How to format Zip Code from 9 to 5

[Leslie]

I hope this makes sense! We have a glitch in our computer software that
automatically places zeros in the place of the zip code plus 4 numbers when
there are no numbers there, 75043-0000 or 75043--000 or 75043-000. Since we
do not have control over programming we need to overcome this problem,
hopefully, by using MS Word. We are okay with not seeing the plus four
numbers if they are there, because most often we only get the standard 5
numbers.

I have tried different formatting using Bookmarks, and this works if there
are only zeros in the plus 4 field, but if there ARE numbers what I get is
Word subtracting the plus four and creating a whole new zip code.

{IF {ZIP} > 99999 "{ ZIP \# "00000'-'0000"}""{ZIP \# "00000"}"}
takes this number 75841-1111 and makes it 74730.

Is there any way to get Word to just truncate the last four numbers and only
show the first five?

 

[Doug Robbins - Word MVP on news.microsoft.com]

As I do not think that it is possible to overcome this will formatting
switches, you might have merge to a new document letting the merge insert
the 75043-0000 or 75043--000 or 75043-000 and then use a Wildcard Replace
where you search for [-]{1,}[0]{3,} and leave the Replace with control
empty.

That will replace each of the 75043-0000 or 75043--000 or 75043-000 with
75043

--
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, originally posted via msnews.microsoft.com

 

[macropod]

Hi Leslie,

You can eliminate the unwanted portions via a field coded as:
{QUOTE{SET ID {MERGEFIELD ZipCode}}{SET EXP1{=-{=-{ID}-ID}/2}}{EXP1}}
Where 'ZipCode' is the name of the data field containing your Zip Codes.

With this coding, any of 75043-0000 or 75043--000 or 75043-000 will be returned as 75043.

Note: The field brace pairs (ie '{ }') for the above example are created via Ctrl-F9 - you can't simply type them or copy & paste
them from this message.

 

[Doug Robbins - Word MVP on news.microsoft.com]

I should have known that you would come up with a way of doing it.

--
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, originally posted via msnews.microsoft.com

Hi Leslie,

You can eliminate the unwanted portions via a field coded as:
{QUOTE{SET ID {MERGEFIELD ZipCode}}{SET EXP1{=-{=-{ID}-ID}/2}}{EXP1}}
Where 'ZipCode' is the name of the data field containing your Zip Codes.

With this coding, any of 75043-0000 or 75043--000 or 75043-000 will be
returned as 75043.

Note: The field brace pairs (ie '{ }') for the above example are created
via Ctrl-F9 - you can't simply type them or copy & paste them from this
message.

--
Cheers
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]

I hope this makes sense! We have a glitch in our computer software that
automatically places zeros in the place of the zip code plus 4 numbers
when
there are no numbers there, 75043-0000 or 75043--000 or 75043-000. Since
we
do not have control over programming we need to overcome this problem,
hopefully, by using MS Word. We are okay with not seeing the plus four
numbers if they are there, because most often we only get the standard 5
numbers.

I have tried different formatting using Bookmarks, and this works if
there
are only zeros in the plus 4 field, but if there ARE numbers what I get
is
Word subtracting the plus four and creating a whole new zip code.

{IF {ZIP} > 99999 "{ ZIP \# "00000'-'0000"}""{ZIP \# "00000"}"}
takes this number 75841-1111 and makes it 74730.

Is there any way to get Word to just truncate the last four numbers and
only
show the first five?

 

[macropod]

Hi Doug,

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to figure out how the code works ...

--
Cheers
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]

I should have known that you would come up with a way of doing it.

--
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, originally posted via msnews.microsoft.com

Hi Leslie,

You can eliminate the unwanted portions via a field coded as:
{QUOTE{SET ID {MERGEFIELD ZipCode}}{SET EXP1{=-{=-{ID}-ID}/2}}{EXP1}}
Where 'ZipCode' is the name of the data field containing your Zip Codes.

With this coding, any of 75043-0000 or 75043--000 or 75043-000 will be returned as 75043.

Note: The field brace pairs (ie '{ }') for the above example are created via Ctrl-F9 - you can't simply type them or copy & paste
them from this message.

--
Cheers
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]

I hope this makes sense! We have a glitch in our computer software that
automatically places zeros in the place of the zip code plus 4 numbers when
there are no numbers there, 75043-0000 or 75043--000 or 75043-000. Since we
do not have control over programming we need to overcome this problem,
hopefully, by using MS Word. We are okay with not seeing the plus four
numbers if they are there, because most often we only get the standard 5
numbers.

