Mail merge in Word 2003 from an Access 2000 DB problem

[Stannerack]

Hi

We have just "upgraded" from MS Office 2000 to 2003. We are having a problem using mail merge in Word 2003.

We want to use an Access database that is either an access 2000 database, or a converted database to XP/2003 format, as the source database, or recipient list as word calls it.

If the database contains just a table, then word is happy for us to use that table as the recipient list. If the database has a query in it, under word 2000, we could use that query to pull data for our mail merge. But Word 2003 refuses to offer the query as a choice when we use that database as the recipient list.

If we create a blank 2003 database with a table, and a query, word offers us the choice of either when we use that database as the recipient list when doing a mail merge.

Can anyone offer any suggestions, as we have a lot of access 2000 databases that are used for mail merge purposes.

Many thanks.

 

[misscrf]

just for a quick an dirty solution I would set the queries as make tables, and just run them to make new tables, and then run the table through the merge....

it seems odd that 2003 wont let you use queries. I only say this because you say that 2000 will and, I have 2002, which will. It say to choose a table, but the list of tables does include the queries that are in the db.

not sure what else you can do there.

misscrf

Management is doing things right, leadership is doing the right things

 

[lacasa]

I am having the same problem with Word 2002/XP. It does not allow you to use queries that are based on more than one table. When you select a recipient list, and broswe to an Access database, only tables and queries(based on one table) are shown.

The make table solution will work, but not an ideal long term solution.

At work - a non-profit, we send out Thank you letters based on donation date on a regular basis. This info is kept in a seperate table related to the main address table. Therefore two tables are used in the query which excludes it from the mail merge wizard recipient list in word.

Does anybody have any ideas on to do this easily?

 

[misscrf]

can you pull this into Excel?
I don't know if this is what you are looking for, but if you pull your multi-table into Excel, word may take the mail merge with the Excel file as the data source. You can also set up the microsoft query in Excel to add each table separately and query from the Excel end.

Then just save your Excel file, and point to that as the data source. Hope that helps!


misscrf

Management is doing things right, leadership is doing the right things

 

[lacasa]

Thanks for your suggestion.

Probably the make table in access is the easiest. But it used to be real easy with Word 2000. I don't know why they took that away with Word XP. I know it has it's own query feature, but it needs the source table.

We need to send Thank you letters out every two weeks so I am looking for a simple procedure that requires minimal training.

My next task is to find a way to record into the database when we actually send out a Thank you letter to a donor automatically when the mail merge is performed. This may require me to start learning more about VBA.

Thanks again.

 

[misscrf]

I would just keep a copy of the query in access, have a new table for mailmerge history, and a form that you go to any time you do a mail merge. Then you run the query, and append it to the mail merge history table with the date that a letter was sent out, and even what that letter was. ( you can make a field with a hyperlink to the merged letters if you like.)

Just a suggestion. Once it's built, you or the user would simply run the identical query you ran on the merge, and on the form, fill in the mail merge info.

Does this make sense? I talk so abstract!


misscrf

Management is doing things right, leadership is doing the right things

 

[lacasa]

Sounds good and like you said it keeps a history of what has been merged in a separate table.

Thanks for the help.