Merging Access data into a Word document

[Danny]

Is it possible to take the data from Access, and merge it into just one Word
document? I wish to create a form letter addressed to one person, using the
data that I have stored in an Access database. However, the only options I
have discovered so far are to either create a mass-mailing, or to create a
poorly formatted report in Access, then use the "publish it" function. This
outputs again a poorly formatted document.

Is it possible for me to design a form letter in Word, and have it pull the
data for just one letter, rather than 100?

 

[Doug Robbins - Word MVP]

See the "Super Easy Word Merge" item at
http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal/msaccess/msaccess.html

--
Hope this helps.

Please reply to the newsgroup unless you wish to avail yourself of my
services on a paid consulting basis.

Doug Robbins - Word MVP

 

[cjg.groups]

The solution depends on what level of automation that you need.

In Word 2003, you can use Tools > Letters/Mailings > Mail Merge, and
after selecting the Access table in step 3, check only the one
recipient that you want.

You may also try Albert Kallal's "MergeSingleWord".
http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal/msaccess/msaccess.html

I automated the process with Visual Basic code to merge the current
record being displayed on an Access form. The form has fields to find
and identify the desired record, a command button to launch this code,
and a text box bound the data table primary key called OrderID.

This article was used as a foundation:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=209976
The code requires reference (Tools > References) to Word 11 Object
Library; may need to browse for C:\PF\MS Office\Office11\msword.olb

The Word template should not be bound to a data source. Bind it to a
data source only to easily enter the merge fields, then convert it back
to a normal Word document (Word 2000: Mail Merge Helper > 1 > Restore
to normal Word document. Word 2003: Mail merge toolbar > Main document
setup > Normal Word document).

You may get errors from Word such as the "Data Link" window or
complaints that Access is locked and needs an admin password. Post
them to this thread.

Here is the code. Any MVPs and pros, feel free to correct. Sorry for
line wrapping; not sure why it does that.


Function OutputDoc()

Dim appWord As Word.Application
Dim objWord As Word.Document

Set appWord = New Word.Application
Set objWord = appWord.Documents.Open("C:\MergeTemplate.doc")

' Make Word visible.
appWord.Visible = True
' Set the mail merge data source as the database. Note the query
parameter.
objWord.MailMerge.OpenDataSource Name:="Database.mdb",
LinkToSource:=True, Connection:="TABLE tblData", SQLStatement:="SELECT
* FROM [tblData] WHERE [Orders.OrderID] = " & Forms!OrderForm!OrderID
' Execute the mail merge.
objWord.MailMerge.Destination = wdSendToNewDocument
objWord.MailMerge.Execute

' clean up and close Word, closing windows in reverse order that
they were opened
Set objWord = appWord.Documents("Form Letters1")
objWord.Close wdDoNotSaveChanges
Set objWord = appWord.Documents("Sampling Request Form - merge.doc")
objWord.SaveAs ("C:\Output.doc")
appWord.Quit
Set appWord = Nothing
End Function


Good luck.

 

[Access101]

You guys look like you know what you're talking about - slick tools. Maybe
you know this one too:

In my Main Merge doc I have:
<<fname>>
<<fname>>

In the Data doc I have column heading and two names
fname
Bill
Mike

When I merge, Bill, of course, replaces each <<fname>> with Bill and looks
like this:
Bill
Bill
What I want, is this:
Bill
Mike

Is this possible?

Any help is appreciated.

The solution depends on what level of automation that you need.

In Word 2003, you can use Tools > Letters/Mailings > Mail Merge, and
after selecting the Access table in step 3, check only the one
recipient that you want.

You may also try Albert Kallal's "MergeSingleWord".
http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal/msaccess/msaccess.html

I automated the process with Visual Basic code to merge the current
record being displayed on an Access form. The form has fields to find
and identify the desired record, a command button to launch this code,
and a text box bound the data table primary key called OrderID.

This article was used as a foundation:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=209976
The code requires reference (Tools > References) to Word 11 Object
Library; may need to browse for C:\PF\MS Office\Office11\msword.olb

The Word template should not be bound to a data source. Bind it to a
data source only to easily enter the merge fields, then convert it back
to a normal Word document (Word 2000: Mail Merge Helper > 1 > Restore
to normal Word document. Word 2003: Mail merge toolbar > Main document
setup > Normal Word document).

