[anoki]

I'm trying to take data that I entered into an Access 2007 database and merge it into a Word 07 document.

What I want it to do is that after the mergefield, Word would read the merge field and spit out information from yet another source (a word document and/or excel spreadsheet).

So it goes like this:
«Gift_1» (which would be like, a camera in one circumstance, or a TV in another) would in the Word document post merge say camera or TV. Now, instead of saying Camera or TV, what I would like it to be able to do would be to replace camera or TV with a specific other source of information (i.e. if it is camera, it would say in the merged document - "Camera: Nikon D3" or if it was a TV as gift one, it would say "TV: Phillips XGs2").



I hope that make sense to someone, because I'm wracking my brain trying to make it make sense to me. Essentially, I'm stuck with having to pick 3 things out of a 2.5 page list, and I want it to reference in «Gift_1»«Gift_2»«Gift_3» just what they are without having to hand do it.

I'm also tired and have spent hours dinking with the set, ask, fillin, if...then... commands. I don't know where else to go.

[OBP]

When you say Mail Merge, how many of these letters are you "merging" at a time?

[jimr381]

Are the camera details in a field as well? If they are, then are they in the gift field or are they in a separate field other than the gift field?

[anoki]

Originally Posted by jimr381

Are the camera details in a field as well? If they are, then are they in the gift field or are they in a separate field other than the gift field?

I'm merging about 450 of these.

The details are in a field, but it is a separate field. The big hurdle I'm having is that it changes from letter to letter what is in the Gift1 field. My mind is thinking that somehow linking the Gift1 to Definition1, where Definition1 is whatever the details of the Gift1 is, regardless of what Gift1 is.

Like I would say something like "if Gift1=anything from Definition1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/etc field 1 then put Definition1/2/etc text here"

[OBP]

As Jim is intimating (I think) the problem appears to be in your Access database, you can relate the data so that you can put whatever you want in to the Word field.
Can you post the table(s) that hold the "Gift" data?

[jimr381]

I was thinking a query based upon the data that concatenates the gift with the details about the gift into one field. I would then take this query and merge it into a Word template. But yes it would be nice to see your gift table.

[anoki]

Ok, here it is... I'm lost. Lost I tells ya. I have two tables in there, because I was trying to link them and generate a query, but nothing in the argument seemed to go right, and Word would gladly take Gift_1 or Def1 for a field,
but not together...

I swear there has to be an easier way... I just want the thing to look and see that if Gift_1 is this, then it should find the word in Def1 and fill that in...

[OBP]

anoki, sorry can you save the database as an Access 2000 or 2002 datbase as I don't have Access 2007?

[jimr381]

Also can you save it as a zip file instead of rar, since a lot of people might not have applications to rear rar files?

[anoki]

Done and done, access 02/03 DB, and zipped.

[jimr381]

How do you know what gift is married to that definition?

[anoki]

Right, that's what I'm trying to figure out. What I had in the Word document what a simple Gift_1 piece, and what I want it to do is to say, ok, given that Gift_1 is this, Def1 will be this.

[jimr381]

This is going to take a redesign of your database. Have you read anything about database design and know what a many-to-many relationship is?

[anoki]

Yep, I have. I tried doing some of that (bought a book on Access), I'm just not sure if I'm understanding it enough. I tried putting in a third table to relate table 1 and table 2, and that didn't seem to do the trick. Any advice for what else to read or how to redesign it?

[OBP]

anoki, do you have any kind of lists of how the Gift data is related?
I have had a look at your database and it needs at least 2 more tables and a redesign of the maon table as well.
I will post an update tommorrow.