need help with data merge for labels

[Tiger Mo]

I'm merging address data from an Excel spreadsheet into Word for
printing labels. Some of the labels need two address lines and some
need only one. If I select the fields to use both address lines, then
all the labels that use just the one address line have a blank line in
the middle of the label where the second address line would go. How
do I get Word to automatically move up the bottom lines to close the
gap in the label without me having to do that manually for each one?

 

[CyberTaz]

What you're asking for is the standard behavior, assuming...

The second address line data is stored in a separate field and is the only
content on the second line. Any typed content - including spaces - will
cause the line to be "printed", but as long as that line is empty for any
record the following lines shift up to not leave a blank line. Also, if you
left an empty line by pressing return when you set up the labels the empty
line will take up space (but I doubt that is the problem). I.E.:

<<FirstName>> <<LastName>>
<<StreetAddress>>
<<P.O.Box>>
<<City>>, <<State>> <<Zip>>

Will produce a 4-line label *if* there is P.O. Box data, a 3-line label if
there isn't. OTOH,

<<FirstName>> <<LastName>>
<<StreetAddress>>
<<Route#>> <<P.O.Box>>
<<City>>, <<State>> <<Zip>>

Will *always* produce a 4-line label even if the Route# & PO Box fields are
both empty because of the literal space separating the 2 fields. In this
case I find it easier to concatenate the fields in the Excel file & use the
concatenation field in the label doc rather than the 2 separate fields.

Also, if the StreetAddress field is very lengthy for any specific record it
will wrap to a second line automatically as necessary - but the wrapping can
be difficult to control.

If you still have trouble determining what is causing the problem include
more descriptive info about the fields in the record source, label setup &
what version of Word.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

Test this on a COPY--

it might be that, after creating the labels, if you run a Find and
Replace to replace two paragraphs with one, it will delete that empty
line. Actually, I'm pretty sure it will delete the line. I'm not sure it
won't delete something else that you need to be there. (to F&R
paragraphs, expand the Find dialog by clicking the triangle, and use the
Special menu to fill the boxes)

Me, I just mailed stuff with the blank line. But I did read the other
day that the PO doesn't like that.

 

[Tiger Mo]

CyberTaz-

You are absolutely correct. The blank line does not print and the
lines underneath are moved up to fill the gap. The previous
application I used always asked me to specify what should be done when
that situation occurs and I was looking for a way to tell Word to do
it that way. Little did I know that the application was "smart"
enough to do that without having to be told.

Thanks for your help

P.S. Your suggestion about concatenation solved another problem I was
having in the same data base, so thanks for that, too.

 

[Clive Huggan]

CyberTaz-

You are absolutely correct.

<snip>

Yeah, he always is. It's a worry! ;-)

CH
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