You may get errors from Word such as the "Data Link" window or
complaints that Access is locked and needs an admin password. Post
them to this thread.

Here is the code. Any MVPs and pros, feel free to correct. Sorry for
line wrapping; not sure why it does that.


Function OutputDoc()

Dim appWord As Word.Application
Dim objWord As Word.Document

Set appWord = New Word.Application
Set objWord = appWord.Documents.Open("C:\MergeTemplate.doc")

' Make Word visible.
appWord.Visible = True
' Set the mail merge data source as the database. Note the query
parameter.
objWord.MailMerge.OpenDataSource Name:="Database.mdb",
LinkToSource:=True, Connection:="TABLE tblData", SQLStatement:="SELECT
* FROM [tblData] WHERE [Orders.OrderID] = " & Forms!OrderForm!OrderID
' Execute the mail merge.
objWord.MailMerge.Destination = wdSendToNewDocument
objWord.MailMerge.Execute

' clean up and close Word, closing windows in reverse order that
they were opened
Set objWord = appWord.Documents("Form Letters1")
objWord.Close wdDoNotSaveChanges
Set objWord = appWord.Documents("Sampling Request Form - merge.doc")
objWord.SaveAs ("C:\Output.doc")
appWord.Quit
Set appWord = Nothing
End Function


Good luck.

Is it possible to take the data from Access, and merge it into just one Word
document? I wish to create a form letter addressed to one person, using the
data that I have stored in an Access database. However, the only options I
have discovered so far are to either create a mass-mailing, or to create a
poorly formatted report in Access, then use the "publish it" function. This
outputs again a poorly formatted document.

Is it possible for me to design a form letter in Word, and have it pull the
data for just one letter, rather than 100?

 

[Doug Robbins - Word MVP]

See response to your latter post.

--
Hope this helps.

Please reply to the newsgroup unless you wish to avail yourself of my
services on a paid consulting basis.

Doug Robbins - Word MVP

You guys look like you know what you're talking about - slick tools.
Maybe
you know this one too:

In my Main Merge doc I have:
<<fname>>
<<fname>>

In the Data doc I have column heading and two names
fname
Bill
Mike

When I merge, Bill, of course, replaces each <<fname>> with Bill and looks
like this:
Bill
Bill
What I want, is this:
Bill
Mike

Is this possible?

Any help is appreciated.

The solution depends on what level of automation that you need.

In Word 2003, you can use Tools > Letters/Mailings > Mail Merge, and
after selecting the Access table in step 3, check only the one
recipient that you want.

You may also try Albert Kallal's "MergeSingleWord".
http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal/msaccess/msaccess.html

I automated the process with Visual Basic code to merge the current
record being displayed on an Access form. The form has fields to find
and identify the desired record, a command button to launch this code,
and a text box bound the data table primary key called OrderID.

This article was used as a foundation:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=209976
The code requires reference (Tools > References) to Word 11 Object
Library; may need to browse for C:\PF\MS Office\Office11\msword.olb

The Word template should not be bound to a data source. Bind it to a
data source only to easily enter the merge fields, then convert it back
to a normal Word document (Word 2000: Mail Merge Helper > 1 > Restore
to normal Word document. Word 2003: Mail merge toolbar > Main document
setup > Normal Word document).

You may get errors from Word such as the "Data Link" window or
complaints that Access is locked and needs an admin password. Post
them to this thread.

Here is the code. Any MVPs and pros, feel free to correct. Sorry for
line wrapping; not sure why it does that.


Function OutputDoc()

Dim appWord As Word.Application
Dim objWord As Word.Document

Set appWord = New Word.Application
Set objWord = appWord.Documents.Open("C:\MergeTemplate.doc")

' Make Word visible.
appWord.Visible = True
' Set the mail merge data source as the database. Note the query
parameter.
objWord.MailMerge.OpenDataSource Name:="Database.mdb",
LinkToSource:=True, Connection:="TABLE tblData", SQLStatement:="SELECT
* FROM [tblData] WHERE [Orders.OrderID] = " & Forms!OrderForm!OrderID
' Execute the mail merge.
objWord.MailMerge.Destination = wdSendToNewDocument
objWord.MailMerge.Execute

' clean up and close Word, closing windows in reverse order that
they were opened
Set objWord = appWord.Documents("Form Letters1")
objWord.Close wdDoNotSaveChanges
Set objWord = appWord.Documents("Sampling Request Form - merge.doc")
objWord.SaveAs ("C:\Output.doc")
appWord.Quit
Set appWord = Nothing
End Function


Good luck.

