Word 2007 Mail Merge problems with Excel file providing list

[Matt Sciba]

I built a custom sized page with text boxes for information.
Basically it's a template for printing addresses on specific parts of
a postcard. Three of the text boxes have common information, but the
fourth will hold the recipient addresses. I start the mail merge in
Word 2007 and choose "letter" as the document form. I follow all of
the steps. My list is linked to the word file because I can view the
addresses and edit the list in Word 2007. After selecting the
recipients, the <<Address block>> appears in the text box.

HOWEVER, when I click "Next" which is to preview the mail merge, the
<<Address block>> disappears from the text box and prints nothing but
the common information.

PLEASE HELP!

 

[Peter Jamieson]

There's a strng case for not using ADDRESSBLOCK (i.e. using individual
fields instead).

However, if you insert ADDRESSLOCK outside a text box, and go to the preview
step, does anything appear? (It does here!) If not, the chances are that
Word has not recognized any of the field names in your Excel file as Address
fields, and you will need to select the ADDRESSBLOCK field, right-click,
Edit Address Block, then Match Fields (or if it makes no difference, use
column names in Excel that Word maps automatically).

When working with fields you may in any case be better off converting your
text boxes to old-style WOrd frames (select the textbox, right-click, Format
Text Box|Text box|Convert to Frame...).

Peter Jamieson

 

[MS]

There's a strng case for not using ADDRESSBLOCK (i.e. using individual
fields instead).

However, if you insert ADDRESSLOCK outside a text box, and go to the preview
step, does anything appear? (It does here!) If not, the chances are that
Word has not recognized any of the field names in your Excel file as Address
fields, and you will need to select the ADDRESSBLOCK field, right-click,
Edit Address Block, then Match Fields (or if it makes no difference, use
column names in Excel that Word maps automatically).

When working with fields you may in any case be better off converting your
text boxes to old-style WOrd frames (select the textbox, right-click, Format
Text Box|Text box|Convert to Frame...).

Peter Jamieson

That didn't work. I had the same result with converting to frames as
I did keeping a text box.

 

[Peter Jamieson]

Perhaps you could answer my question:

However, if you insert ADDRESSLOCK outside a text box, and go to the
preview
step, does anything appear?

Peter Jamieson

 

[MS]

No. Nothing appeared.

Just this morning I tried to print labels. I used the mailmerge
wizard, or whatever Vista calls it now, and followed the steps. I
used an xls file that I created with Excel 2007. The exact same thing
happened. Everything disappears when I get to the "preview" stage and
it prints a blank sheet. I'm beginning to think it's not a problem
with the text box, but a more fundamental problem with either word
2007 or excel 2007.

 

[Peter Jamieson]

OK, in that case you probably need to "Match fields", as I said earlier:

<<
and you will need to select the ADDRESSBLOCK field, right-click,
Edit Address Block, then Match Fields (or if it makes no difference, use
column names in Excel that Word maps automatically).
Word does not necessarily recognise the fields you have in your Excel sheet
as address fields - it only looks for certain names (and I don't know what
they are exactly)...

Peter Jamieson

 

[MS]

Thank you. The "match fields" worked.