mail merge: printing multiple pages, or field calculation error

[Kimmie B]

I have a client who is trying to print letters from a mail merge from an
Excel file.

At first when she tried to print the merged file, she got an error message:
a field calculation error occurred on record 1.

Now, she says she can use the toolbar to view individual letters, though the
page counter on the bottom of the screen indicates that it's only a one-page
document.

The problem is that when she tries to print, only the first page will print.
(There are about 600 addressees total.)

We've tried printing specific sections, specific pages, ranges of sections,
ranges of pages. No luck. Only the first page prints.

I'm not sure whether she has a problem with the merge itself (the error
message may be a clue), or whether there's some printer problem (seems
unlikely: the printer seems to work fine otherwise).

If anybody has any ideas on what's gone wrong, both my client and I would be
grateful.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

This usually indicates that the merge hasn't actually been completed, which
requires merging either to the printer or to a new document. Also, note that
in a Letter-type merge, if it's a one-page letter, every page will be page 1
(each is a separate section).

 

[Cindy M.]

Hi =?Utf-8?B?S2ltbWllIEI=?=,

I get the feeling she first tried executing the merge to the printer, as she
should. Because she gets the error, she's trying to do the job without properly
finishing the merge (either to the printer or to a new document).

This means one has to track down the cause of the error message. The least
obvious thing to try is ask her to

- Start Word in safe mode (since you don't tell us the version involved, i
can't tell you the exact steps)

- Link the new document that appears to the Excel file, insert a couple of
fields, then execute the merge to a new document.

If this works without an error message, then there's likely a problem in the
binary structures of her Word document. In this case, she should try copying
that document into a new one - WITHOUT including the last paragraph mark.
She'll then have to link in the Excel source again.

I have a client who is trying to print letters from a mail merge from an
Excel file.

At first when she tried to print the merged file, she got an error message:
a field calculation error occurred on record 1.

Now, she says she can use the toolbar to view individual letters, though the
page counter on the bottom of the screen indicates that it's only a one-page
document.

The problem is that when she tries to print, only the first page will print.
(There are about 600 addressees total.)

We've tried printing specific sections, specific pages, ranges of sections,
ranges of pages. No luck. Only the first page prints.

I'm not sure whether she has a problem with the merge itself (the error
message may be a clue), or whether there's some printer problem (seems
unlikely: the printer seems to work fine otherwise).

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 17 2005)
http://www.word.mvps.org

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