WD: Using Print Merge to Create a List Sorted by Category

ID: Q97795

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

You can use the Print Merge command in Word for Windows to create a list of data sorted by category. This article contains instructions and a sample you can use to create such a list.

MORE INFORMATION

Use the following procedure to create a list of items sorted by category:

1. Sort your data file so that all records with the same value for the

   key field (the field upon which you base the sort) are together, as
   shown in the sample data file below. The following sample list is
   sorted by the CITY field (CITY is the key field):

      CITY        EMPLOYEE      SALES
      Atlanta     Smith        $3,000
      Atlanta     Gates       $50,000
      Atlanta     Henderson   $10,000
      Houston     Jones        $8,000
      Houston     Kelley       $9,000
      Houston     Peterson         $0

2. In the main document, insert a SET field that assigns the key field
   to a bookmark variable that you can use to compare the contents of
   one key field record with the next. The following is the syntax of
   the field you should insert:

      {SET BookmarkName {MERGEFIELD KeyField}}

   For example, insert the following SET field to assign the CITY key
   field to the Place1 bookmark:

      {SET Place1 {MERGEFIELD CITY}}

3. In the main document, insert the following fields to compare the
   contents of each key field record with the contents of the next key
   field record to determine whether the key field contents change
   from one data record to the next. These fields use the sample data
   document in step 1 above.

      {SET place1 {MERGEFIELD CITY}}
      {IF{place2}<>{place1} "{MERGEFIELD City} <paragraph mark>
      {MERGEFIELD Employee} {MERGEFIELD Sales}" "{MERGEFIELD Employee}
      {MERGEFIELD Sales}"}
      {SET place2 {MERGEFIELD CITY}}

   Word Version 6.0
   ----------------

   In order for the example above to work with Word 6.0, you must
   replace the "{SET place1..." entry with:

      {Set place1 {if {mergeseq} = 1 "" "{mergefield city}"}}

   Notes for all versions:

    a. For this method to work properly, information other than the
       above fields must be entered in the header or footer of the main
       document.

    b. "<paragraph mark>" means you should press ENTER to insert a
       paragraph mark.

    c. The first SET field assigns the current city name to the
       bookmark Place1.

    d. The IF field comparison determines whether the CITY field is the
       same as the previous CITY field. If the expression evaluates to
       True (different city), the result is the City, Employee, and
       Sales fields. If the expression evaluates to False (same city),
       the result is the Employee and Sales fields.

    e. For the first record, the comparison evaluates to False because
       the Place2 bookmark has not yet been assigned a value; as a
       result, the City field prints. In each subsequent record, the
       value for the previous CITY is held in the Bookmark Place2.

4. Choose the Merge To New Document button on the print merge bar.

5. To complete your categorized list, remove the page breaks from the

   FormLetters1 merged document, as described below:

    a. Activate the FormLetters1 document.

    b. From the Edit menu, choose Replace.

    c. In the Find What box, type "^12" (without the quotation marks).

    d. Clear the contents of the Replace With box.

    e. Choose the Replace All button.

    f. Choose the Close button. The resulting list appears as follows:

         Atlanta
         Smith $3,000
         Gates $50,000
         Henderson $10,000
         Houston
         Jones $8,000
         Kelley $9,000
         Peterson $0

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Word for Windows User's Guide," version 2.0, pages 611-651

Additional query words: invoice catalog phone directory conditional mail merge

Keywords          : kbusage kbfield winword kbmerge kblayout word6 winword2 kbhowto word 
Version           : 2.0 2.0a 2.0a-CD 2.0b 2.0c 6.0 6.0a 6.0c
Platform          : WINDOWS

Last Reviewed: June 12, 1998