Allow user to input form letter contents based on form query

[CantDo]

I'm not sure if this is possible, but here goes.

I have an Access database with several tables. In basic terms, the database contains names of individuals, their contact information and information concerning Group Memberships they belong to. My users want an ability to generate form letters (with different content each time) addressed to specific Group Members.

I have read some information already on Word's ability to mail merge, but these all seem to require that I save queries in advance, which will muddy up the database and make it bulkier than I'd like. Also, I've seen some posts and FAQs dealing with the ability to push data from Access to Word docs already created.

What I am envisioning is something like this: Have a form open in Access asking the user to first choose the Group that they want to create the letter for. Use this selection to programatically create the SQL query for the database information needed to mail merge, then launch Word (or some other text editing device) for letter-body input purposes. At this stage (and this is where my vision fails me) somehow get either the Word letter-body info pushed into an Access Report or pull the database fields into the letter just created in order to produce the mail merge final document.

What I'd like to achieve is a way for a user to generate a Word document or Access Report (without coding or mail merge knowledge) obtaining the mail merge information from the database based on Group Membership. Is that possible? Can anyone point me in the right direction. Much thanks in advance!

 

[Remou]

Hi
You say letter, not letters, so have you seen this thread703-1085345?
It has lots of information on using bookmarks.

 

[MichaelRed]

In broad generic terms, the mail merge template(s) need only to have the merge fields available. Most "Mass Mailings" Are to addresses, with some including a code (trackiing of what was sent type of info). Thus the letter template would need ONLY to include these items, and the body of the letter crearted seperatly, just using hte mail merge document as a header (and possibly footer).

There is also a faq here which, with some study / alteration, would be easily usable to generate the Word (.txt) merge file, so -again- you could reasonably generate the template fiel -with JUST the merge info- and have hte Users make copies of this, enter the body text and then do the merge. It is also quite reasonable to generate the Word "Macro" (VBA) routine and attach it to the template, so the merge could easily be controlled from WORD.




MichaelRed