'Invalid Merge Field' using custom form, Exchaneg 2003, Outlook 20

[JCH]

My client is having problems with mail merge using a custom contact form. The
form shows all the proper fields and the properties for the Exchange public
folder show it is using the form. I can enter data into a new entry with all
custom form fields. When I run that new contact in a mail merge against a
Word 2003 .dot file, I get 'Invalid Merge Field' on all the custom form
fields. This same mail merge works fine with a similar contacts public folder
in the same Public Folder hierarchy. I do not know how the custom contact
fields were populated in the folder that fails to merge.

I have published the from from the original .oft file to the Organizational
Forms folder and the form shows up correctly under the 'Actions' tab.

The option to substitute a field for the invalid merge field appears to show
me only the standard contact fields. I haven't check each possible
substitution field but they look almost identical the standard contact fields.

Help?

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

You didn't say how you're performing the merge. Basics are that you need to start the merge from OUtlook, not Word, and any custom fields you want to use must be defined so that they show up in the User-defined Fields in Folder list for the folder. If the fields aren't available to a folder view, they won't be available to a merge either.

The substitution feature won't help you here, I suspect.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[JCH]

The mail merge is started from outlook. The entire form is custom. There are
several additional pages of fields. It looks like it was created using the
basic contact form. You lost me with the 'User Defined Fields in folder list
for the folder'. These folders in Outlook from which the mail merge is
started are Exchange Public folders. Please elaborate.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

In any table view, right-click the column headings and choose Field Chooser. Change the display from Frequently Used Fields to User-defined Fields in Folder. If you don't see your fields there, you'll need to click the New button and add them.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[JCH]

The fields show up exactly as they should in all the records in the folder
being used in the mail merge. The properties for the folder show it using the
correct form. I even ran the 'Omsgclas.exe' macro against the folder the
analyze the form being used. It confirms the proper form. But, the merge
cannot find the field in the header record. The exact message generated is
'Error! MergeField was not found in header record of data source'. I even
created a new entry using the custom form and ran that one in the merge. The
results were the same. I moved the form to another Exchange server system and
client and the results were the same. I suspect the client has corrupted the
form in some way and the records entered are being 'one offed' back to the
standard contact form. I don't however know how I can confirm this.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

The fields show up exactly as they should in all the records in the folder

being used in the mail merge.

Show up where?

Also, you need to be starting the merge from Outlook and choosing to include all fields in the folder. Are you doing that?

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[JCH]

The fields do not show up in the 'User Defined Fields'. They do show up in
the fields for the form name. Are you telling me the fields won't work in
Mail Merge unless they are defined in the 'User Defined Fields'?

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Yes, that's exactly what I've been saying.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[JCH]

I have tried manually adding the fields (there are over 100 of them) into the
'User Defined Fields' in the Field Chooser with the form opened by the Form
Designer. After I save and reopen the .oft file they no longer appear in the
'User Defined Fields'. They are still in the "form name" entry further down
in the Field Chooser. How can I get the fields entered into the User Defined
Fields? In the folder where mail merge works the fields appear in both the
"form name" and in 'User Defined Fields'.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

You need to add the fields using the folder's FIeld Chooser, not the Field Chooser seen in form design. In any table view, right-click the column headings and choose Field Chooser.

..oft file? Where does an .oft file fit into this? Any form being used with custom fields should be published, with an .oft file used only as a backup.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[JCH]

I went back to the original .oft file to see if that made any difference. I
tried adding the fields in the published form as well. Assume I know nothing
about designing and using custom forms. I'm an infrstructure guy trying to
solve a problem for a client.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

You need to do what I've been saying all along -- add the fields to the folder. Use the folder's Field Chooser for this, the same tool you'd use to add a new field to a folder view if no custom forms were involved.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[JCH]

Thank you for your patience with a neophyte and your prompt help. It's
working now.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

I'm glad to hear it.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[Lorrie]

I struggled with this just as JCH did but going from step to step I have
managed to get everything in order. I used the folder "Field Chooser" (not
the item field chooser) and added the custom fields to in a table view. They
now all show up in the table. When I try to run the mail merge from
Outlook...I get an "Operation Failed" error message.

Would that have happened if I didn't name one of the custom field exactly as
it was entered on the custom contact form?

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Operation Failed errors can be hard to pin down. If you didn't name the fields defined in the folder the same as those defined in the form, they wouldn't work in the merge at all. But ... did you give them the same data type as well as the same name?