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Word / Excel = Odd Mail Merge Issue
Kato
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Here at work, we have office 2003. When I first got this job over 2 years ago, the pc I was set up on was never formatted. I was running off an install that was already a good 4 years old. It worked, but I eventually had issues and they formatted and reinstalled all the needed apps. Office was not updated...we are still using 2003.
I have this issue...didn't have it before, but I do now after the format and reinstall. I will set up a spreadsheet with all of the necessary info in separate cells. Name, company, street, city, state and zip. The zip code cell is where I am having my issues. I format the cell to the specific setting for zip code. Not the zip code +4, just the zip. I do have one or two Canadian addresses so there are a few letters in some of them, but that should not be any issue at all. When I use word and run the mail merge and pull the info from the spreadsheet, everything works great. Everything but the zip code. After the merge is done and you can review and print your stuff, the zip code now has a .0 at the end of it.
56024.0 Where is this .0 coming from? I never had the issue before until the format and reinstall. I dealt with it a little while back as I was only working with 20 addresses, but now I am doing a recall for a product that has close to 800 addresses. I really do not want to go through and slowly correct each and every one of them. I have tried to change the cell formatting to just text, or no formatting and the zip code...I am at a total loss here. Where or where is this .0 coming from when I mail merge?
I have this issue...didn't have it before, but I do now after the format and reinstall. I will set up a spreadsheet with all of the necessary info in separate cells. Name, company, street, city, state and zip. The zip code cell is where I am having my issues. I format the cell to the specific setting for zip code. Not the zip code +4, just the zip. I do have one or two Canadian addresses so there are a few letters in some of them, but that should not be any issue at all. When I use word and run the mail merge and pull the info from the spreadsheet, everything works great. Everything but the zip code. After the merge is done and you can review and print your stuff, the zip code now has a .0 at the end of it.
56024.0 Where is this .0 coming from? I never had the issue before until the format and reinstall. I dealt with it a little while back as I was only working with 20 addresses, but now I am doing a recall for a product that has close to 800 addresses. I really do not want to go through and slowly correct each and every one of them. I have tried to change the cell formatting to just text, or no formatting and the zip code...I am at a total loss here. Where or where is this .0 coming from when I mail merge?
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When you format the cells, are you formatting the entire column or just the cells that have the data?
EDIT: I have an idea for a work-around but its a bit more work.
But try copying the data from the spreadsheet into a word document with a table. Then try merging it.
If that doesn't fix it, try rewriting the letter that you're merging this into to.
I just might try to make the stuff in to a table in word and merge from there, but I have never done that before. I hope it is not too much different than the normal mail merge.
Another idea was to split the ZIP code numbers into two columns so that 3 numbers are in one column and the rest in another. Then when you put the data onto the label/letter just put them next to one another with no space. But again, lots of snipping has to be done and I'm sure the problem you're having shouldn't warrant this idea I have.
I've opened up a directory for my company and didn't have any problems loading ZIP codes into a label or a letter. My thinking is that your data is fine and perhaps Word is doing something its not supposed to.
EDIT: Have you tried inputting those ZIP codes into an older document (as in one you didn't have problems with)? I know Word tends to save settings from a previously opened document without warning.
There isn't a difference (I usually do it this way), but when you switch the document to it you'll have to re-insert the fields.
Do what Arikado suggested first though, try using a different letter and see if the same problem comes up.