WD: Suppressing Blank Spaces in a Print Merge (Mail Merge)

 Last reviewed: July 30, 1997
Article ID: Q72441
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Word for Windows versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.1a
  • Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c
  • Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
  • Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
  • Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you perform a print merge (or mail merge) in Word for Windows, a blank space displays and prints if one field on a line is blank. A common example of this situation is a line with three name fields, such as the following: 

   {FNAME} {MI} {LNAME}
In a record where all three fields are filled, the merged record spacing is correct, as in the following example: 

   James R. Wood
In a record where the middle initial field {MI} is blank, an extra space occurs in the merged record, as in the following example: 

   Susan  Peterson
Note: There are two spaces between the {FNAME} and {LNAME} results.

RESOLUTIONS

Method 1

You can eliminate this extra space by using the following conditional statement: 

   {FNAME} {IF {MI} <> "" "{MI} "}{LNAME}
Note: To enter the field characters ({}), choose Field from the Insert menu (or press CTRL+F9).

Method 2

The following conditional MERGEFIELD field will remove blank spaces in any field. For example, given the following fields 

   {Prefix} {FirstName} {LastName}
the following conditional statements will properly suppress the space normally included for any blank fields: 

   {IF {MERGEFIELD Prefix}<>"" "{MERGEFIELD Prefix} "}
   {IF {MERGEFIELD FirstName}<>"" "{MERGEFIELD FirstName} "}
   {IF {MERGEFIELD LastName}<>"" "{MERGEFIELD LastName}"}

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Word for Windows User's Reference," pages 97-98, and 200 "Microsoft Word for Windows and OS/2 Technical Reference," pages 41-42

KBCategory: kbusage
KBSubcategory: kbfield kbmerge
Additional query words: 1.x 2.x 2.0 winword2 7.0 word95 winword
word7 word6 2.0a 2.0a-CD 2.0b 2.0c 2.x 6.0 6.0a 6.0c 8.0 word8
word97 winword
Keywords : kbfield kbmerge kbualink97 kbusage
Version : 1.0 1.10 2.x 6.0 6.0a 6.0c 7
Platform : WINDOWS

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Last reviewed: July 30, 1997
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