Apostrophe Creating a Merge Problem

[G.G. Biggar, Jr.]

I have an Excel data file that I use as a master list for merges. Recently,
I added a last name with an apostrophe (e.g., O'Donnell). Word comes back
during a merge with the message, "Word could not parse your query options
into a valid SQL string."

I can get around this by omitting the apostrophe in the master list, but it
does not seem very professional. Is there an alternative?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Gordon Biggar
Houston, Texas

 

[Doug Robbins]

Hi Gordon,

In Word, select Options for the Tools menu and then on the General Tab,
check the "Confirm conversions at open" item and then when you attach the
data source to the mailmerge main document, select the DDE method of
connection and see if that overcomes the problem.

--
Hope this helps.

Please reply to the newsgroup unless you wish to avail yourself of my
services on a paid consulting basis.

Doug Robbins - Word MVP

 

[G.G. Biggar, Jr.]

Sir Douglas --

I'm not sure that I know what you mean when you say "attach the data
source...select(ing) the DDE method..."

If I use a blank space in the name field of the Excel file (in place of an
apostrophe), there is no problem in creating a match-up during the merge. I
think that the software doesn't like my single-quote in that it is looking
for another closing quote, so to speak.

Gordon

 

[Graham Mayor]

It is explained in pictures at
http://www.gmayor.com/mail_merge_labels_with_word_xp.htm

--
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Graham Mayor - Word MVP


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[Doug Robbins]

Gordon,

Have you checked the box against the "Confirm conversions at open" item
under Tools>Options>General?

--
Hope this helps.

Please reply to the newsgroup unless you wish to avail yourself of my
services on a paid consulting basis.

Doug Robbins - Word MVP

 

[G.G. Biggar, Jr.]

Sir Douglas --

Been on the road for the last week, so I did not see your post until this
evening.

Yes, the appropriate box was checked.

Could the problem have something to do with different interpretations of an
apostrophe by Word (the merge document) and Excel (the data file source)?

Gordon

 

[Peter Jamieson]

I don't get this particular problem no matter how I connect to the Excel
sheet. But there is certainly the potential for a clash, in that Word
generates an SQL statement to get the data, and single quote is used in SQL
(at least the way Word does it) to quote text values, e.g.

SELECT * FROM mydata WHERE surname = 'Smith'

However, for this to cause problems you would really have to be specifiying
"O'Donnell" - or whatever - as a filter criterion, in whch case Word would
probably not generate valid SQL:

SELECT * FROM mydata WHERE surname = 'O'Donnell'

It seems unlikely but maybe you are doing something like that?

Peter Jamieson

 

[G.G. Biggar, Jr.]

Peter --

This is a merge program that I have been using with success for at least two
years. This is the only last name (of an individual, newly added to the
Excel file) in the particular Excel column that contains an apostrophe. If
I leave the apostrophe out of the name in the Excel file, and I enter the
same spelling (without an apostrophe) in the Word merge program, I get a
perfect match. For now, this is the route that I have taken, and then I
have to remember to add the apostrophe into the name in the merged document
(e.g., a letter, mailing label).

This works, but it is not "pure," so to speak. Maybe I should leave well
enough alone!

Gordon

 

[Peter Jamieson]

This works, but it is not "pure," so to speak. Maybe I should leave well

enough alone!

I often come to that conclusion these days

One other thing you could try is to use a different character in your data,
e.g. if you are using character 39 (Unicode U+0027 Apostrophe), try Unicode
U+2019 Right Single Quotation mark instead - you may be able to insert it
from the Windows Character map, or using Alt+numeric-keypad-0146 on the
keyboard.

Whether or not you will be able to do that, and whether or not this
character appears correctly in your merge results, I cnanot tell.

Peter Jamieson