I have tried different formatting using Bookmarks, and this works if there
are only zeros in the plus 4 field, but if there ARE numbers what I get is
Word subtracting the plus four and creating a whole new zip code.

{IF {ZIP} > 99999 "{ ZIP \# "00000'-'0000"}""{ZIP \# "00000"}"}
takes this number 75841-1111 and makes it 74730.

Is there any way to get Word to just truncate the last four numbers and only
show the first five?

 

[Doug Robbins - Word MVP on news.microsoft.com]

The {SET ID {MERGEFIELD ZipCode} sets the zip code as the text of a bookmark
with the name of ID
-{ ID } evaluates to -99999-9999 whereas -ID is treated mathematically and
evaluates to -99999+9999
so =-{ID}-ID evaluates to -99999-9999-99999+9999 or -99999-99999
so what is actually happening is that the digits in the zip code after the -
are being stripped off and what is left is a negative number that is twice
the first five digits of the zip code
Then the {=-{=-{ID}-ID}/2} changes the sign and divides the number by 2 so
that it is just the first five digits of the zip code.
The {SET EXP1{=-{=-{ID}-ID}/2}} assigns that to the bookmark EXP1, which is
then displayed by the {QUOTE EXP1 }

Regards,
Doug Robbins - Word MVP, originally posted via msnews.microsoft.com

Hi Doug,

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to figure out how the code
works ...

--
Cheers
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]

I should have known that you would come up with a way of doing it.

--
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, originally posted via msnews.microsoft.com

Hi Leslie,

You can eliminate the unwanted portions via a field coded as:
{QUOTE{SET ID {MERGEFIELD ZipCode}}{SET EXP1{=-{=-{ID}-ID}/2}}{EXP1}}
Where 'ZipCode' is the name of the data field containing your Zip Codes.

With this coding, any of 75043-0000 or 75043--000 or 75043-000 will be
returned as 75043.

Note: The field brace pairs (ie '{ }') for the above example are created
via Ctrl-F9 - you can't simply type them or copy & paste them from this
message.

--
Cheers
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]


I hope this makes sense! We have a glitch in our computer software
that
automatically places zeros in the place of the zip code plus 4 numbers
when
there are no numbers there, 75043-0000 or 75043--000 or 75043-000.
Since we
do not have control over programming we need to overcome this problem,
hopefully, by using MS Word. We are okay with not seeing the plus four
numbers if they are there, because most often we only get the standard
5
numbers.

I have tried different formatting using Bookmarks, and this works if
there
are only zeros in the plus 4 field, but if there ARE numbers what I get
is
Word subtracting the plus four and creating a whole new zip code.

{IF {ZIP} > 99999 "{ ZIP \# "00000'-'0000"}""{ZIP \# "00000"}"}
takes this number 75841-1111 and makes it 74730.

Is there any way to get Word to just truncate the last four numbers and
only
show the first five?

 

[Peter Jamieson]

FWIW previously I had

{ IF { QUOTE "{ MERGEFIELD zip }99999" \#0 } < 0
"{ MERGEFIELD zip }"
"{ IF { MERGEFIELD ZIP } > 99999
"{ MERGEFIELD ZIP \#"00000'-'0000" }"
"{ MERGEFIELD ZIP \# "00000" }" }" }

which deals with numeric ZIPs up to 9 digits and 12345-6789 text format
zips as long as the latter were already correctly formatted for output,
which I think (being text) they typically would be, i.e. it would not
deal with 2345-6789 meaning 02345-6789

With a slightly modified test any "-zero" suffix - as mentioned - e.g.
-0000, --000 etc. (but not a single trailing "-") can also be removed
and just as an alternative approach to the output you could do it as
something like.

{QUOTE{SET Z{MERGEFIELD zip}}{={Z}-{Z}} \#";'{Z}';'{={Z}-99999.5 \#"'{=Z
\#00000'-'0000}';'{=Z \#00000}'"}

I guess there could be a simplification in there to split the three
cases ("hyphenated", "5 digits or less" and "6-9 digits" using a single \#.

Either way, I think something like that should deal with the vast
majority of these ZIP issues except the case where the ODBC provider/OLE
DB provider has already converted texts to 0 because of mixed types in
the Zip column.

