Saving Text With Bullets and Numbering to Access Database

[Shay]

I am storing text used in a word Mail Merge in an access database. Everthing
works fine when the mail merge runs and the text is displayed in the word
document with all the Tabs, Carriage Returns preserved. However when I put in
bullets and numbering the text that comes out is formatted differently.. ie
it comes out as if the user typed in the numbers and thus they do not format
paragraphs of text like word would when you select numbering from the menus.
I noticed when I turn on formatting marks in word there does not seem to be
formatting marks for bullets and numbering so is it possible that I can save
it to the database then? Or is there something I could run after to pick up
on an numbered or bulleted paragraphs?

 

[Cindy M -WordMVP-]

Hi =?Utf-8?B?U2hheQ==?=,

I am storing text used in a word Mail Merge in an access database. Everthing
works fine when the mail merge runs and the text is displayed in the word
document with all the Tabs, Carriage Returns preserved. However when I put in
bullets and numbering the text that comes out is formatted differently.. ie
it comes out as if the user typed in the numbers and thus they do not format
paragraphs of text like word would when you select numbering from the menus.
I noticed when I turn on formatting marks in word there does not seem to be
formatting marks for bullets and numbering so is it possible that I can save
it to the database then? Or is there something I could run after to pick up
on an numbered or bulleted paragraphs?

Mail merge cannot pick up any kind of formatting from data stored in a database.
Data stored in a Word table, yes, but then only character formatting.

So, no, there's no way to bring "automatic" numbering from data stored in Access
into a mail merge.

Assuming the paragraphs contain a special symbol, you could theoretically run a
macro on the merge result (to a new document) to find each instance of the
symbol and apply formatting (a style would be best).

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 8 2004)
http://www.word.mvps.org

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[Shay]

you would not know of a sample of a macro I could use to do this and how it
could work with a style.

 

[Cindy M -WordMVP-]

Hi =?Utf-8?B?U2hheQ==?=,

you would not know of a sample of a macro I could use to do this and how it
could work with a style.

Well, in the mail merge section of my website, under Special Merges, you'll find a
topic on merging charts. the sample file contains the basic code for using Events
that execute during the merge.

It's difficult to give you any hints on how to code applying a style, since I have no
idea how you plan to identify what paragraphs need to be numbered, what kind of
numbering, how it should restart, etc. In general terms, you'd probably want to
perform a Find (and maybe replace to get rid of any identifier) to pick up the
paragraphs and apply the style. Best thing would probably be:

1. Create a test document with some paragraphs to be transformed

2. Test Find (and Replace) until you get it two work finding (and removing any
identifier).

3. Now create a style that includes numbering, and have Replace also apply that style

Once you have all this, you could record a macro to get the basic syntax you require.
Now run this over a mail merge result document and note how it does NOT work.

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 8 2004)
http://www.word.mvps.org

This reply is posted in the Newsgroup; please post any follow question or reply in
the newsgroup and not by e-mail