Label Mail Merge puts each line of address on a new label

[Sagit]

I have an address file originally created by an old non- microsoft program.
In order to create labels with this file, I copy it into Word, replace the
record and field delimiters with those recognizable by Word and do a mail
merge. But, I need to use Publisher, because most of the time, I need to be
able to pick and choose which addresses to print. I can't use a filter, since
this file is not in Excel, Access, etc. I've tried getting it in those, and
couldn't. It always stays stacked.
My problem is that after saving the Word address file as a text file (the
only way Publisher recognized it as a table) Publisher puts each line of the
addres on a new label.
The address file is stacked, with a record delimiter at the beginning of the
first line (Company name), underneath that is the person's name, then
underneath that is a field delimiter with the street address, then under that
is the rest of the address, with no additional delimiters.
My boss will be forever grateful if you can help me solve this. Thank you
in advance.
S Jan

 

[JoAnn Paules [MSFT MVP]]

You really need to stick that mailing list into Excel. I know that it may be
a pain in the butt but it's just the one time.

 

[drc023]

It would be better to convert the file to Excel so that you could use a
column as a field identifier for sorting/printing. Each record needs to be
on a single row w/a column for each field, not in a stacked format.
Publisher can then use this directly from Excel or you can create a .csv
file. Publisher can use either. Since you have the file in Word format,
converting it to a single record per line layout is no more difficult to do
than replacing the field delimiters. In Word all you need to do is
'Table/Convert Text to Table'. To make this work it is necessary to insure
that each address record has the same number of lines (including blank
lines). i.e. There must be the same number of lines from the first line of
one record to the first lines of each succeeding record. The table would
have that same number of columns.

If this doesn't seem clear, send me a private email and if the file isn't
outrageously large you can attach it. I'll do the conversion and send it
back to you.

 

[Sagit]

I would love to get it in Excel, but have not found a way to do it properly.
I either wind up with the entire file in one column or the entire file in one
row! I'm still working on it. Apparently, part of the problem, according to
Ron, is that some records are 4 lines and some are 5 lines. I will keep you
posted on my progress. I'm sure I'll need more help. Thanks everyone! --
S Jan

You really need to stick that mailing list into Excel. I know that it may be
a pain in the butt but it's just the one time.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

I have an address file originally created by an old non- microsoft program.
In order to create labels with this file, I copy it into Word, replace the
record and field delimiters with those recognizable by Word and do a mail
merge. But, I need to use Publisher, because most of the time, I need to
be
able to pick and choose which addresses to print. I can't use a filter,
since
this file is not in Excel, Access, etc. I've tried getting it in those,
and
couldn't. It always stays stacked.
My problem is that after saving the Word address file as a text file (the
only way Publisher recognized it as a table) Publisher puts each line of
the
addres on a new label.
The address file is stacked, with a record delimiter at the beginning of
the
first line (Company name), underneath that is the person's name, then
underneath that is a field delimiter with the street address, then under
that
is the rest of the address, with no additional delimiters.
My boss will be forever grateful if you can help me solve this. Thank you
in advance.
S Jan

 

[drc023]

Just insert a blank line on the four line records. Once all records have the
same number of lines convert the text to a table. That table can then be
used in Excel or output as a .csv file.
--
Ron

I would love to get it in Excel, but have not found a way to do it
properly.
I either wind up with the entire file in one column or the entire file in
one
row! I'm still working on it. Apparently, part of the problem, according
to
Ron, is that some records are 4 lines and some are 5 lines. I will keep
you
posted on my progress. I'm sure I'll need more help. Thanks
veryone! --
S Jan

You really need to stick that mailing list into Excel. I know that it may
be
a pain in the butt but it's just the one time.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

I have an address file originally created by an old non- microsoft
program.
In order to create labels with this file, I copy it into Word, replace
the
record and field delimiters with those recognizable by Word and do a
mail
merge. But, I need to use Publisher, because most of the time, I need
to
be
able to pick and choose which addresses to print. I can't use a filter,
since
this file is not in Excel, Access, etc. I've tried getting it in
those,
and
couldn't. It always stays stacked.
My problem is that after saving the Word address file as a text file
(the
only way Publisher recognized it as a table) Publisher puts each line
of
the
addres on a new label.
The address file is stacked, with a record delimiter at the beginning
of
the
first line (Company name), underneath that is the person's name, then
underneath that is a field delimiter with the street address, then
under
that
is the rest of the address, with no additional delimiters.
My boss will be forever grateful if you can help me solve this. Thank
you
in advance.
S Jan

