How do I format a phone number in a mail merge field?

[Halley]

I tried the following, and it did nothing. I tried a few other variations,
but they all gave me errors.

{ MERGEFIELD "PHONE" \"(###) ###-####"}

 

[Graham Mayor]

{Mergefield Phone \# "(###) ###'-'####"}
see also http://www.gmayor.com/formatting_word_fields.htm

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Graham Mayor - Word MVP


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[AnhVu]

I tried to do like that. But No effect!!! Why?
First I merge from Word then I click in {...} I add \# .... and nothing
happend.
I tried to visit your web and tried every example. And no one effect.Please
help me. What step I wrong?

 

[Graham Mayor]

Did you update the field after adding the switch?

In your merge source document insert the phone number field. It will look
something like
<<phone>>
Right click and toggle the display. It will now look like
{Mergefield Phone}
Add the switch this
{Mergefield Phone \# "(###) ###'-'####"}
Press F9 to update
then toggle the display back again (if it has not already done so.)
Execute the merge to a new document.
Voila!

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Graham Mayor - Word MVP


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[me04984]

This is an old post but I find it helpful. However, when I put in the code
you suggest, I get ( )- -2462 for example, where it prints only the last
four. What format does the data base have to be in to make it come out right?
Actually, I would prefer having it listed as 207-555-2462 in my listings, if
possible.

 

[Graham Mayor]

What do you get when you insert the mergefield without the switch?

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Graham Mayor - Word MVP


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[me04984]

(207) 555-2462

What do you get when you insert the mergefield without the switch?

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Graham Mayor - Word MVP


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[Graham Mayor]

That's a text string. You cannot format a text string in a merge field. The
only way to do it would be to edit your data source to show 2075552462. You
can then add a formatting switch of your choice eg \# "###'-'###'-'####" -
see http://www.gmayor.com/formatting_word_fields.htm .

 

[Peter Jamieson]

What is the data source? And are absolutely all your phone numbers in that
precise format (e.g., even mobile and international numbers, if any) ?

Peter Jamieson