Is it possible to take the data from Access, and merge it into just one
Word
document? I wish to create a form letter addressed to one person, using
the
data that I have stored in an Access database. However, the only
options I
have discovered so far are to either create a mass-mailing, or to
create a
poorly formatted report in Access, then use the "publish it" function.
This
outputs again a poorly formatted document.

Is it possible for me to design a form letter in Word, and have it pull
the
data for just one letter, rather than 100?

 

[Danny]

Very complete suggestions. You've got me past my roadblock, and I'm much
appreciative. Thank you so much!

The solution depends on what level of automation that you need.

In Word 2003, you can use Tools > Letters/Mailings > Mail Merge, and
after selecting the Access table in step 3, check only the one
recipient that you want.

You may also try Albert Kallal's "MergeSingleWord".
http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal/msaccess/msaccess.html

I automated the process with Visual Basic code to merge the current
record being displayed on an Access form. The form has fields to find
and identify the desired record, a command button to launch this code,
and a text box bound the data table primary key called OrderID.

This article was used as a foundation:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=209976
The code requires reference (Tools > References) to Word 11 Object
Library; may need to browse for C:\PF\MS Office\Office11\msword.olb

The Word template should not be bound to a data source. Bind it to a
data source only to easily enter the merge fields, then convert it back
to a normal Word document (Word 2000: Mail Merge Helper > 1 > Restore
to normal Word document. Word 2003: Mail merge toolbar > Main document
setup > Normal Word document).

You may get errors from Word such as the "Data Link" window or
complaints that Access is locked and needs an admin password. Post
them to this thread.

Here is the code. Any MVPs and pros, feel free to correct. Sorry for
line wrapping; not sure why it does that.


Function OutputDoc()

Dim appWord As Word.Application
Dim objWord As Word.Document

Set appWord = New Word.Application
Set objWord = appWord.Documents.Open("C:\MergeTemplate.doc")

' Make Word visible.
appWord.Visible = True
' Set the mail merge data source as the database. Note the query
parameter.
objWord.MailMerge.OpenDataSource Name:="Database.mdb",
LinkToSource:=True, Connection:="TABLE tblData", SQLStatement:="SELECT
* FROM [tblData] WHERE [Orders.OrderID] = " & Forms!OrderForm!OrderID
' Execute the mail merge.
objWord.MailMerge.Destination = wdSendToNewDocument
objWord.MailMerge.Execute

' clean up and close Word, closing windows in reverse order that
they were opened
Set objWord = appWord.Documents("Form Letters1")
objWord.Close wdDoNotSaveChanges
Set objWord = appWord.Documents("Sampling Request Form - merge.doc")
objWord.SaveAs ("C:\Output.doc")
appWord.Quit
Set appWord = Nothing
End Function


Good luck.

Is it possible to take the data from Access, and merge it into just one Word
document? I wish to create a form letter addressed to one person, using the
data that I have stored in an Access database. However, the only options I
have discovered so far are to either create a mass-mailing, or to create a
poorly formatted report in Access, then use the "publish it" function. This
outputs again a poorly formatted document.

Is it possible for me to design a form letter in Word, and have it pull the
data for just one letter, rather than 100?

 

[Michael]

Dear all, I have a similar problem with mail merge. I have a .doc document
and a data source from an oracle database which stores HTML data as text. The
front end application has no problem recognizing the HTML tags and would
display the HTML texts correctly. But once I tried to mail merge this HTML
text to the Word document, Word would show the HTML tags as is. i.e.
<BR>test</BR> instead of a line break before 'test', a &amp instead of &, and
a <B>bold</B> instead of a bolded 'bold' text.