 

[Sagit]

Thanks so much, Ron, for offering to do this. I would like to try myself,
first, because I am learning so much, even with my failures! I'm not sure
what to do about the fact that each record does not have the same number of
lines. Some addresses have one line, some have two. There are no blank
lines. Also, I did do a "convert text to table", but Publisher did not
recognize it as a table!
I had to do a "save as" as plain text, then Publisher recognized it as a
table. I will convert it to a .csv file and see what happens. Thank you
so much for your suggestions.

 

[Sagit]

Well, I may be forced to manually put in blank lines in a file that usually
has 300 names or more. But I'm looking for an easier way. We get in new
orders every day, with some customers sending in 400 - 600 hundred names and
addresses. (Who knows that many people to invite to a wedding, anyway?) I
just figured that if Word can do a mail merge with this file, without my
having to do anything but a simple replace, then Publisher should be able to
do it. After all , it is a Microsoft product! Thanks again.
--
S Jan

Just insert a blank line on the four line records. Once all records have the
same number of lines convert the text to a table. That table can then be
used in Excel or output as a .csv file.
--
Ron

I would love to get it in Excel, but have not found a way to do it
properly.
I either wind up with the entire file in one column or the entire file in
one
row! I'm still working on it. Apparently, part of the problem, according
to
Ron, is that some records are 4 lines and some are 5 lines. I will keep
you
posted on my progress. I'm sure I'll need more help. Thanks
veryone! --
S Jan

You really need to stick that mailing list into Excel. I know that it may
be
a pain in the butt but it's just the one time.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



I have an address file originally created by an old non- microsoft
program.
In order to create labels with this file, I copy it into Word, replace
the
record and field delimiters with those recognizable by Word and do a
mail
merge. But, I need to use Publisher, because most of the time, I need
to
be
able to pick and choose which addresses to print. I can't use a filter,
since
this file is not in Excel, Access, etc. I've tried getting it in
those,
and
couldn't. It always stays stacked.
My problem is that after saving the Word address file as a text file
(the
only way Publisher recognized it as a table) Publisher puts each line
of
the
addres on a new label.
The address file is stacked, with a record delimiter at the beginning
of
the
first line (Company name), underneath that is the person's name, then
underneath that is a field delimiter with the street address, then
under
that
is the rest of the address, with no additional delimiters.
My boss will be forever grateful if you can help me solve this. Thank
you
in advance.
S Jan

 

[JoAnn Paules [MSFT MVP]]

There's a step somewhere along the line to eliminate any blank lines when
printing. My mailing list also has a few of those addresses.

 

[drc023]

Eliminating blank lines is done when printing a mail merge file. What the OP
needs in this case is just the opposite. Blank lines need to be added to
insure alignment is correct when doing a text to table conversion with Word.
--
Ron

There's a step somewhere along the line to eliminate any blank lines when
printing. My mailing list also has a few of those addresses.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

Thanks so much, Ron, for offering to do this. I would like to try
myself,
first, because I am learning so much, even with my failures! I'm not
sure
what to do about the fact that each record does not have the same number
of
lines. Some addresses have one line, some have two. There are no blank
lines. Also, I did do a "convert text to table", but Publisher did not
recognize it as a table!
I had to do a "save as" as plain text, then Publisher recognized it as a
table. I will convert it to a .csv file and see what happens. Thank
you
so much for your suggestions.

 

[JoAnn Paules [MSFT MVP]]

Could he add one letter and format it with white font?

