Sort labels by zip code

[Diane Poldy]

I have used the mail merge wizard to create labels from a
mailing list. I want the labels to print sorted by zip
code for a bulk mailing. I can get the recipient info to
sort, but I can't get it to print labels that way. Can
this be done with the word mail merge? I don't have
access software mas part of my Office XP.

 

[Peter Jamieson]

What is the data source? Have you created it using the Edit recipients in
Word 2002, in which case it will be an "Office Address List" (i.e. a Query
in an Access/Jet .mdb file). If I do that, I can sort on the Zip code (but
how are you doing it) and the output is in the sorted sequence, at least for
a small sample of data. (Word 2002 XP-2). So it may be that your data source
is diffwerent, or you are specifying the data source in some way. Or maybe
you are saving the document, reopening it, then merging, and the sort
specification is lost?

 

[Steve b]

Having the same issue but from an Outlook PST file. Word 2000 made this
easy via mail merge helper but how do you do this in 2002?

Thanks

 

[Peter Jamieson]

If the problem is that you can't find the equivalent of Word 2000's "Query
options", it's not really surprising as it is now quite well hidden.What you
need to do is display the Edit recipients dialog box (you can either use the
option in step 3 of the mail merge wizard, or enable the mail merge toolbar
(Tools|Customize) and use the button in there (third from the left). Then,
to sort a single column, all you have to do is click on the column label at
the top (not the drop down arrow at the side of the label). This is similar
to the sort facilities in lots of other software so clcik again and sort
ascending should toggle to sort descending. To get to the old Query options
dialog, click on the dropdown arrow and select Advanced.

That does the trick here, and the records appear to be in the right
sequence, but you may find that things go wrong in some cases when you try
to change the sort sequence and/or when you close and re-open the main
document. There are definitely some bugs in this area with certain types of
data source and there isn't much you can do about it.

Also, You may be better off initiating the merge from Outlook (select a
contacts folder/view then use Outlook Tools|Mail merge... ). I think using a
sorted view should do the trick but you'll need to try it for yourself.

 

[Steve b]

Thank you very much, I'll try that.

Steve

If the problem is that you can't find the equivalent of Word 2000's "Query
options", it's not really surprising as it is now quite well hidden.What you
need to do is display the Edit recipients dialog box (you can either use the
option in step 3 of the mail merge wizard, or enable the mail merge toolbar
(Tools|Customize) and use the button in there (third from the left). Then,
to sort a single column, all you have to do is click on the column label at
the top (not the drop down arrow at the side of the label). This is similar
to the sort facilities in lots of other software so clcik again and sort
ascending should toggle to sort descending. To get to the old Query options
dialog, click on the dropdown arrow and select Advanced.

That does the trick here, and the records appear to be in the right
sequence, but you may find that things go wrong in some cases when you try
to change the sort sequence and/or when you close and re-open the main
document. There are definitely some bugs in this area with certain types of
data source and there isn't much you can do about it.

Also, You may be better off initiating the merge from Outlook (select a
contacts folder/view then use Outlook Tools|Mail merge... ). I think using a
sorted view should do the trick but you'll need to try it for yourself.