Mail Merge Excel data source

[Nadine]

Why does this not work anymore...

Excel data source - has column with dates and formatted as MMMM DD, yyyy

Had no problem merging before, but now word changes the date to dd/mm/yy

Only way around it is to edit the merge field code and add the date switch
for the format.

Been using these excel documents and merge templates for very long time and
had no problems with the date formats until now.

I changed regional settings, language, and date formats defaults, still
won't work without the switch.

Has there been some kind of update that has now caused this. Why is working
like this now.

Thanks

 

[Doug Robbins - Word MVP]

What version of Word?

For versions before 2007, from the Tools menu in Word, select Options and
then go to the General tab and check the box against the "Confirm
conversions at open" item. Then when you attach the data source, select the
DDE method of connection in the dialog box that will appear.

In Word 2007, that option can be accessed via the Office button>Word
Options>Advanced and scroll down to the General section. The name is
slightly different - "Confirm file format conversion on open."

--
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

 

[Nadine]

Word/Excel 2003

Is there a setting we can change to always use DDE method. Didn't have to
do this before.

 

[Doug Robbins - Word MVP]

If you save the mail merge main document with the data source attached, the
DDE connection will be maintained, otherwise, you must select it each time
you attach a data source to a mail merge main document.

--
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

 

[Nadine]

We recently installed the Office 2007 compatibility package. Could this have
changed the settings so that now we have to make these changes to word,
properly open in the DDE format

 

[Kaur]

If I use the Estonian language, then the formatting stays like in Excel, but
signs like Õ Ä Ö Ü and lowercase also will be changed. It isn't possible to
use now mail merge with Excel.

 

[Doug Robbins - Word MVP]

While I do not have an Estonian Language version of Word, if I create an
..xslx data source that contains a field with the Õ Ä Ö Ü characters in it
and I use either the OLEDB of DDE methods of connecting the Word 2007 mail
merge main document to the data source and whether or not I set the language
of the main document to Estonian or leave it as English, when I execute the
merge, the Õ Ä Ö Ü are retained.

--
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

 

[Kaur]

Thanks. I found a way how it is works. But this not so, that in all settings
it mail merge works correctly.

I changed in Windows Regional and Languages settings to English (US) and
made changes, now the US settings like Estonian settings. And I also change
Language for non-Unicode programs from Russian to English. After that Mail
Merge start work correctly. Before that or the format of date was wrong, or
when it was right (with DDE) I had question marks in places where was õ ä ö ü
or I had (with OLDB) a where was ä, o where was ö and so.

But thanks, because I start think that may be if your computer language is
English, from that comes difference.

And excuse my mistakes in English.

Kaur

 

[Doug Robbins - Word MVP]

Hi Kaur,

No need to apologise for your English.
--
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