I wonder if there's a way to make Word interpret the HTML tags automatically
during the mail merge?

Thanks in advance,
Michael

The solution depends on what level of automation that you need.

In Word 2003, you can use Tools > Letters/Mailings > Mail Merge, and
after selecting the Access table in step 3, check only the one
recipient that you want.

You may also try Albert Kallal's "MergeSingleWord".
http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal/msaccess/msaccess.html

I automated the process with Visual Basic code to merge the current
record being displayed on an Access form. The form has fields to find
and identify the desired record, a command button to launch this code,
and a text box bound the data table primary key called OrderID.

This article was used as a foundation:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=209976
The code requires reference (Tools > References) to Word 11 Object
Library; may need to browse for C:\PF\MS Office\Office11\msword.olb

The Word template should not be bound to a data source. Bind it to a
data source only to easily enter the merge fields, then convert it back
to a normal Word document (Word 2000: Mail Merge Helper > 1 > Restore
to normal Word document. Word 2003: Mail merge toolbar > Main document
setup > Normal Word document).

You may get errors from Word such as the "Data Link" window or
complaints that Access is locked and needs an admin password. Post
them to this thread.

Here is the code. Any MVPs and pros, feel free to correct. Sorry for
line wrapping; not sure why it does that.


Function OutputDoc()

Dim appWord As Word.Application
Dim objWord As Word.Document

Set appWord = New Word.Application
Set objWord = appWord.Documents.Open("C:\MergeTemplate.doc")

' Make Word visible.
appWord.Visible = True
' Set the mail merge data source as the database. Note the query
parameter.
objWord.MailMerge.OpenDataSource Name:="Database.mdb",
LinkToSource:=True, Connection:="TABLE tblData", SQLStatement:="SELECT
* FROM [tblData] WHERE [Orders.OrderID] = " & Forms!OrderForm!OrderID
' Execute the mail merge.
objWord.MailMerge.Destination = wdSendToNewDocument
objWord.MailMerge.Execute

' clean up and close Word, closing windows in reverse order that
they were opened
Set objWord = appWord.Documents("Form Letters1")
objWord.Close wdDoNotSaveChanges
Set objWord = appWord.Documents("Sampling Request Form - merge.doc")
objWord.SaveAs ("C:\Output.doc")
appWord.Quit
Set appWord = Nothing
End Function


Good luck.

Is it possible to take the data from Access, and merge it into just one Word
document? I wish to create a form letter addressed to one person, using the
data that I have stored in an Access database. However, the only options I
have discovered so far are to either create a mass-mailing, or to create a
poorly formatted report in Access, then use the "publish it" function. This
outputs again a poorly formatted document.

Is it possible for me to design a form letter in Word, and have it pull the
data for just one letter, rather than 100?

 

[Peter Jamieson]

Michael - I have responsed (but not with the answer you seek) to your later
similar question.

Peter Jamieson

Dear all, I have a similar problem with mail merge. I have a .doc document
and a data source from an oracle database which stores HTML data as text.
The
front end application has no problem recognizing the HTML tags and would
display the HTML texts correctly. But once I tried to mail merge this HTML
text to the Word document, Word would show the HTML tags as is. i.e.
<BR>test</BR> instead of a line break before 'test', a &amp instead of &,
and
a <B>bold</B> instead of a bolded 'bold' text.

I wonder if there's a way to make Word interpret the HTML tags
automatically
during the mail merge?

Thanks in advance,
Michael

The solution depends on what level of automation that you need.

In Word 2003, you can use Tools > Letters/Mailings > Mail Merge, and
after selecting the Access table in step 3, check only the one
recipient that you want.

You may also try Albert Kallal's "MergeSingleWord".
http://www.members.shaw.ca/AlbertKallal/msaccess/msaccess.html

I automated the process with Visual Basic code to merge the current
record being displayed on an Access form. The form has fields to find
and identify the desired record, a command button to launch this code,
and a text box bound the data table primary key called OrderID.

This article was used as a foundation:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=209976
The code requires reference (Tools > References) to Word 11 Object
Library; may need to browse for C:\PF\MS Office\Office11\msword.olb

The Word template should not be bound to a data source. Bind it to a
data source only to easily enter the merge fields, then convert it back
to a normal Word document (Word 2000: Mail Merge Helper > 1 > Restore
to normal Word document. Word 2003: Mail merge toolbar > Main document
setup > Normal Word document).

