Saving/retrieving information entered via "Data Form" Word 2002

[JB]

Greetings--

My goal is to edit address label information I entered several years ago and
display it in table form to print (and eventually make labels--but I can do
that part).

Here's what I tried, and it didn't work.
I just edited what I thought was my source data (Mail merge recipients
list/edit which gave me a data form and I edited and added new entries)--in a
file I had named 2003 source data. I renamed the file to 2009 source data
after adding my new info. Apparently I saved it wrong, or I was not really
doing what I thought, since after closing the document and re-opening it,
none of the changes were there. So here are my questions, since my original
2003 data is still somewhere.

Oh--whenever I try to view the data source using the toolbar button, I'm
taken to MY DATA SOURCES, which has links to a wizard or wants me to connect
to an external db.

1) Where is this data and how is it named? Is it in a magic blank Word doc
(such as the one I named 2009 source data) and then somehow associated with
the document? (Since I see nothing on the screen, but I'm able to click the
Mail Merge Recipients button).

2) If I open this file again and add info, how do I save it? Renaming it
caused me some kind of problem, probably because the data was linked to some
other file.

3) How can I get it to display in a word doc, table form. It's been
years.... for some reason I think I did a merge, and then chose some option
for a table perhaps?

I'm great at Word, but somehow this merge function really seems to baffle me!!

Hope you can help... (or perhaps I should switch to doing this in Excel??)

Thanks!

JB

 

[Peter Jamieson]

Your data would typically either be in a Word .doc file somewhere if you
originally created this merge in Word 2000 or earlier, or if you
originaly created it in Word 2002, it is probably in an Access ("Jet")
..mdb database.

Either way, the data source may not be in that "My Data Sources" folder.
If you can still open your mail merge main document, you may be able
to discover where it is by going into the VB Editor (Tools->Macros->??VB
Editor), then in the Immediate Window (ctrl-G if it is not visible) type

? activedocument.mailmerge.datasource.name

If it's a .doc, you should be able to open it in Word and edit it just
like any other .doc

If it's a .mdb, it is in a format called "Office Address List" (OAL)
which is simply an Access database with a very specific structure.
However, even if you have Access, I recommend that you do not try to
edit your data in there as it is likely to damage the OAL (i.e. it may
end up as an "ordinary .mdb" that you cannot modify from within Word).

It is possible that it is some other type of file such as .txt.

However, your message suggests that you have already lost, i.e. at the
very least "mislaid", the original data source. All I can suggest in
that case is that you search for the original file name using e.g.
Windows Explorer.

Oh--whenever I try to view the data source using the toolbar button, I'm
taken to MY DATA SOURCES, which has links to a wizard or wants me to connect
to an external db.

My Data Sources is just the default folder that Word opens up when you
want to connect to a data source. But your data source does not have to
be in that folder - it could be a file (e.g. .doc, .mdb, .xls etc.)
elsewhere, in which case you can navigate to the appropriate folder
(once you know where it is!) and select your file there.

1) Where is this data and how is it named? Is it in a magic blank Word doc
(such as the one I named 2009 source data) and then somehow associated with
the document? (Since I see nothing on the screen, but I'm able to click the
Mail Merge Recipients button).

See above.

2) If I open this file again and add info, how do I save it? Renaming it
caused me some kind of problem, probably because the data was linked to some
other file.

Once it is connected to your Word document, you should not have to think
too much about that - if it is a .doc and needs to be saved, Word should
tell you when you close the Mail Merge Main Document. If it is a .mdb,
the changes should be saved as soon as you make them.

3) How can I get it to display in a word doc, table form. It's been
years.... for some reason I think I did a merge, and then chose some option
for a table perhaps?

If it's a Word .doc, open it in Word. If it is another type of "text"
file there are several possibilities:
a. open it in Word - you may not get a nice tabular layout but what
you see may be enough
b. create a new mail merge main document - early in the Wizard, there
is a step where you can say it is a Directory. Connect to thedata source
Then create a 1-row table in the document, with one column for each
field in your data source. Insert one field into each cell, then merge
to a new document. Add a header row with column names if you like
c. if you have Access or Excel, make a copy of the .mdb in Windows
Explorer, then open the copy in Access of Excel. You might also be able
to get a nice tabular layout by opening other file types in Excel or Access.

Peter Jamieson

http://tips.pjmsn.me.uk

 

[JB]

Many thanks for your comprehensive reply.

--I did a search of my computer for *.mdb and found nothing (other than a
few Windows media files .wmdb)

--I used the ? string you suggested in the VB Editor. For two of my
supposed data source documents, it didn't do anything. Then I decided to try
it on a couple of other suspects that I had used in conjunction with my
addresses and bingo--I found one data source file. Now I need to check some
others.

--Armed with that, I have a few more things to try. I think I'm beginning to
see that my original data source files have the word "list" in the
filename--they open with text on the screen. The files I named "data source"
(thinking that's what they were as I was entering data there) open blank, but
yet I can see the data when I click on either a mail merge recipients button
(merge toolbar) or a data form button (the same icon, but in the data base
toolbar). Also, I'm noticing when I open one of the "blank" files that has
data associated with it, when I go to save, get more than one prompt.

I'm still digesting your comments and will play with this more
Friday/Saturday. I also need to re-read the merge instructions to get the
vocabulary right so I can confirm what I think happened or is happening.

Hope you don't mind if I leave this thread open for a few days more. I'll
be sure to post back.

Sincere thanks,
JB

 

[Peter Jamieson]

It sounds as if you're on the right track.

Mail Merge Main Document = the thing that you want to produce copies of

Mail Merge Data Source = the rows of data you want to insert into those
copies

However, one way to edit a Mail Merge Data Source would certainly be to
have a completely blank Mail Merge Main Document, connected to that data
source, and use the Data Source editing tools from that.

Peter Jamieson

http://tips.pjmsn.me.uk

 

[JB]

Hi!

Two last questions/confirmations and then I think I’m back on track.

Will a datasource document always display as a table if created in Word?
And then one can edit it via the table or the Data Form, or the Mail Merge
Recipients button (which takes on to a Data Form)? I think the answer is
yes. That is, there should be data visible on the screen.

One thing that tripped me up was that one of my files which I had named a
datasource file (thinking it was), opened as a blank page. I could see the
recipient list, having clicked on the button, and I could add data to it via
a data form. I did frequent saves, and renamed this my 2009 address list
datasource, and did more saves after a few addresses. I could see these
addresses showing in the recipient list after I closed the data form, so I
thought I was saving properly. However, I’m sure now, that my error was
when I exited the file.

Having tried to duplicate my error, I'm sure I got the message that the
2009_address_datasource.doc was a mail merge main document attached to a data
source 2000_address.doc that had not be saved and did I want to save the
2000_addresss.doc. Well, I wanted to leave my 2000 doc in tact, and knew I
had been saving my 2009 doc all along, so I replied no. Ouch! Your VB ?
command showed me, as did the dialogue box that I misunderstood, and that my
data was elsewhere.

If this all sounds logical to you, then I think I’m good to go. I went back
to my 2000 file and updated it, and it showed me the updates in both files.

I don’t know why my mail merge main document didn’t have anything in it
(e.g. on the screen), but since it was only for labels, maybe I chose another
output. I’m not going to try to figure it out, since I think I understand the
principle.

One last question though…. If I want to now use my updated data, and it’s
still attached to this 2009 empty (main) document, do I need to unattach it
to be able to use it again?

Again, my thanks, for your assistance.

JB