Hi Wendy - you cannot use a drop down form field because you have to
lock the document to use the field and you cannot mailmerge locked
documents. So here is a solution for you.
It's called the AutoTextList field. The following example is on
www.mvps.org site in the FAQ section. I have adapted it slightly to
fit your specific requirement.
In your MailMerge document, ensure that the Show/Hide is switched on.
This will display paragraph marks which is important to this solution.
Place your cursor at an empty paragraph. From the drop down list of
styles on the Formatting toolbar, choose the Normal style if not
already chosen.
Now type a list of paragraphs of text you want your users to be able to
choose from. At the end of each paragraph press the enter key and then
type the next paragraph of text. When you have finished, with your
mouse, select the entire list of paragraphs you have just created.
Click in the Styles box on the Formatting toolbar and type TextChoice
and press Enter key to create the new style.
Now select each paragraph (include the paragraph mark) and press
Alt+F3, type a name for the paragraph e.g. Text 1 and click OK. (Text 1
may not be a suitable name because it does not explain what the text
contains, you may want to consider a very short name which may be more
helpful to the user - however, keep it short).
Do this for each paragraph giving it a different name.
Now delete the list of paragraphs and if Normal style is not already
applied, then apply it.
Place your cursor at the position where you want the user to be able to
insert the text. Press Ctrol+F9 to insert a pair of field braces {}.
Type the following expression between the field braces
{ AutoTextList "Choose Text" \s "TextChoice" \t "Right Click to select
text" }
With the cursor still between the braces, press F9 to update the field
(if this fails to hide the field code, press Alt+F9 to hide the code).
With your mouse, select the new field, being careful NOT to select the
paragraph mark that follows the field. Press Alt+F3 and hit OK.
Save the MailMerge main document. Now mail merge the document with
your datasource. Right click the field and choose from the list and
your text should be inserted.
How it works: The secret to the AutoTextList field is in the field
code, repeated here for ease of reference:
{ AutoTextList "Choose Text" \s "TextChoice" \t "Right Click to select
text" }
Here is what each element of the code means:
AutoTextList: This is the field type. This particular type of field
creates a pop-up list.
"Choose Text": This is the field's default value. After the field is
created, this value will be replaced when you right click the field and
select a different value.
\s "TextChoice": This tells the field that you want the pop-up list to
display only those AutoText entries that were formatted with the
TextChoice.
\t "Right click to select text": this tells the field to display a
specific tooltip when the mouse pauses over the field.
regards
Lynn
