Permanent link to data source?

[Tracy]

Using Word 2000 I set up a mail merge form letter which works fine. The problem is the next time I open the document the link to data source (Access) is gone. I have to go through the motion of finding the database and then the query. In fact the mail merge tool bar is gone to, so I have to start the whole wizard again. In Word XP the tool bar is still there, but the data source link is lost.
I want to have my co worker be able to open up the letter, push the merge button and bo good to go
Thanks.

 

[Peter Jamieson]

A few things you could look at...

In Word 2000, are you using the default connection method (DDE) to connect
tot he database (if you are, a copy of Access will appear even if none was
running before)? Or ODBC?

Does the database have a long path name (I can't be specific about how long,
but it may be worth copying the database to a folder such as c:\a and seeing
if you still have the same problem.

Does the database have any "unusual" characters in its name: also, do any of
the table/field names have unusual characters or spaces in their names?

--
Peter Jamieson - Word MVP

Using Word 2000 I set up a mail merge form letter which works fine. The

problem is the next time I open the document the link to data source
(Access) is gone. I have to go through the motion of finding the database
and then the query. In fact the mail merge tool bar is gone to, so I have
to start the whole wizard again. In Word XP the tool bar is still there,
but the data source link is lost.

 

[Tracy]

Yes, I am using the default connection method (DDE) to connect
the database. I set up the merge using the wizard.
If I can figure it out I will do ODBC (but I don't even know what that is!)

The database is on the same server as the Word file. The word file is a few folders deeper, while the database is at a higher level (so to speak). Does that matter? Should I move the Word file to the same level as the database?

I don't believe I have any unusual spaces or characters in the fields or db names.

What I've done in the mean time is create a macro to link to the data source, so now my coworker just has to do "ctrl+m"
-Tracy

 

[Peter Jamieson]

If I can figure it out I will do ODBC (but I don't even know what that
is!)

ODBC stands for "Open Database Connectivity". It's another method word can
use to get data from your database. Unlike DDE, which opens Access and uses
it to get your data, ODBC bypasses Access and works more directly with the
"database engine" called Jet which Access uses to manipulate data.

Not that that tells you anything much...

To use ODBC in Word 2000, in the Open Data Source dialog box, select your
..mdb then check "Select method" before clicking Open. You will see an
additional dialog that should offer the ODBC option if available.

The database is on the same server as the Word file. The word file is a

few folders deeper, while the database is at

a higher level (so to speak). Does that matter? Should I move the Word

file to the same level as the database?

The main reason I mention the database location is because when you make a
connection to a data source in Word, Word has to store a number of things
about the data source so it can re-open it when you next open the Word
document. Typically, it stores one or more of the full database path name, a
"connection string", and a query string such as SELECT * FROM mytable.
However, each of these things has limited storage space in Word. In
particular, the connection string is limited to 255 characters, and with
certain connection types (e.g. ODBC and the default connection method used
in Word 2002 (OLEDB) ) the connection string may include the full path name
of the database at least once. COmbined with all the other connection info.
this may mean that Word truncates the string which may mean that it does not
have all the information it needs to re-open the database.

However, if you are using DDE the connection string is typically very short
(e.g. "TABLE mytable") and the database name can probably safely be up to
255 characters, which is usually enough.

What I've done in the mean time is create a macro to link to the data

source, so now my coworker just has to do "ctrl+m"

Can you tell us what this macro contains? It may help.

--
Peter Jamieson - Word MVP

Yes, I am using the default connection method (DDE) to connect
the database. I set up the merge using the wizard.
If I can figure it out I will do ODBC (but I don't even know what that is!)

The database is on the same server as the Word file. The word file is a

few folders deeper, while the database is at a higher level (so to speak).
Does that matter? Should I move the Word file to the same level as the
database?

I don't believe I have any unusual spaces or characters in the fields or db names.

What I've done in the mean time is create a macro to link to the data

source, so now my coworker just has to do "ctrl+m"

 

[Michael]

We have the same problem at our office! Whenever we try to load a Word 2003 mail merge document, the database connection does not appear to be saved and we have to locate the database, then we can do our mail merge. What a pain!

I hope someone can figure this out as I can't find any answers to this problem!

 

[Peter Jamieson]

I've attempted a reply to your other similar query.

--
Peter Jamieson - Word MVP

We have the same problem at our office! Whenever we try to load a Word

2003 mail merge document, the database connection does not appear to be
saved and we have to locate the database, then we can do our mail merge.
What a pain!

I hope someone can figure this out as I can't find any answers to this

problem!