This will occur if your Excel ZIP column contains (mostly) ZIPs
formatted as numeric in the first 8 rows of the column, but ZIPs
formatted as text elsewhere in the column.
You /may/ be able to see which are texts by making the column wider than
about 5 characters, and looking down the column. If the ZIP is
left-justified, it suggests that it a number formatted as text. If it is
right-justified, it suggests that it is actually a number looking at the
column. If there are just a few numbers formatted as text, you can
consider re-applying the formatting (as necessary) /then re-entering the
number/ - after that, it should be a "genuine number" However, I
wouldn't want to rely completely on this approach.
Another possibility is to format the column as "General" via Data|Text
to Columns...
- select the column
- select the Data|Text to Columns... menu option (in Word 2007, Data
tab->Data Tools group->Text to columns)
- click Next through the wizard until you reach Step 3 of 3, then
select General as the Column Data Format.
- complete the wizard.
If necessary, re-apply the formatting you want to the column.
If your ZIPs are "genuine numbers", in Word you will need to modify the
mergefield to format thtem correctly, e.g., use Alt-F9 to view the field
codes, look for the zip field (let's say it is "myzip") and change
{ MERGEFIELD myzip }
to
{ MERGEFIELD myzip \#00000 }
There is an explanation of some of this stuff at
http://tips.pjmsn.me.uk/t0003.htm
Peter Jamieson
http://tips.pjmsn.me.uk