Mail Merge using multiple data sources

[Kelanen]

I have a large Word2k document that I need to contain multiple mail merges (catalogue type, not form letters). The datasources are all seperate queries within an Access database, but I doubt that this changes the problem from one of true multiple sources.

Q1: Is this possible, and if so how.

Q2: If not can Word2k3/XP do it?

The help files in Word tangentaly mention multiple data sources (for instance under the topic of separate data sources and header files) but I don't seem to be able to find any direct help files, or a way to do it through the mailmerge system (leading me to believe it may have been a beta feature that was scrapped, and not all references were deleted).

Any ideas anyone?

Jonathan Challis
IT Manager

 

[SkipVought]

Johnathan,

In the Mail Merge Helper, click on Query Options. If you have MS Query installed on your PC, it will start the MS Query QBE Editor. There you can query multiple tables from your db.

You will probably need to use the SQL editor to UNION multiple Select queries.



Skip,

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[Kelanen]

Thanks Skip, but unless I'm misunderstanding that will not help here.

I am not trying to tie together different data sources into one large merge, but rather I have completely different mail merges in different parts of the document (some with different data, some with the same data but in different orders).

I have the raw need for at least 3 completely separate mail merges at the moment 9and probably more later) but for formatting reasons I want to split those 3 into 26...


Jonathan Challis
IT Manager

 

[SkipVought]

Is this like you have Sporting goods in one table and Housewares in another, etc?

Skip,

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[Kelanen]

More like alphabetical lists in one section, cross-referencing lists ordered by serial number and type in two separate appendices. The different lists also display different information, and are formatted differently.

Whilst I started manually cross refeencing the lists, the dynamic nature means it needs a db to keep track of it all.

Jonathan Challis
IT Manager

 

[SkipVought]

I still only have a 32,000 ft view.

So are you saying that List1 will have references to List2?

A non-programming approch might be to do separate merges and then join then manually. That process could then be automated.



Skip,

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[Kelanen]

Okay, a simplified example might be as follows:

Somewhere in the body of the document we have a merged catalogue (sorted by product1):

Product1
Attribute1
Attribute2
Attribute3
Description
<next record>

And then back in the tables and charts in the appendices we have 10 tables (each sorted by Attribute1):

Attribute1 Product1

And in another appendix, we have another 15 tables (this time sorted by Attribute3):

Attribute2 Product1

Note that each of these tables in the appendices is only a subset of the whole data (being subsectioned by Access queries), and also the different sort orders required are also being controlled by those queries.

Getting any one table to merge correctly is trivial, but Word seems to want to only have 1 data source and 1 set of merge fields per document - whereas I patently need much more than that.

There are some other complexities, but the same solution should cover them, if it exists.

Jonathan Challis
IT Manager

 

[SkipVought]

I still don't see any solution other than separate mail merges manually merged together.

However, the xrefs might be able to be simplified by using a CONCORDANCE technique that is outlined in Help.

Skip,

Want to get great answers to your Tek-Tips questions? Have a look at FAQ219-2884