Ignore blank address fields

G

GregNga

How to I get Word mail merge to ignore blank address fields. In other words,
If address field 2 is blank, I don't want to priht a blank line
 
M

macropod

Hi Greg,

When executing the merge, Word gives you the option to print or not print blank lines.

Alternatively, you could suppress the blank lines via the use of an IF field. To do this:
.. duplicate the mailmerge field to be suppressed (eg «MyData») so that you get:
«MyData»«MyData»;
.. select both fields and Press Ctrl-F9, you'll get:
{ «MyData»«MyData» };
.. fill in between the braces so that you end up with:
{IF«myData»= "" "" "«MyData»¶
"},
where the '¶' is a paragraph mark or line-feed, depending on which you're using
.. delete the existing paragraph mark or line-feed that's outside the mergefield;
.. position the cursor anywhere in this field and press F9 to update it;
.. run your mailmerge.
 
D

Doug Robbins - Word MVP

You will need to use an If...then...Else field construction

{ IF { MERGEFIELD field2 } = "" "{ MERGEFIELD field3 }" "{ MERGEFIELD
field2 }¶
{ MERGEFIELD field3 }" }

You must use Ctrl+F9 to insert each pair of field delimiters and where the ¶
appears in the above, you need to press the Enter key or Shift + Enter.

Use Alt+F9 to toggle off the display of the field codes.

--
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

GregNga

When I went thru the process described in the help text and when I got to
the MERGE dialogue box, I selected "don't print blank lines when data fields
are empty". After I clciked the MERGE button, I noticed the document that was
populated still had blank lines for the blank address fields. Does this go
away when you print them.

macropod said:
Hi Greg,

When executing the merge, Word gives you the option to print or not print blank lines.

Alternatively, you could suppress the blank lines via the use of an IF field. To do this:
.. duplicate the mailmerge field to be suppressed (eg «MyData») so that you get:
«MyData»«MyData»;
.. select both fields and Press Ctrl-F9, you'll get:
{ «MyData»«MyData» };
.. fill in between the braces so that you end up with:
{IF«myData»= "" "" "«MyData»¶
"},
where the '¶' is a paragraph mark or line-feed, depending on which you're using
.. delete the existing paragraph mark or line-feed that's outside the mergefield;
.. position the cursor anywhere in this field and press F9 to update it;
.. run your mailmerge.


--
Cheers
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]


GregNga said:
How to I get Word mail merge to ignore blank address fields. In other words,
If address field 2 is blank, I don't want to priht a blank line
 
G

GregNga

Here is how I want to format the envelope:


Title Firstname Lastname
Addr1
Addr2
City State Zip

I only want to print the line with Addr2 if it is non-blank. How do I format
my document using If, Then Else
 
M

macropod

Hi greg,

To do what you're after, follow the steps for the alternate method I gave you in my previous post.
 
D

Doug Robbins - Word MVP

{ MAILMERGE Title} { MAILMERGE Firstname } { MAILMERGE Lastname }[Enter]
{ MAILMERGE Addr1 }[Enter]
{ IF { MAILMERGE Addr2 } = "" "{ MAILMERGE City } { MAILMERGE State } {
MAILMERGE Zip }" "{ MAILMERGE Addr2 }[Enter]
{MAILMERGE City { { MAILMERGE State } { MAILMERGE Zip }" }

Use the Enter Key or Shift+Enter in place of the [Enter] above.
--
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

GregNga

I see this a lot more clearly now. Btw, seems that the last line should be
{MAILMERGE City } { MAILMERGE State } { MAILMERGE Zip }" }
instead of
{MAILMERGE City { { MAILMERGE State } { MAILMERGE Zip }" }

Thanks for helping me understand this

Doug Robbins - Word MVP said:
{ MAILMERGE Title} { MAILMERGE Firstname } { MAILMERGE Lastname }[Enter]
{ MAILMERGE Addr1 }[Enter]
{ IF { MAILMERGE Addr2 } = "" "{ MAILMERGE City } { MAILMERGE State } {
MAILMERGE Zip }" "{ MAILMERGE Addr2 }[Enter]
{MAILMERGE City { { MAILMERGE State } { MAILMERGE Zip }" }

Use the Enter Key or Shift+Enter in place of the [Enter] above.
--
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

GregNga said:
Here is how I want to format the envelope:


Title Firstname Lastname
Addr1
Addr2
City State Zip

I only want to print the line with Addr2 if it is non-blank. How do I
format
my document using If, Then Else
 
D

Doug Robbins - Word MVP

You are right about the last line. I was of course entering the replicas of
field delimiters from the keyboard (the only way in the mail program) but if
you use Ctrl+F9 to enter then as is necessary to get them to work, you will
always get matched pairs { }.