You may get errors from Word such as the "Data Link" window or
complaints that Access is locked and needs an admin password. Post
them to this thread.

Here is the code. Any MVPs and pros, feel free to correct. Sorry for
line wrapping; not sure why it does that.


Function OutputDoc()

Dim appWord As Word.Application
Dim objWord As Word.Document

Set appWord = New Word.Application
Set objWord = appWord.Documents.Open("C:\MergeTemplate.doc")

' Make Word visible.
appWord.Visible = True
' Set the mail merge data source as the database. Note the query
parameter.
objWord.MailMerge.OpenDataSource Name:="Database.mdb",
LinkToSource:=True, Connection:="TABLE tblData", SQLStatement:="SELECT
* FROM [tblData] WHERE [Orders.OrderID] = " & Forms!OrderForm!OrderID
' Execute the mail merge.
objWord.MailMerge.Destination = wdSendToNewDocument
objWord.MailMerge.Execute

' clean up and close Word, closing windows in reverse order that
they were opened
Set objWord = appWord.Documents("Form Letters1")
objWord.Close wdDoNotSaveChanges
Set objWord = appWord.Documents("Sampling Request Form - merge.doc")
objWord.SaveAs ("C:\Output.doc")
appWord.Quit
Set appWord = Nothing
End Function


Good luck.

Is it possible to take the data from Access, and merge it into just one
Word
document? I wish to create a form letter addressed to one person, using
the
data that I have stored in an Access database. However, the only
options I
have discovered so far are to either create a mass-mailing, or to
create a
poorly formatted report in Access, then use the "publish it" function.
This
outputs again a poorly formatted document.

Is it possible for me to design a form letter in Word, and have it pull
the
data for just one letter, rather than 100?

 

[GaryNSHC]

I am using this piece of code and am having a little problem with my
mergefields not picking up the correct value for a YES/NO field.

If I use {mergefield name ="false" ...} it doesn't work with single records
but does when I use all records.

BUT ..

When I use {mergefield name = "0" ..} it works for single records but not
for all records.

Whichever way I go, I can't seem to get the word template to pay ball
correctly whether I use a single record or merge all records.

Has anyone else come across this, and if so, how was it resolved?

Regards

Gary

 

[Graham Mayor]

What exactly does {Mergefield name} produce when inserted without a
condition?

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP


<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[GaryNSHC]

My apologies, I am using an IF condition as well as a MERGEFIELD.

The one which works in a single record is:
{IF {mergefield MAACTeam} = "0", "No", "Yes"} and I get "NO"
if I change = "0" to either = "TRUE" or = "FALSE" I get "YES" which is
incorrect.

The one which works for all records is:
{IF {mergefield MAACTeam} = "FALSE", "No", "Yes"} I get either "YES" or "NO"
if I change = "FALSE" to either = "0" or = "-1" I get "YES" for all records
which is incorrect.

If I have just:
{mergefield MAACTeam} I get either "0" or "-1" depending on whether it
should be "YES" or "NO".

Hope this clarifies the problem being encountered.

Regards

Gary

 

[Peter Jamieson]

If I have just:

{mergefield MAACTeam} I get either "0" or "-1" depending on whether it
should be "YES" or "NO".

Is this actually -1 for Yes and 0 for No (in which case are you using Word
2000 or earlier and/or connecting using DDE? AFAIK the values Word receives
are as follows:

Connection method "Yes" "No"
DDE -1 0
ODBC 0 1
OLE DB True False

When you say "works for a single record" what are you doing differently? Do
you mean you are connecting to a different data source that only has one
record, are you using the same table/query as the data source in both merges
and changing the query criteria for one of them? Or what? Also, are the
Yes/No results for just

{ mergefield MAACTeam }

always -1 and 0, or do they actually differ depending on whehter you are
doing 1 record or many records?

Also, are you really using "FALSE" rather than "False"? Can we assume that
you have not got commas in your IF field? Do you have a bookmark called
False in your Mail Merge Main Document or any included file? Does it make
any difference if you quote the mergefield, e.g.

