Unable to link an MS access 2003 query to a Mail Merge doc

[Guest]

In Word 2003, when you create a mail merge document, you
can choose an external data source like microsoft Access,
however you can only pick from a table or view. How can
you link the document to an access query??? Help says it
can be done but it does not seem to let you. This worked
fine in Office 97.

 

[Peter Jamieson]

To revert to the connection mechanism used by defualt in Word 97 (DDE),
check Word Tools|Options|General|"Confirm conversions at open", go through
the connection process again, and select the DDE option when offered.
However, although the DDE mechanism will probably let you connect to most
queries, you may find that queries with wildcards in match expressions do
not work if you are using an old database format.

As background, Word 2003 has a new default connection method (OLEDB), which
does not let you connect to all queries. For example, parameter queries,
Union queries, queries that reference user-defined Access VBA functions are
all excluded.

 

[HS]

I am having the same problem except that my queries have
data parameters set in them. Will this become a problem?

PLEASE HELP!

 

[Guest]

PETER,

How can we include queries with parameters?

HOUIDA

 

[Peter Jamieson]

DDE is the only option at present, i.e. you have to go this route:

To revert to the connection mechanism used by defualt in Word 97 (DDE),
check Word Tools|Options|General|"Confirm conversions at open", go through
the connection process again, and select the DDE option when offered.

The basic problem is that it is Access (the program) that knows how to ask
for these parameters. Neither ODBC nor OLEDB, which just work with a "mute"
database engine, know how to do it, and Word has not been modified to
recognise that an interaction is needed (and I do not even know if that
would be possible) and to deal with it.