merge & forms

[Chris Watkins]

I have an Access 2000 db I'm using to get data for my mail
merge which I then want to email to clients.
No problems so far, except I want recipients to be able to
complete the form, check their details, fix up any details
and then "submit" their response via a post button.
Its not working as I would wish!
Eventually, may want to receive their response file back
into the db.

cheers
chris

 

[Cindy M -WordMVP-]

Hi Chris,

I have an Access 2000 db I'm using to get data for my mail
merge which I then want to email to clients.
No problems so far, except I want recipients to be able to
complete the form, check their details, fix up any details
and then "submit" their response via a post button.
Its not working as I would wish!
Eventually, may want to receive their response file back
into the db.

Since you don't detail how you've tried to set this up, and
how it's not working, we can't do much more than
sympathize...

Actually, I'm not sure you can do anything like this with
Word's mail merge capabilities. At least, not without some
help from VBA code. Have you ever managed to create a one-off
Word document with a "Submit" button, and sent that as an
email?

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Sep
30 2003)
http://www.word.mvps.org

This reply is posted in the Newsgroup; please post any follow
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[Guest]

Hi Cindy

Since you don't detail how you've tried to set this up, and
how it's not working, we can't do much more than
sympathize...

I've setup the mail-merge ... works fine
then added the form for response.
I then merge to email with the email merge field as the
recipient and either include the document or include as an
attachment.
I've tested this by sending to myself with the "submit
reply" also coming back!
The "submit" button is odd ....
sometimes it doesn't seem to work at all and other times
it seems to use explorer/outlook to post
the "POSTDATA.ATT" back to me via email.
So, I guess it is sort of working, but still have problems:
1 the file I get back is difficult to work with - I can
interpret it but company staff won't have a hope!
2 I'm supposed to protect the form, but when I do there
is no access to mail merge - ie can't merge to email,
select merge data etc

Doing this sort of stuff via web pages is soooo easy if I
use javascript etc. But can't use scripts as they might
be blocked by most company's email servers etc

Actually, I'm not sure you can do anything like this with
Word's mail merge capabilities. At least, not without some
help from VBA code. Have you ever managed to create a one- off
Word document with a "Submit" button, and sent that as an
email?

Done the one-off and probably could do multiple trials -
will try this
Can I VBA code it to get what I want on the return "file"
and would this be caught by email servers?

thanks for your help!
cheers
chris

 

[Cindy M -WordMVP-]

I've setup the mail-merge ... works fine

then added the form for response.
I then merge to email with the email merge field as the
recipient and either include the document or include as an
attachment.

OK. I think attachment may be the only way this could
possibly work. There's a conversion if you try to send the
document as the email body, and I don't think that would
respect such controls very well...

The "submit" button is odd ....
sometimes it doesn't seem to work at all and other times
it seems to use explorer/outlook to post
the "POSTDATA.ATT" back to me via email.

I have no idea about the web controls, you might try asking
in the word.webauthoring newsgroup if they're at all
reliable.

2 I'm supposed to protect the form, but when I do there
is no access to mail merge - ie can't merge to email,
select merge data etc

And, just to complicate our lives further: the Submit button
certainly would not work with form fields. Like mixing
bananas and strawberries: two completely different things.

Also, form fields are indeed not intended to work with mail
merge! Certainly no chance, here, if the result has to go to
email, although there is a macro work-around for executing to
a new document.

Doing this sort of stuff via web pages is soooo easy if I
use javascript etc. But can't use scripts as they might
be blocked by most company's email servers etc

Which would also rule out macro code within the document to
take care of creating a "Submit" button other ways.

Done the one-off and probably could do multiple trials -
will try this
Can I VBA code it to get what I want on the return "file"
and would this be caught by email servers?

I don't know enough about what email servers can filter. But
anti-virus software could stop documents that contain VBA
code. OTOH, if you can get the "Submit" button to work OK
outside of mail merge you should be able to use VBA code
stored in Normal.dot (IOW not within the document you're
sending) to send the letters. You at all familiar with
automating Outlook (assuming that's what you use)?

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Sep
30 2003)
http://www.word.mvps.org

This reply is posted in the Newsgroup; please post any follow
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