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

Eliminating blank lines is done when printing a mail merge file. What the
OP needs in this case is just the opposite. Blank lines need to be added
to insure alignment is correct when doing a text to table conversion with
Word.
--
Ron

There's a step somewhere along the line to eliminate any blank lines when
printing. My mailing list also has a few of those addresses.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

Thanks so much, Ron, for offering to do this. I would like to try
myself,
first, because I am learning so much, even with my failures! I'm not
sure
what to do about the fact that each record does not have the same number
of
lines. Some addresses have one line, some have two. There are no blank
lines. Also, I did do a "convert text to table", but Publisher did not
recognize it as a table!
I had to do a "save as" as plain text, then Publisher recognized it as a
table. I will convert it to a .csv file and see what happens. Thank
you
so much for your suggestions.
:

It would be better to convert the file to Excel so that you could use a
column as a field identifier for sorting/printing. Each record needs to
be
on a single row w/a column for each field, not in a stacked format.
Publisher can then use this directly from Excel or you can create a
.csv
file. Publisher can use either. Since you have the file in Word format,
converting it to a single record per line layout is no more difficult
to do
than replacing the field delimiters. In Word all you need to do is
'Table/Convert Text to Table'. To make this work it is necessary to
insure
that each address record has the same number of lines (including blank
lines). i.e. There must be the same number of lines from the first line
of
one record to the first lines of each succeeding record. The table
would
have that same number of columns.

If this doesn't seem clear, send me a private email and if the file
isn't
outrageously large you can attach it. I'll do the conversion and send
it
back to you.
--
Ron Cohen

I have an address file originally created by an old non- microsoft
program.
In order to create labels with this file, I copy it into Word,
replace the
record and field delimiters with those recognizable by Word and do a
mail
merge. But, I need to use Publisher, because most of the time, I
need to
be
able to pick and choose which addresses to print. I can't use a
filter,
since
this file is not in Excel, Access, etc. I've tried getting it in
those,
and
couldn't. It always stays stacked.
My problem is that after saving the Word address file as a text file
(the
only way Publisher recognized it as a table) Publisher puts each line
of
the
addres on a new label.
The address file is stacked, with a record delimiter at the beginning
of
the
first line (Company name), underneath that is the person's name, then
underneath that is a field delimiter with the street address, then
under
that
is the rest of the address, with no additional delimiters.
My boss will be forever grateful if you can help me solve this.
Thank you
in advance.
S Jan

 

[drc023]

I don't think that would help unless it added a line. They aren't looking
for a filter at this point. The purpose of what I've advised the OP to do is
to make a stacked address list totally consistent as to the number of lines
from the top of each address to the first line of the next - in effect a
fixed format. This is necessary for text to table conversion which will put
each mailing address on a single line which enables it to be used by Excel.
--
Ron

Could he add one letter and format it with white font?

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

Eliminating blank lines is done when printing a mail merge file. What the
OP needs in this case is just the opposite. Blank lines need to be added
to insure alignment is correct when doing a text to table conversion with
Word.
--
Ron

There's a step somewhere along the line to eliminate any blank lines
when printing. My mailing list also has a few of those addresses.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



Thanks so much, Ron, for offering to do this. I would like to try
myself,
first, because I am learning so much, even with my failures! I'm not
sure
what to do about the fact that each record does not have the same
number of
lines. Some addresses have one line, some have two. There are no
blank
lines. Also, I did do a "convert text to table", but Publisher did not
recognize it as a table!
I had to do a "save as" as plain text, then Publisher recognized it as
a
table. I will convert it to a .csv file and see what happens. Thank
you
so much for your suggestions.
:

It would be better to convert the file to Excel so that you could use
a
column as a field identifier for sorting/printing. Each record needs
to be
on a single row w/a column for each field, not in a stacked format.
Publisher can then use this directly from Excel or you can create a
.csv
file. Publisher can use either. Since you have the file in Word
format,
converting it to a single record per line layout is no more difficult
to do
than replacing the field delimiters. In Word all you need to do is
'Table/Convert Text to Table'. To make this work it is necessary to
insure
that each address record has the same number of lines (including blank
lines). i.e. There must be the same number of lines from the first
line of
one record to the first lines of each succeeding record. The table
would
have that same number of columns.

