Word 2002 spell check skips fields in merged document

[weigoldk]

In Word 2002 (Office XP) complete a merge to new document then run a spell check. The speller does not pick up on words that were part of the date file. IE spell street "streeet" in one of the address fields. Merge to a new document and spell check the document.

I can't find a setting to omit or include data fields.

 

[Snickle]

Tried to create the issue but all I could do was spellcheck the original document [an Excel name/address sheet merging to labels] before doing the merge.

 

[weigoldk]

Thanks for testing. In my case, the data file is a Word document. We could go in and spell check that, but I'm certain Word should be sofisticated enought to allow us to check AFTER the merge is complete.

 

[Dreamboat]

http://www.theofficeexperts.com/downloads.htm#WordDownloads

Anne Troy

http://www.TheOfficeExperts.com

 

[weigoldk]

Thanks for the link.

I downloaded this macro and run it on a merged document with obvious spelling errors. I get an error message saying Run Time Error 4605: The Unproted method or property isnot available because the documetn is already unprotected.

 

[Dreamboat]

Sorry, weigoldk, my bad.

I thought you were using forms...dunno where I got that idea! Anne Troy

http://www.TheOfficeExperts.com

 

[xlhelp]

This from Microsoft:

Symptoms
When you check the spelling in a merged Word document, Word may not flag all misspelled words. In particular, Word may miss those words that result from the merge fields in the main document.



Cause
During the merge process, Word marks the merge field results with a special language format by selecting the Do not check spelling or grammar check box.



Workaround
To work around this problem, follow these steps:

Perform the mail merge to a document rather than to the printer.

In the merged document, press CTRL+A to select the entire document.

On the Tools menu, point to Language, and click Set Language.

Select English (U.S.), and clear the Do not check spelling or grammar check box.

Click OK.

 

[weigoldk]

I tried this and was very excited because it worked, but was a little surprised that the setting didn't stick even when I hit the DEFAULT button. I'm going to assume I'll need to create a little Macro that will re-complete the select all and select language commands. I'll then use the Macro after each mail merge.

 

[weigoldk]

One additional twist here. Is there a way to spell check a Word 2002 data file BEFORE a merge? It dawned on me that if I found errors in the merged document, I'd need to manually go back to the data source and correct it there also. It would be nice to correct it in the data source before the merge and eliminate one set of corrections. The data source is not xls or mdb file but rather one created with the Merge Wizard.

 

[thegrover]

Word will recheck any document if you go to tools-options-spelling&grammer-then click in recheck document.

tada!

 

[weigoldk]

How do you open a data file as a document? When I create a data file using the Wizard, save it then open it as a regular document, I is garbage.

 

[Dreamboat]

Grover...it will never check the fields if they're set to NoProofing.

Weigold, I'll offer better suggestions this time. Perhaps you ought to have someone write you a macro in the Excel file that runs a spell check, then calls a macro in the Word file to run the merge? Anne Troy

http://www.TheOfficeExperts.com

 

[Dreamboat]

OIC!!!

Weigold, what IS your data source? Are you SURE it's a Word doc??

By default, Word XP creates an ACCESS DATABASE as the data source... Anne Troy

http://www.TheOfficeExperts.com

 

[Rythemton]

Word does not check the merged information because it expects names and addresses that are very likely to be marked as mispelled in the merge. This feature cannot be turned off.

Steve

 

[weigoldk]

Rythemton--thanks for the clarification. FYI you can force Word to check the merged document as explained by XLHELP.

 

[weigoldk]

This is still an issue.

I want to spell check before the merge.

The user has Office 2002 small business ed. which does not include Access, yet Word creates an Access database from within the Mail Merge feature--so you were correct DREAMBOAT.

Any suggestions out there for checking the spelling in the Mail Merge--before running the merge?

 

[Dreamboat]

Wow. Weigoldk, I actually asked this question at another site---whether stand-alone Word XP (or Word without Access installed) would still create an MDB file as the data source or whether it would use the old standby--table in a Word doc--as its data source. Thanks for THAT info! (It's going in my book...)

So you want to spell check BEFORE the merge? I glanced through to re-familiarize myself with the Q, but I don't see where you're automating anything yet; do you want to do this with code or what? And...if you're saving a re-usable mail merge as a template, then you only need to spell-check it once, right?

Ah!! Or perhaps I'm missing the point and you really want to spell-check the DATA before running the merge? That's next to impossible in data files because SO MANY of the words are gonna come up as bad anyway because they're proper names. The easiest way I've found to check out data in huge data files (not so easy in smaller ones) is to sort by the different fields. For instance, it's easy to see a misspelling of Philadelphia when you sort by the city field--it's sticks out like a sore thumb. What does your data source consist of? What misspellings are you concerned about? Anne Troy

http://www.TheOfficeExperts.com

 

[weigoldk]

Yes, Dreamboat, you are correct. We want to spell check the data before the Merge.

Our data consists of names and addresses. They are relatively small sets--maybe two to three dozen records. We will have a series of say ten letters. Over a period of six weeks, we will send each of the for letters to everyone in the data file. At the end of six weeks, we will never use these records again (but we will use the letters again for a new set of names and addresses).

I admit that this would seem petty to some. We don't like the fact that we have to merge, run a spell check then go back to our data source to correct it.

Since Word creates an MDB file (and we are running Office Small Business Ed), we cannot open it as a separate file.

 

[Dreamboat]

Ok, but you have Access, right?

Where do you get the two or three dozen records? Are you typing them in by hand? If so...fuhgeddabout Access. Type them right into an Excel spreadsheet and use IT as the data source. Lot's easier to review it!

See the instructs about a data source file here:

http://www.theofficeexperts.com/word.htm#MailMerge

Anne Troy

http://www.TheOfficeExperts.com

 

[Rythemton]

I agree with Dreamboat - use an Excel worksheet as data source. If you keep saving the file with the same name in the same place, you can skip all the way to the end in Word and just 'Complete the Merge' because when you save a mail merge main document, it also saves the name of the data source.

Steve