Cheers,

Peter Jamieson

http://tips.pjmsn.me.uk

 

[macropod]

Hi Peter,

How about:
{SET Val {MERGEFIELD ZipCode}}{IF{Val}> 99999 {SET ID {Val \# "00000'-'0000"}} {SET ID {Val}}}{=-{=-{ID}-ID}/2 \#
0000;;}{=-({ID}*(-1)-ID)/2 \# ;-0000;}
This handles 4-digit, 5-digit, 5+4-digit formatted, 5+4-digit unformatted (ie 9 digit) and the OP's scenario. It works on the
assumptions that no:
.. 5+4-digit zip codes have '0000' as the 4-digit part; and
.. 5-digit zip codes start with 0.

 

[Peter Jamieson]

Hi macropod,

Just as a quick response: it all works as described but...

...no:
. 5-digit zip codes start with 0.

this is not the case, at least as far as US ZIPs are concerned (which is
why people often have to use the '00000' format with 5-digit ZIPs in
Excel). I think that can be easily fixed by changing your 0000 to a
00000, but the lack of 4-digit ZIPs there may allow further
simplification in your code. I don't have a full list of the ZIP rules
but found http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZIP_code useful.

...no:
. 5+4-digit zip codes have '0000' as the 4-digit part; and

I have also made this assumption (which seems to be in line with what
the OP is trying to do anyway). The wikipedia article doesn't explicitly
state that -0000 is not used but I hope the USPS managed to avoid it

For an Excel column that supported international postcodes things would
have to be rather different anyway. If you tried to put all types of
code in a single column, it would have to be alpha (because of e.g. UK
and Canadian codes) and then you probably would have to deal with
4-digit codes, unless it's OK in countries with 4-digit codes to preface
the code by 0 etc. etc. Then you would have to deal with what the OLE DB
provider does to things it thinks are numbers. At which point it's
probably simpler from a mailmerge perspective to suggest that people put
the entire address in a single Excel cell...

I'll have another look later anyway.

Peter Jamieson

http://tips.pjmsn.me.uk

 

[Peter Jamieson]

OK, IMO yours is the best approach so far. AFAICS you can modify it ever
so slightly to

{SET Val {MERGEFIELD ZipCode}}{IF {Val} > 99999 {SET Val {Val
\#"00000'-'0000"}}}{=-{=-{Val}-Val}/2 \#00000;;}{=-({Val}*(-1)-Val)/2
\#;-0000;}

which still does everything you say but always does the first five
digits as 5 digits and drops the second part of the IF

Then if you think you need to display "-0000" you can do

{SET Val {MERGEFIELD ZipCode}}{IF {Val} > 99999 {SET Val {Val
\#"00000'-'0000"}}}{=-{=-{Val}-Val}/2 \#00000;;}{=-({Val}*(-1)-Val)/2
\#;-0000;'-0000'}

or

{SET Val {MERGEFIELD ZipCode}}{IF {Val} > 99999 {SET Val {Val
\#"00000'-'0000"}}}{=-{=-{Val}-Val}/2
\#00000'-0000';;}{=-({Val}*(-1)-Val)/2 \#;-0000;'-0000'}

depending on the requirement.

/If/ you need also to deal with zips with a trailing "-" but no digits
after it, you can either insert an extra test, e.g.

{SET Val {MERGEFIELD ZipCode}}{IF {Val} = "*-" {SET Val { ={ Val }-0
}}}{IF {Val} > 99999 {SET Val {Val \#"00000'-'0000"}}}{=-{=-{Val}-Val}/2
\#00000;;}{=-({Val}*(-1)-Val)/2 \#;-0000;}
or
{SET Val {MERGEFIELD ZipCode}}{IF {Val} = "*-" {SET Val {QUOTE
"{Val}0"}}{IF {Val} > 99999 {SET Val {Val
\#"00000'-'0000"}}}{=-{=-{Val}-Val}/2 \#00000;;}{=-({Val}*(-1)-Val)/2
\#;-0000;}

or nest the 99999 test inside the new IF.

Best regards

Peter Jamieson

http://tips.pjmsn.me.uk

 

[macropod]

Hi Peter,

I think you've got too much free time on your hands ...

I agree that adding the extra 0 to preserve leading 0s in the 5-digit part of the Zip Codes is necessary, and I follow what you've
done by dropping the 'SET ID' part of the field coding and substituting Val expressions - it reduces the overal field coding effort
and creates one less bookmark for people to worry about.

I had a look on the USPS website and it seemed from what I read there that a +4 code of 0000 wouldn't occur, but it'd be nice if
someone could confirm this. If they do occur, I can't see how a mailmerge using data like the OP's could differentiate between a
valid 0000 and an invalid one.