data merge excel source

[ljf]

Hi, I'm trying to set up an excel data source to merge into form
letters, etc. I know how to do this on my PC at home, but I'm on a Mac
in my new office and when I click on Open Source and my excel file, I
get a message that "Word cannot open the file". But the documentation
for Data Merge says very clearly that excel files are good sources.

Has anyone solved this problem?

Thanks.

 

[Paul Berkowitz]

Hi, I'm trying to set up an excel data source to merge into form
letters, etc. I know how to do this on my PC at home, but I'm on a Mac
in my new office and when I click on Open Source and my excel file, I
get a message that "Word cannot open the file". But the documentation
for Data Merge says very clearly that excel files are good sources.

Which version of Excel did you use to make your file, and what extension
(.xls, e.g.) does it have?

Which version of Word are you using on your Mac?

Is the Excel file on your hard disk, or is it on a CD? Files on CDs are
read-only, and Word may not be able to "open" it, since opening it means
"for editing". If it's on a CD or other media, copy it to your Mac hard
drive, to your desktop or Documents folder or anywhere at all _within your
user_, and use this copy.

Select the Excel file in the Finder and do a Get Info (command-I, or
right-click and select Get Info). Check permissions, at the bottom. You
should be owner, and permissions should be set to Read & Write.

--
Paul Berkowitz
MVP MacOffice
Entourage FAQ Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq/index.html>
AppleScripts for Entourage: <http://macscripter.net/scriptbuilders/>

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PLEASE always state which version of Microsoft Office you are using -
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[CyberTaz]

In addition to Paul's advice, make sure you don't have the XL file open in
Excel when you're trying to do the merge. Word can't access the file if the
file is already in use.