Don has a group of clients who use mail merge in Word 2003. When they open a mail-merge document, they see a dialog box that refers to SQL servers, and they are a bit confused. Don wonders if there is a set of instructions that he can provide his clients that will make opening a mail-merge document as easy as it was in previous versions of Word.
The dialog box that the users are seeing is related to new security features implemented in Word 2003. Basically, the dialog box is saying "This is a mail merge main document, and if you open it, data from the data source you have linked to this document will be used to populate the merge fields, okay?" In other words, the program is asking if it is OK to get the external data which may be from an untrusted source. Of course, it's okay; that's the way you set up the mail merge! If you click No on the dialog box, then the data source is unlinked (after all, you just said you didn't want to use it) and you can attach another data source instead.
If you want your clients to have the least problems, and you know the data source is good, then just have them click Yes. If you want to get rid of the security warning (the dialog box) all together, then you will need to have each client make a Registry change on their systems. You can find more information about that at the following Knowledge Base article:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/825765
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (338) applies to Microsoft Word 2003.
Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!
Using the mail merge feature of Word, you can make data from Access databases accessible for your documents. How ...
Discover MoreWhen merging ZIP Codes from a data source such as Excel, you might find that Word ends up dropping out leading zeroes in ...
Discover MoreWhen you create a mail merge document, you attach it to a data source that is the basis for the information to be merged ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2020 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments