DOCUMENT:Q157615  08-MAY-2002  [word97]
TITLE   :WD97: Word Can't Open Data Source If String Is Too Long
PRODUCT :Word 97 for Windows
PROD/VER:WINDOWS:97
OPER/SYS:
KEYWORDS:kbualink97 kbdta word97

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The information in this article applies to:

 - Microsoft Word 97 for Windows 
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SYMPTOMS
========

When you use MSQuery to generate a data source for a Word mail merge, you may
receive the following error message:

   Word was unable to open the data source.

CAUSE
=====

This error message occurs when your query string exceeds 255 characters.

RESOLUTION
==========

To work around this problem, use either of the following methods:

 - Shorten the search string. For example, shorten the path to the data source,
   shorten the file name, or select fewer columns of data when you define your
   query.

   -or-

 - Connect to the data source using dynamic data exchange (DDE) instead of
   MSQuery.




STATUS
======

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products that are
listed at the beginning of this article.


Additional query words: print merge ms qfe

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbualink97 kbdta word97 
Technology        : kbWordSearch kbWord97 kbWord97Search kbZNotKeyword2
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Issue type        : kbbug
Solution Type     : kbpending

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