If this doesn't seem clear, send me a private email and if the file
isn't
outrageously large you can attach it. I'll do the conversion and send
it
back to you.
--
Ron Cohen

I have an address file originally created by an old non- microsoft
program.
In order to create labels with this file, I copy it into Word,
replace the
record and field delimiters with those recognizable by Word and do a
mail
merge. But, I need to use Publisher, because most of the time, I
need to
be
able to pick and choose which addresses to print. I can't use a
filter,
since
this file is not in Excel, Access, etc. I've tried getting it in
those,
and
couldn't. It always stays stacked.
My problem is that after saving the Word address file as a text
file (the
only way Publisher recognized it as a table) Publisher puts each
line of
the
addres on a new label.
The address file is stacked, with a record delimiter at the
beginning of
the
first line (Company name), underneath that is the person's name,
then
underneath that is a field delimiter with the street address, then
under
that
is the rest of the address, with no additional delimiters.
My boss will be forever grateful if you can help me solve this.
Thank you
in advance.
S Jan

 

[Sagit]

Ron, I have manually omitted the 5th line and you are right, the Word table
looks much better. Actually, it looks perfect. But I still cannot get it in
Excel properly, or get Publisher to merge properly. It looks to me like the
paragraph symbol at the end of each field is what is messing up the merge.
No matter what I do in manipulating the field delimiters in this file, as
long as those paragraph marks are there, Publisher puts each field on a new
label, instead of each record. If I take out the marks or replace them with
something else, it still doesn't work. I can get Word to create a decent
looking table, but I can't use it in anything else. I can create a short
table with just a few addresses and email it to you. This is the version
after I changed the record and field delimiters to those that Word
recognizes. How do I find your email address? I really appreciate this -
I've been up all night and day working on it. I'm sure you will find a
simple solution, which will make me look like the novice that I am! Thanks
a million to you and to JoAnn for trying to help.
S Jan

Eliminating blank lines is done when printing a mail merge file. What the OP
needs in this case is just the opposite. Blank lines need to be added to
insure alignment is correct when doing a text to table conversion with Word.
--
Ron

There's a step somewhere along the line to eliminate any blank lines when
printing. My mailing list also has a few of those addresses.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

Thanks so much, Ron, for offering to do this. I would like to try
myself,
first, because I am learning so much, even with my failures! I'm not
sure
what to do about the fact that each record does not have the same number
of
lines. Some addresses have one line, some have two. There are no blank
lines. Also, I did do a "convert text to table", but Publisher did not
recognize it as a table!
I had to do a "save as" as plain text, then Publisher recognized it as a
table. I will convert it to a .csv file and see what happens. Thank
you
so much for your suggestions.
:

It would be better to convert the file to Excel so that you could use a
column as a field identifier for sorting/printing. Each record needs to
be
on a single row w/a column for each field, not in a stacked format.
Publisher can then use this directly from Excel or you can create a .csv
file. Publisher can use either. Since you have the file in Word format,
converting it to a single record per line layout is no more difficult to
do
than replacing the field delimiters. In Word all you need to do is
'Table/Convert Text to Table'. To make this work it is necessary to
insure
that each address record has the same number of lines (including blank
lines). i.e. There must be the same number of lines from the first line
of
one record to the first lines of each succeeding record. The table would
have that same number of columns.

If this doesn't seem clear, send me a private email and if the file
isn't
outrageously large you can attach it. I'll do the conversion and send it
back to you.
--
Ron Cohen

I have an address file originally created by an old non- microsoft
program.
In order to create labels with this file, I copy it into Word, replace
the
record and field delimiters with those recognizable by Word and do a
mail
merge. But, I need to use Publisher, because most of the time, I need
to
be
able to pick and choose which addresses to print. I can't use a
filter,
since
this file is not in Excel, Access, etc. I've tried getting it in
those,
and
couldn't. It always stays stacked.
My problem is that after saving the Word address file as a text file
(the
only way Publisher recognized it as a table) Publisher puts each line
of
the
addres on a new label.
The address file is stacked, with a record delimiter at the beginning
of
the
first line (Company name), underneath that is the person's name, then
underneath that is a field delimiter with the street address, then
under
that
is the rest of the address, with no additional delimiters.
My boss will be forever grateful if you can help me solve this. Thank
you
in advance.
S Jan

 

[drc023]

After you have done a Convert Text to Table, the table needs to be converted
back to text. It looks like you are using paragraph marks as the separator
character. Use the Tab character instead. That should fix it. If you need to
email me directly it's: drc023 at sbcglobal dot net take out the
spaces and change at & dot to @ & .
--
Ron

