Mailing Label error

[Sherri Dean]

When I try and print mailing labels from Access 2003 I get an error which
reads:
Update Error - 2147217887
Error occurred while updating mailing labels at record number 9.
Mailing address update not completed.
The field is too small to accept the amount of data you attempted to add.
Try inserting or pasting less data.

I have no idea what is going on here. This has been an automatic feature
that was set up with the database long ago and used to work fine.
Unfortunatley no one here really knows the technical aspects of the DB very
well - so I don't even know where to start trying to fix the problem!

 

[Clifford Bass]

Hi Sherri,

It sounds to me like the process is copying data into a table used for
printing the labels before actually printing them. And that one of the
fields in the table is not large enough to contain all of the data that the
process is trying to copy. For example, suppose the source table (the table
from which the data is being copied) has an address field that is 80
characters wide and that the label table has an address field that is 60
characters wide. If the address field on one of the rows of the source table
contains an address that is actually longer than 60 characters, then you
would get that error when it gets to that row.

IMPORTANT: Make a backup copy of the database first before trying
anything.

You could look for a labels table and go into design view so that you
can compare its fields' information with the source table's fields'
information. It may take some sleuthing to figure out what those tables are.
If any text fields are smaller in the labels table, increase them to the
same sizes as they are in the source table. If none are smaller in the
labels table, or if you are unable to determine what tables are involved, you
may need to take a step back and attempt to learn how to design and program
in Access. Be aware that this is no small task. There is of course the
online help that comes with Access. Also, you could try picking up a book at
the bookstore or searching the Internet for "access tutorial". A good web
site with information is "The Access Web" at <http://www.mvps.org/access/>.
It also has links to lots of other sites.

Good Luck,

Clifford Bass