Can't save merged form letter...

[Raven]

Here's my problem. I have a form letter template. I go into Tools-->Letters
& Mailings-->Mail Merge Wizard and choose Edit Recipient List so I can input
the new name, address, id number, signer's name, etc. I put in all this
information and go through the remaining steps and print the letter and its
envelopes. I then do File-->Save As... and save the letter under the
recipient's name. I can then close the letter. However: When I re-open
that letter, the info in the letter is not what I just typed and saved, but
an entry from yesterday. The only way I can save it is to just go into the
letter and fix all the pertinent areas by hand and re-save.

This is ridiculous! I'm not typing these dang things 2 and 3 times! I have
tried typing over my first info in Edit Recipient, and I've tried adding the
new person as a second record. Doesn't matter. What is going on? I find it
hard to believe that I can't save a letter with everything I just typed, that
would make merge useless.

 

[Charles Kenyon]

If you actually merge to a new document, you will have fixed content. What
you are doing is what I do, that is, merging to the screen. What you get
when you reopen depends on your database.

I've added buttons to my merge toolbar that triggers the following macros.

Sub FieldsLockAllStory()
' All Story Field Locker
' Written by Charles Kyle Kenyon 9 December 2004
' repaired with help from Jezebel 10 December 2004
Dim oStory As Range
On Error Resume Next
For Each oStory In ActiveDocument.StoryRanges
Do
oStory.Fields.Locked = True
Set oStory = oStory.Next
Loop Until oStory Is Nothing
Next
End Sub
Sub FieldsUnLockAllStory()
' All Story Field Unlocker
' Written by Charles Kyle Kenyon 9 December 2004
' repaired with help from Jezebel 10 December 2004
Dim oStory As Range
On Error Resume Next
For Each oStory In ActiveDocument.StoryRanges
Do
oStory.Fields.Locked = False
Set oStory = oStory.Next
Loop Until oStory Is Nothing
Next
End Sub

I use a modified version of the padlock button from the forms toolbar for
these (changed color on both and open lock on the one to unlock).

Note if you have a Page X of Y in your header/footer, you'll want to
manually unlock that field or it will be wrong.

Otherwise, you can print as a pdf file.