Ron, I have manually omitted the 5th line and you are right, the Word
table
looks much better. Actually, it looks perfect. But I still cannot get it
in
Excel properly, or get Publisher to merge properly. It looks to me like
the
paragraph symbol at the end of each field is what is messing up the merge.
No matter what I do in manipulating the field delimiters in this file, as
long as those paragraph marks are there, Publisher puts each field on a
new
label, instead of each record. If I take out the marks or replace them
with
something else, it still doesn't work. I can get Word to create a decent
looking table, but I can't use it in anything else. I can create a short
table with just a few addresses and email it to you. This is the version
after I changed the record and field delimiters to those that Word
recognizes. How do I find your email address? I really appreciate this -
I've been up all night and day working on it. I'm sure you will find a
simple solution, which will make me look like the novice that I am!
Thanks
a million to you and to JoAnn for trying to help.
S Jan

Eliminating blank lines is done when printing a mail merge file. What the
OP
needs in this case is just the opposite. Blank lines need to be added to
insure alignment is correct when doing a text to table conversion with
Word.
--
Ron

There's a step somewhere along the line to eliminate any blank lines
when
printing. My mailing list also has a few of those addresses.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



Thanks so much, Ron, for offering to do this. I would like to try
myself,
first, because I am learning so much, even with my failures! I'm not
sure
what to do about the fact that each record does not have the same
number
of
lines. Some addresses have one line, some have two. There are no
blank
lines. Also, I did do a "convert text to table", but Publisher did
not
recognize it as a table!
I had to do a "save as" as plain text, then Publisher recognized it as
a
table. I will convert it to a .csv file and see what happens.
Thank
you
so much for your suggestions.
:

It would be better to convert the file to Excel so that you could use
a
column as a field identifier for sorting/printing. Each record needs
to
be
on a single row w/a column for each field, not in a stacked format.
Publisher can then use this directly from Excel or you can create a
.csv
file. Publisher can use either. Since you have the file in Word
format,
converting it to a single record per line layout is no more difficult
to
do
than replacing the field delimiters. In Word all you need to do is
'Table/Convert Text to Table'. To make this work it is necessary to
insure
that each address record has the same number of lines (including
blank
lines). i.e. There must be the same number of lines from the first
line
of
one record to the first lines of each succeeding record. The table
would
have that same number of columns.

If this doesn't seem clear, send me a private email and if the file
isn't
outrageously large you can attach it. I'll do the conversion and send
it
back to you.
--
Ron Cohen

I have an address file originally created by an old non- microsoft
program.
In order to create labels with this file, I copy it into Word,
replace
the
record and field delimiters with those recognizable by Word and do
a
mail
merge. But, I need to use Publisher, because most of the time, I
need
to
be
able to pick and choose which addresses to print. I can't use a
filter,
since
this file is not in Excel, Access, etc. I've tried getting it in
those,
and
couldn't. It always stays stacked.
My problem is that after saving the Word address file as a text
file
(the
only way Publisher recognized it as a table) Publisher puts each
line
of
the
addres on a new label.
The address file is stacked, with a record delimiter at the
beginning
of
the
first line (Company name), underneath that is the person's name,
then
underneath that is a field delimiter with the street address, then
under
that
is the rest of the address, with no additional delimiters.
My boss will be forever grateful if you can help me solve this.
Thank
you
in advance.
S Jan

 

[Sagit]

Oh my goodness! It worked! It worked! I would never have thought to
convert it back to a text. I had tried tabs before, but I guess that didn't
work because I never converted back to text. The only thing is: the record
delimiter and field delimiter print out on the labels, too. Is there some
way around that? Other than that it's perfect! Thank you Thank you! I can't
say thank you enough!
--
S Jan

After you have done a Convert Text to Table, the table needs to be converted
back to text. It looks like you are using paragraph marks as the separator
character. Use the Tab character instead. That should fix it. If you need to
email me directly it's: drc023 at sbcglobal dot net take out the
spaces and change at & dot to @ & .
--
Ron

Ron, I have manually omitted the 5th line and you are right, the Word
table
looks much better. Actually, it looks perfect. But I still cannot get it
in
Excel properly, or get Publisher to merge properly. It looks to me like
the
paragraph symbol at the end of each field is what is messing up the merge.
No matter what I do in manipulating the field delimiters in this file, as
long as those paragraph marks are there, Publisher puts each field on a
new
label, instead of each record. If I take out the marks or replace them
with
something else, it still doesn't work. I can get Word to create a decent
looking table, but I can't use it in anything else. I can create a short
table with just a few addresses and email it to you. This is the version
after I changed the record and field delimiters to those that Word
recognizes. How do I find your email address? I really appreciate this -
I've been up all night and day working on it. I'm sure you will find a
simple solution, which will make me look like the novice that I am!
Thanks
a million to you and to JoAnn for trying to help.
S Jan

