Automate this: pull Outlook contact data into a Word template

[casstyson]

Hey all:

I've now spent at least 10 hours trying to do this, to no avail. I've
searched this and other newsgroups, various web sites, and combed
through the Microsoft knowledge base. I know many others have faced the
same issue, because I've read their posts. Best answer so far is, "Buy
more software." That's hard to believe, considering how much money
we've spent on MS s/w already.

What I want to do seems like it would be very simple: pull a single
Outlook contact's data into a Word template. Easily. (Also on my wish
list, bringing data into Excel files/templates.)

I've been doing this for many years with ACT! as my contact manager.
But when my company upgraded my computer to Win XP Pro with Office Pro
2003/Outlook/Word 2003, that broke. I would have to also upgrade ACT!,
which is about a $300 prospect (my old version of ACT doesn't support
the new Word). If I can find a Microsoft solution, we could streamline
other things here in the office using software we already have.

I installed Business Contact Manager Update for Outlook 2003
(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...42-6DC5-4922-9DFB-1C82237D6B62&displaylang=en)
thinking / hoping that would include this feature, but if it does I
can't find it.It does have nice "psuedo-ACT" features like
Accounts/Contacts, sales opportunities, pipeline reports, etc. But this
all-day every-day need to correspond easily with my Outlook contacts
seems to be missing...

I've considered Aladdin's - Word Documents ($70? More?)
(http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/marketplace/EM010702721033.aspx),
and Avidian's Prophet (which claims to be an ACT-like CRM that
seamlessly integrates with Outlook) but again we're talking $80 or
so, and I don't even know if it will do this. Either would only solve
MY problem and no one elses, unless we pony up a seat license for
everyone here. (20 people maybe of our 150)

I've messed around with merges, and am almost there, but my Word
template merge fields don't line up with my Outlook contact merge
fields. (What's up with THAT?!) Even if it worked, it seems like an
awful lot of mouse clicks to what I used to do in ACT with one. (Do the
developers at Microsoft even USE their own software?!)

Has anyone accomplished this without buying more add-ins or other
software? Is their documentation somewhere with step by step
directions? Am I crazy for thinking that this very basic everyday
function should be there? Or am I blind--it's there but I'm not
seeing it?

Weren't computers supposed to make our lives easier? Why do I feel
they do the opposite?

TIA

Cass Tyson

PS: The main reason I don't want to upgrade ACT or add a third-party
solution is we're also developing a Sharepoint portal. So the
bestest/easiest solution -- which would allow interdepartmental
information sharing -- would require no more than what everybody here
already uses every day -- Exchange, Outlook, Word, Excel, Sharepoint.

 

[Cass]

Is anybody listening? I feel so alone out here...

I posted this over a week ago and have gotten no response at all. Curious.
Is the official answer from Microsoft people still "you can't do this" or "go
buy Aladdin's add in?"

Am I the only person who still wants a button like "Print Fax Cover Page"
from a contact record?

TIA

 

[Braggs]

I am new to this forum, and am looking for the exact same thing. I have spent
countless hours trying to do this as well. When I first bought Office with
the Business Contact Manager, I thought no problem. Then I spent my "free"
service time with MSN being forwarded back and forth between the Office guru
and the Outlook guru, to no avail. They didn't even understand what I was
trying to explain to them.
I have been an Act user for 15 years and I am forced to run both programs in
tandem. My utimate goal is to use my 20+ Act templates in Outlook, with a
view to buying a phone / pda where I could do the same. Why is this so
difficult?
Braggs

 

[casstyson]

Only thing I can figure is (a) Microsoft people are entirely
email-centric and/or (b) nobody at the company actually uses Outlook to
manage contacts and sales opportunities.

FWIW, I checked into Prophet from Avidian. http://www.avidian.com/
While they compare it (favorably, natch!) to ACT and Goldmine, their
sales guy was breathtakingly clueless about this essential feature. He
suggested you could do it with email, but when I asked about having
multiple templates for said merges, that's when he said you had to buy
the professional version to do that. So, no quick merge to Word, and to
merge to more than one template for email, spend another $100 or so.

Nice.

 

[casstyson]

Might as well continue talking to myself. Maybe someone will benefit.

I downloaded and installed Aladdins Documents. (referenced above) They
have a 14 day free trial, which I'm almost halfway through.

It promises to do exactly what I need. It adds a couple of buttons on
the menu bar "Aladdins - Office Documents" and "Aladdins - View
Documents." The second button just brings up a file directory. Not sure
what the value of that is. The first button is the meat of the matter.
You get a pop-up menu, and can add a template or use an existing
template. The templates are in folders, so it's click, drag to folder
name, drag to document template. You then have to sit through a seven
second delay, while the program prompts you to purchase it and enter a
registration key. My current challenge is getting my pre-existing word
templates to pull in the contact data I need, where I want it. All I
get is a blank page with the mailing address inserted.

Fun fun fun. Any words of advice out there?

Cass

 

[mpmartin]

I have been looking for Outlook to do this same thing. I don't enjoy
re-typing something that is already stored somewhere else. Let us know how
Aladdins works for you. Maybe MicroSoft will add this functionality someday
but I'm not holding my breath.