ACC: How to Use a Query to Format Data for a Mail Merge

• Microsoft Access 97

SYMPTOMS

Moderate: Requires basic macro, coding, and interoperability skills.

In a Microsoft Access table, if you've added formatting to the numbers in a Number field and you send that data to Microsoft Word through a mail merge, the numbers will lose their formatting when they appear in Microsoft Word.

CAUSE

In a mail merge, only the actual data in the table is sent to Microsoft Word. Any formatting is not sent.

RESOLUTION

In a query, use the Format function in an expression to create a text string of formatted data from the field. You can then base the mail merge on that query and see the formatting. To send formatting to Word through mail merge, follow these steps:

1. Open the sample database Northwind.mdb.



2. Create the following query:
   

   
          Query: MyTest1
          -----------------------------------------
          Type: Select Query
   
          Field: OrderId
             Table: Order Details
             Criteria: 10252
          Field: UnitPrice
             Table: Order Details
          Field: Discount1: Format([Discount],"0%") 

   
   Note that the last field cannot be called Discount because it would cause a circular reference with the original field name.



3. On the Query menu, click Run. Note that the Discount1 column shows a percent (%) symbol next to each discount.



4. On the File menu, click Save. Type MyTest1 in the Query Name box, and then click OK.



5. On the File menu, click Close.



6. Select the MyTest1 query in the Database window, but do not open it.



7. On the Tools menu, point to Office Links, and then click Merge It With MS Word.



8. In the Microsoft Mail Merge Wizard dialog box, click to select "Create a new document and then link the data to it," and then click OK.
   
   Note that Microsoft Word starts and that a new, blank document is created.



9. In Word, click Insert Merge Field. Note that a list of the fields in the MyTest1 query are displayed. Select OrderID, and then press ENTER.



10. Click Insert Merge Field, and then select UnitPrice. Press ENTER.



11. Click Insert Merge Field, and then select Discount1. Press ENTER.



12. Click View Merged Data.

MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

1. Open the sample database Northwind.mdb.



2. On the Tables tab, select Order Details, and then click Design.



3. Click the Discount field and look at its properties. Note that its data type is Number and its Format property is Percent.



4. On the File menu, click Close.



5. Create the following query:
   

   
          Query: MyTest2
          -----------------------
          Type: Select Query
   
          Field: OrderId
             Table: Order Details
             Criteria: 10252
          Field: UnitPrice
             Table: Order Details
          Field: Discount
             Table: Order Details 




6. On the Query menu, click Run. Note that the Discount column shows a percent symbol (%) beside each discount.



7. On the File menu, click Save. Type MyTest2 in the Query Name box, and then click OK.



8. On the File menu, click Close.



9. Select the MyTest2 query in the Database window, but do not open it.



10. On the Tools menu, point to Office Links, and then click Merge It With MS Word.



11. In the Microsoft Mail Merge Wizard dialog box, click to select "Create a new document and then link the data to it," and then click OK.
    
    Note that Microsoft Word starts and that a new, blank document is created.



12. In Word, click Insert Merge Field. Note that a list of the fields in the MyTest2 query are displayed. Select OrderID, and then press ENTER.



13. Click Insert Merge Field, and then select UnitPrice. Press ENTER.



14. Click Insert Merge Field, and then select Discount. Press ENTER.



15. Click View Merged Data.
    
    Note that the Discount field shows no percent sign (%), but you do see the dollar sign ($) for UnitPrice. This is because in the table definition, UnitPrice has a data type of Currency with no added format. However, Discount has a data type of Number with an added format of Percent. The mail merge only considers the data type.

REFERENCES

For more information about using the Microsoft Word Mail Merge feature, click Contents And Index on the Help menu, click the Index tab in Microsoft Access Help, type the following text

   merging data 

Additional query words: inf prb mailmerge

Keywords          : kbdta IntpPrtm QryHowto 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb 

Last Reviewed: April 21, 1999