MailMerge change of datasource

[Alex Hammerstein]

Hi

We have a number of Word letters that are the templates for Mail mereges
using MS Access as the datasource. However, we have recently had our
database tidied up, with object name being table consistent (tables all now
start tbl etc).

Of course this has upset our mail merges with the Word documents now un able
to find the data sources.

Is there an easier way to change the datasource, other than having to open
up each document in turn and relink, does anyone know?

Many thanks

Alex

 

[Peter Jamieson]

1. Which version(s) of Word/Access?

2. Are all your mail merge main documents in .doc format? Or .docx
format? Or a mix?

3. Do the original data sources still exist? (i.e. does the same
..mdb/.accdb with the original table names still exist). If they do
exist, are they in the same database as the new ones?

4. Are all your data sources Access tables? Are some Access queries? Do
you use other non-Access data sources?

5. Are all your connections to Access the same type (e.g. all OLE DB,
all ODBC, all DDE)? Or is there a mix?

6. Have you applied any filter/sort criteria to the data sources? (Or do
you have mail merge main documents that have been user-created where you
could not possibly know without looking first?

7. All the above potentially have an impact on what would be necessary
to automate changes to your mail merge main documents. For example, if
the original data source no longer exists, you will not be able to open
the exiting mail merge main document without having to respond to one or
more dialog boxes and potentially losing the original data source
information.

8. One thing that might help in some cases (I'm not sure) if you are
using the same .mdb/.accdb file as before would be to create a Query
that has the same name as the original table name (if you have already
removed those old table names).


Peter Jamieson

http://tips.pjmsn.me.uk