Word Mail Merge with Outlook Address Book Fails with Error

ID: Q200134

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to use Microsoft Word Mail Merge with an Outlook Address book, you may receive an error similar to the following:

Word was unable to open the data source.


CAUSE

The error occurs because of the order in which the Outlook Address Book was added to the profile selected during the data source selection process.


RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, create the user profile manually, making sure the "Outlook Address Book" is added first.

To configure the Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft Outlook Windows NT client so that more than one person can use the client on the same computer, perform the following steps:

  1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Mail. Click the Show Profiles button if it appears in the dialog box that is displayed. If a Show Profiles button does not appear, proceed to step 2.


  2. Click Add.


  3. Click Manually Configure Information Services, and then click Next.


  4. Type a name for the profile in the Profile Name box, and then click Next.


  5. Click Add, click Outlook Address Book in the list of available information services, and then click OK.


  6. Click Add, click Microsoft Exchange Server in the list of available information services, and then click OK.


  7. Type the name of the Microsoft Exchange Server computer to which you want to connect in the Microsoft Exchange Server box, type a mailbox name in the Mailbox box, and then click Next. Note that you can click Check Name before you click OK to verify the server and mailbox names.


After the Outlook Address Book and Microsof Exchange Server services are added, additional services may be added to the profile by selecting Add and selecting other services in the list of available information services, and then click OK.

After the profile is created, start Outlook and ensure the Contacts folder(s) is included in the Outlook Addres Book. To do this, perform the following steps:

  1. On the View menu, click Folder List.


  2. In the Folder List, right-click the Contacts folder, and on the context-sensitive menu, click Properties.


  3. Click the Outlook Address Book tab, and click to select "Show this folder as an e-mail Address Book." NOTE: Your Contacts should appear in the "Name of the address book" box.


  4. Click OK.


Your Contacts are now available as part of the Outlook Address Book.


WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, export the "Outlook Address Book" to a .PST file and use it as input into the Mail Merge.


STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Word 97.


MORE INFORMATION

When a Mail profile is created in the Control Panel Mail tool and "Manually configure information services" is selected, services can be added in any order. When you select the Outlook Address Book first, then choose Microsoft Exchange Server service, the Mail Merge will work.

When a new profile is created in the Control Panel Mail tool and the profile generation wizard is used (default), there is no option of adding an Outlook Address Book; the first dialog box includes the Exchange Server service and other services and the Outlook Address book is automatically added to the profile. A Microsoft Word Mail Merge with Outlook Address Book using this type of profile may fail with the error above.

Additional query words: 


Keywords          : 
Version           : WINDOWS:8.5,97
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: July 2, 1999