Please HELP! Mail Merge with Windows XP

[tamstafry]

Hi,
I am trying to do a mail merge from Excel to Word 2003 in Windows XP.....much harder than the old version. I am importing part numbers and two lines of description onto a formatted Word document.
<<Product Reference>>
<<Description Line 1>>
<<Description Line 2>>

There are 10 text boxes on the page containing the above info.

I am able to get the merge completed, but it is showing a whole page of each part number, when I need only one of each.

In Windows 98 you could put <<next_record>> in front of the second and succeeding merge fields and it would move onto the next record....now it comes up with an error and tells me I cant have the word NEXT in there.... I can't seem to make any sense out of it????? Yes, im blonde - but that shouldn't matter!

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Cheers

 

[Yorkshire Guy]

Hi tamstafry,

You are right, mail merge went messy when Bill changed it, and I don't believe there is an easy way to do what you want now.

It can be done with macros and word field calculations but beyond the 'normal' word users experience (I tried it once and gave up).

Here is a link to somethink that may help you, at a price!

http://ukww.net/patools/excel/amomusd.htm

Alternatively, if you can re-arrange your spreadsheet so that all the data for a Product is on one row, or make a new linked spreadsheet to that affect, then you don't need the above.

lol
Hew

 

[bomb #21]

1. http://www.officearticles.com/word/mail_merge_letters_in_microsoft_word.htm may help

2. "In Windows 98 you could put <<next_record>> in front of the second and succeeding merge fields and it would move onto the next record"

Sounds like that would be pretty good if it still worked.

Hew mentioned re-arranging your spreadsheet or or making "a new linked spreadsheet". That could be set up easily -- having a new worksheet with an area linked to your Word doc that updates by itself when you select a (different) product. Whether it would be practical depends on # of records and how you (have to) work.

Maybe you could upload a copy of your workbook with all but a few lines deleted so we could see the actual structure. (?)

Welcome to the board.

 

[MRdNk]

Hi tamstafry,

Welcome to the forums.

- It really annoys me the way that they've changed Mail Merging for 2003, especially the way in which you have to re-select your data source each and every time. Ahhhhh!

Oh Bill!