!!STRANGE!! - Mail Merge - When i move my mouse it runs in double time!

[Jado]

Hi

We have recently started running a Mail Merge from a large Access 97
Database.

i have descovered that if i move my mouse in a circular motion after
starting the merge, it seems to run fine!

compared to if i don't move the mouse:-

Either the merge hangs for ages whilst opening the datasource.

or, (I think it times out), because a message 'Can't find data source'
appears followed by the 'Select Data Source' dialog box.

The whole process is started and controled from the database (although the
mailmerge document already contains a bound Data Source)

is there anything i can do in code to mimic the motion of the mouse (not
literally of course). i'm feeling a little silly when asked for my current
solution to this problem ;-)

Thanks Jado

 

[Peter Jamieson]

is there anything i can do in code to mimic the motion of the mouse (not

literally of course). i'm feeling a little silly when asked for my current
solution to this problem ;-)

Don't know why this is happening, but I would have a look at the
following:
a. is the fact that the database is "large" a factor? (I have no idea where
that might lead but it may be worth trying to find out)
b. is there a multi-user access problem of any kind?
c. how are you connecting to your data source (DDE or ODBC are likely to be
the two options if you are getting data directly from Access and you are
also using Word 97 or 2000)? Have you tried using the other method? If
anything, I would expect DDE to be more susceptible to problems related to
the way Windows does event processing and so on.
d. are you using a virus checker such as Norton? If so, does it make any
difference if you isolate the system, turn off A-V and try again (and don't
forget to re-enable it of course). There can be problems in this area but
AFAIK they usually affect systems where you are creating an intermediate
file tthen using that as your data source.

 

[Jado]

Don't know why this is happening, but I would have a look at the
following:
a. is the fact that the database is "large" a factor? (I have no idea where
that might lead but it may be worth trying to find out)
b. is there a multi-user access problem of any kind?

db = 100mb, 50,000 Records
users = 3-6

c. how are you connecting to your data source (DDE or ODBC are likely to be
the two options if you are getting data directly from Access and you are

the merge is using DDE

also using Word 97 or 2000)? Have you tried using the other method? If
anything, I would expect DDE to be more susceptible to problems related to
the way Windows does event processing and so on.

all users using Office 97 Suite

d. are you using a virus checker such as Norton? If so, does it make any
difference if you isolate the system, turn off A-V and try again (and don't
forget to re-enable it of course). There can be problems in this area but
AFAIK they usually affect systems where you are creating an intermediate
file tthen using that as your data source.

all systems use AV but it would not be practical to try the above.

I would say the total problem would be a mix of the above, including
network traffic and local PC resource.

All I know is that moving the mouse continuously ensures merge success.

I've not tried ODBC but I guess that will mean setting up DNS for each
datasource which again is not practical.

would you also know which timeout settings to change in order to give the
merge more time to link to it's datasource using DDE ?

what I'm really looking for is a routine to mimic mouse motion.

would you have any idea's for a routine?

 

[Peter Jamieson]

I've not tried ODBC but I guess that will mean setting up DNS for each

datasource which again is not practical.

Well, one Access DSN (and one would typically be set up by default if ODBC
and the Desktop Database drivers are installed) should be enough, except
perhaps if you are using user-level (workgroup) security, in which case you
might need a different one for each workgroup and/or login. But even in that
case, you ought to be able to provide the security details at runtime using
Word's OpenDataSource method - not very secure as you have to put the info.
in plain text either way, but it can be done. Typically you have to add
numeric and date format switches in your Word Mailmerge fields when you use
ODBC.

would you also know which timeout settings to change in order to give the
merge more time to link to it's datasource using DDE ?

No, I don't know how to alter DDE behaviour at all.

what I'm really looking for is a routine to mimic mouse motion.

would you have any idea's for a routine?

I assume what you would have to do is find the Win32 function that lets you
put mouse events into the Windows queue, but I don't know how you do that
either.