{ IF "{ MERGEFIELD MAACTeam }" = "0" "No" "Yes" }

Peter Jamieson

 

[GaryNSHC]

Peter,

As far as I know:

I believe it is Word 2000, and again my apologies, there is no comma between
the values (hangover from coding excel IF statement).

I think the data source is exported as a file (merge.888) which is then used
to create the merge document. I don't think it is directly linked with Access.

The values are always -1 or 0 depending on what the source data in access
is, depending on whether I am trying to merge one record or all records. I
have about 15 access fields with "Yes" or "No" answers which are being
merged. The fields indicate what activities the person participates in within
our organisation.

I'll try quoting the meregfield and see if it makes a difference.

Thanks for trying to sort this out for me.

Regards

Gary

 

[Peter Jamieson]

I can just about see circumstances in which this might occur, but the case
isn't particularly convincing, which suggests that the explanation is likely
to be staring us in the face I gather you're working at a distance from
the problem so it may be difficult to check stuff and experiment.

It seems to me that whatever may be in the Access file or intermediate file,
Word will only compare correctly with "0" if the YesNo value /it reads/ is
"0", and will only compare correctly with "False" if the values it actually
sees are "False" and "True". Which isn't what you actually say, but I wonder
whether that is actually the case.

As far as I know, if Word is getting its data from a text file, the only way
it would see -1 as "True" is if
a. it's opening the file using OLE DB (i.e. it's Word 2002 or later)
b. there's a SCHEMA.INI file in the same folder as the text file that
specifies that the column has type "Bit". This could well be the case
because when you export from Access, Access does create such entries in a
SCHEMA.INI - at least sometimes. If someone is using an Access module or
macro to export, then it may also specify a particular export layout.

However, the hypothesis also has to explain why you see -1/0 when you have a
data source with 1 record, but True/False when it has many records.
Possibilities include
a. Word is opening the file using OLE DB but only recognises that the
column is "Yes/No" type (and provides True/False instead of -1/0 when there
are more than so many records in the file - perhaps 8 or 25. I don't see
this here.
b. Access sets up a SCHEMA.INI entry when it exports multiple records, but
not a single record. (In fact, Access itself does not appear to make this
distinction, although if the export is being done through code, perhaps
something else is doing something differently. What I see is bizarre: when
you export manually, if you specify a file extension (e.g. .txt) Access just
exports the data and modifes SCHEMA.INI. If you do not, Access takes you
through the export layout dialog and /does not/ modify SCHEMA.INI)
c. Word tries to connect to the one-row data files using OLE DB (the
defaul) but fails and falls back to using its Text converter. With the
multi-row files, it succeeds. This is an unlikely way around.

Even if the right explanation is in there somewhere, there's the question of
what you do about it and how to find out exactly what's going. What I would
probably prefer to do is avoid the problem altoggether by trying to export
the data using the string values "Y" and "N" instead of numeric/boolean
values. If I had to determine connection method etc., I'd probably use Word
VBA to find the values of ActiveDocument.MailMerge.DataSource.COnnectString,
..QueryString and .Type /after/ the connection had been made.

Best I can right now...

Peter Jamieson

 

[GaryNSHC]

Peter,

However, the hypothesis also has to explain why you see -1/0 when you have a
data source with 1 record, but True/False when it has many records.

Just to clarify, depending on whether the field condition is "0" or "false",
and depending on whether 1 record or all records are merged, one merge will
merge fields correctly, whilst the other merge will merge all fields with one
value - whether it is the right or wrong value.

Your technical knowledge is way beyond my comprehension unfortunately. I
will try some of your suggestions from your first resposne to see if that
makes a difference.

Regards

Gary

 

[GaryNSHC]

Hi all,

Whilst probably not the most elegant solution, what I have found that works
is a "double if" function which checks whether the value is "0" first, if so
then it will display "No", if the value is not "0", a second if function will
determine if the value is "false" and display "No", otherwise it will display
"Yes".

Regards

Gary

 

[Peter Jamieson]

Looks like you have found a solution but if you can send samples I would be
happy to have a look at them - you would need to remove "KillmapS" from my
email address.

Peter Jamieson