--
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

GregNga said:
I see this a lot more clearly now. Btw, seems that the last line should be
{MAILMERGE City } { MAILMERGE State } { MAILMERGE Zip }" }
instead of
{MAILMERGE City { { MAILMERGE State } { MAILMERGE Zip }" }

Thanks for helping me understand this

Doug Robbins - Word MVP said:
{ MAILMERGE Title} { MAILMERGE Firstname } { MAILMERGE Lastname }[Enter]
{ MAILMERGE Addr1 }[Enter]
{ IF { MAILMERGE Addr2 } = "" "{ MAILMERGE City } { MAILMERGE State } {
MAILMERGE Zip }" "{ MAILMERGE Addr2 }[Enter]
{MAILMERGE City { { MAILMERGE State } { MAILMERGE Zip }" }

Use the Enter Key or Shift+Enter in place of the [Enter] above.
--
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

GregNga said:
Here is how I want to format the envelope:


Title Firstname Lastname
Addr1
Addr2
City State Zip

I only want to print the line with Addr2 if it is non-blank. How do I
format
my document using If, Then Else


:

You will need to use an If...then...Else field construction

{ IF { MERGEFIELD field2 } = "" "{ MERGEFIELD field3 }" "{ MERGEFIELD
field2 }¶
{ MERGEFIELD field3 }" }

You must use Ctrl+F9 to insert each pair of field delimiters and where
the ¶
appears in the above, you need to press the Enter key or Shift +
Enter.

Use Alt+F9 to toggle off the display of the field codes.

--
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

How to I get Word mail merge to ignore blank address fields. In
other
words,
If address field 2 is blank, I don't want to priht a blank line
 
G

GregNga

Yes, it's been very helpful.........thanks

Doug Robbins - Word MVP said:
You are right about the last line. I was of course entering the replicas of
field delimiters from the keyboard (the only way in the mail program) but if
you use Ctrl+F9 to enter then as is necessary to get them to work, you will
always get matched pairs { }.

--
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

GregNga said:
I see this a lot more clearly now. Btw, seems that the last line should be
{MAILMERGE City } { MAILMERGE State } { MAILMERGE Zip }" }
instead of
{MAILMERGE City { { MAILMERGE State } { MAILMERGE Zip }" }

Thanks for helping me understand this

Doug Robbins - Word MVP said:
{ MAILMERGE Title} { MAILMERGE Firstname } { MAILMERGE Lastname }[Enter]
{ MAILMERGE Addr1 }[Enter]
{ IF { MAILMERGE Addr2 } = "" "{ MAILMERGE City } { MAILMERGE State } {
MAILMERGE Zip }" "{ MAILMERGE Addr2 }[Enter]
{MAILMERGE City { { MAILMERGE State } { MAILMERGE Zip }" }

Use the Enter Key or Shift+Enter in place of the [Enter] above.
--
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

Here is how I want to format the envelope:


Title Firstname Lastname
Addr1
Addr2
City State Zip

I only want to print the line with Addr2 if it is non-blank. How do I
format
my document using If, Then Else


:

You will need to use an If...then...Else field construction

{ IF { MERGEFIELD field2 } = "" "{ MERGEFIELD field3 }" "{ MERGEFIELD
field2 }¶
{ MERGEFIELD field3 }" }

You must use Ctrl+F9 to insert each pair of field delimiters and where
the ¶
appears in the above, you need to press the Enter key or Shift +
Enter.

Use Alt+F9 to toggle off the display of the field codes.

--
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

How to I get Word mail merge to ignore blank address fields. In
other
words,
If address field 2 is blank, I don't want to priht a blank line
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Top