but when I click on Edit, I cannot find a way to add additional fields to what I already have. I notice that when I create a new Mail Merge database in Word 2003, I can click on Edit and add fields, but not, seemingly, from databases saved from before the Word update. Can anyone advise me on how to customize (add fields) to my old Mail Merge stuff? |
|
#5
Posted to microsoft.public.word.mailmerge.fields
|
|||
|
|||
|
Adding Fields to Mail Merge
Peter,
You rock the Casbah! That did it! I would never have figured this out in a thousand years, so THANK YOU THANK YOU! Don't be surprised to see me back here... there are other tricks up my sleeve that might need a little wizardry to accomplish. And you are the WIZARD! ~April "Peter Jamieson" wrote: First, some terms: a. The thing with the «FirstName» «LastName» etc. is usually termed the Mail Merge Main Document b. the data that you merge into it is usually termed the Mail Merge Data Source (or Data Source, for short) You said you upgraded to Word 2003 but not what you upgraded from. c. If it was Word 97 or 2000, or perhaps even earlier, the data sources would probably have been a Word document (but they /might/ have been saved in a different format. d. if it was Word 2002 (Word XP) then the databases created in Word would have been "Office Address Lists" identical to the ones created in Word 2003. There are a few ways to find our what your data source is, e.g. with your Mail Merge Main Document open, go to Word|Help|About|"System Info" then wait for the utility to start... then "System Summary"|"Office 2003 Applications"|"Microsoft Office Word 2003"|"Mail Merge" then look at the Data Source item in the right-hand pane. If it is a .doc, note the full path name of the .doc, then close the System Info dialog box, close your mail merge main document, and try using Word File|Open to open the file named in System Info. With any luck, you should see your data, but it could be in a Word table or simply in a comma-delimited format or tab-delimited format within Word. If it's a table, ou can add a new field to the "database" by adding a column to the table and giving it the name you want to use. Then close the .doc, re-open your mail merge main document, and see if the new column appears in the list of fields. If it isn't a table, things are a little harder but I'd rather not try to deal with that unless I have to. If it isn't a .doc, let us know what the file name is. (If no extensions are displayed we'll have to try something else). Peter Jamieson "April B." wrote in message ... Peter, I'm trying to understand your directions... please bear with me, I don't know a lot about how any of this works... I've sort of hacked my way through Word and discovered how to do things, but delving into things like "tables" is beyond me. But I'm not totally clueless, so if you could give me some clarification? You said, "If your previous "databases" were created in the older version of Merge, then they are probably tables in Word documents - you can open those documents and edit them directly in Word" How do I do this exactly? For instance, I'm looking at the screen and I see a whole page full of: «FirstName» «LastName» «Address1» «City», «State» «PostalCode» «Next Record»«FirstName» «LastName» «Address1» «City», «State» «PostalCode» From there, I usually click on the icon for "Mail Merge Recipients" then Edit and I keep adding contacts. But the things I need to add are secondary address, phone number, etc to the fields I already have (like name, primary add, etc.). Any help you can give is so appreciated. Thanks, April "Peter Jamieson" wrote: I have to first answer "yes" to a pop up that asks, "Opening this document will run the following SQL command: Select *From (file's location). Data from your database will be placed in the document. Do you want to continue?" There's a discussion about this that started a few days ago with a message titled " KB 825765 - just making sure..." which you might want to read. However, the simple workaround is to make the registry change described in the following Knowledgebase article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/825765 I click yes, then I get into the database, but when I click on Edit, I cannot find a way to add additional fields to what I already have. I notice that when I create a new Mail Merge database in Word 2003, I can click on Edit and add fields, but not, seemingly, from databases saved from before the Word update. Yes, the rules have changed /and/ even when the Edit button is not greyed out it does not necessarily do what you expect. Can anyone advise me on how to customize (add fields) to my old Mail Merge stuff? If your previous "databases" were created in the older version of Mail Merge, then they are probably tables in Word documents - you can open those documents and edit them directly in Word. Although you may find that Word still successfully notices the changes you make without saving/closing the data source document, I would save and close anyway these days. For almost all data sources you have to open the source in the "creating application", e.g. open a .mdb in Access, a .xls in Excel and so on. The new format used by Word when you create a list in mailmerge is an "Office Address List" which is a .mdb file in a particular format that Word recognises and lets you edit. In some cases you may find that you cannot have your Mail merge Main document and the data source open at the same time (e.g. probably with Excel worksheets). Peter Jamieson "April B." wrote in message ... We updated to Word 2003 and when I try to go back into previously saved Merge databases, I have to first answer "yes" to a pop up that asks, "Opening this document will run the following SQL command: Select *From (file's location). Data from your database will be placed in the document. Do you want to continue?" I click yes, then I get into the database, but when I click on Edit, I cannot find a way to add additional fields to what I already have. I notice that when I create a new Mail Merge database in Word 2003, I can click on Edit and add fields, but not, seemingly, from databases saved from before the Word update. Can anyone advise me on how to customize (add fields) to my old Mail Merge stuff? |
| Reply |
| Thread Tools | |
| Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads
|
||||
| Thread | Forum | |||
| MS Word form fields versus mail merge fields | Mailmerge | |||
| Adding Job Titles in Mail Merge | Microsoft Word Help | |||
| Adding Mail Merge Fields | Mailmerge | |||
| mail merge adding new entries | Mailmerge | |||
| adding pictures in a mail merge | Mailmerge | |||
Linear Mode