Eliminating blank lines is done when printing a mail merge file. What the
OP
needs in this case is just the opposite. Blank lines need to be added to
insure alignment is correct when doing a text to table conversion with
Word.
--
Ron

There's a step somewhere along the line to eliminate any blank lines
when
printing. My mailing list also has a few of those addresses.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



Thanks so much, Ron, for offering to do this. I would like to try
myself,
first, because I am learning so much, even with my failures! I'm not
sure
what to do about the fact that each record does not have the same
number
of
lines. Some addresses have one line, some have two. There are no
blank
lines. Also, I did do a "convert text to table", but Publisher did
not
recognize it as a table!
I had to do a "save as" as plain text, then Publisher recognized it as
a
table. I will convert it to a .csv file and see what happens.
Thank
you
so much for your suggestions.
:

It would be better to convert the file to Excel so that you could use
a
column as a field identifier for sorting/printing. Each record needs
to
be
on a single row w/a column for each field, not in a stacked format.
Publisher can then use this directly from Excel or you can create a
.csv
file. Publisher can use either. Since you have the file in Word
format,
converting it to a single record per line layout is no more difficult
to
do
than replacing the field delimiters. In Word all you need to do is
'Table/Convert Text to Table'. To make this work it is necessary to
insure
that each address record has the same number of lines (including
blank
lines). i.e. There must be the same number of lines from the first
line
of
one record to the first lines of each succeeding record. The table
would
have that same number of columns.

If this doesn't seem clear, send me a private email and if the file
isn't
outrageously large you can attach it. I'll do the conversion and send
it
back to you.
--
Ron Cohen

I have an address file originally created by an old non- microsoft
program.
In order to create labels with this file, I copy it into Word,
replace
the
record and field delimiters with those recognizable by Word and do
a
mail
merge. But, I need to use Publisher, because most of the time, I
need
to
be
able to pick and choose which addresses to print. I can't use a
filter,
since
this file is not in Excel, Access, etc. I've tried getting it in
those,
and
couldn't. It always stays stacked.
My problem is that after saving the Word address file as a text
file
(the
only way Publisher recognized it as a table) Publisher puts each
line
of
the
addres on a new label.
The address file is stacked, with a record delimiter at the
beginning
of
the
first line (Company name), underneath that is the person's name,
then
underneath that is a field delimiter with the street address, then
under
that
is the rest of the address, with no additional delimiters.
My boss will be forever grateful if you can help me solve this.
Thank
you
in advance.
S Jan

 

[drc023]

I don't understand why the delimiters are printing out since they should be
special characters. Are they physically printing on paper or is this from
reviewing in Publisher? If it's in Publisher, that may just be a display of
the characters. Ctrl-Shift-Y toggles them on and off. I keep them on all the
time to help with formatting, but they don't print.

Can you email me a Word file with just a handful of the original records?
I'd like to go through the steps you've taken and try to get to the final
label output.
--
Ron

Oh my goodness! It worked! It worked! I would never have thought to
convert it back to a text. I had tried tabs before, but I guess that
didn't
work because I never converted back to text. The only thing is: the
record
delimiter and field delimiter print out on the labels, too. Is there
some
way around that? Other than that it's perfect! Thank you Thank you! I
can't
say thank you enough!
--
S Jan

After you have done a Convert Text to Table, the table needs to be
converted
back to text. It looks like you are using paragraph marks as the
separator
character. Use the Tab character instead. That should fix it. If you need
to
email me directly it's: drc023 at sbcglobal dot net take out the
spaces and change at & dot to @ & .
--
Ron

Ron, I have manually omitted the 5th line and you are right, the Word
table
looks much better. Actually, it looks perfect. But I still cannot get
it
in
Excel properly, or get Publisher to merge properly. It looks to me
like
the
paragraph symbol at the end of each field is what is messing up the
merge.
No matter what I do in manipulating the field delimiters in this file,
as
long as those paragraph marks are there, Publisher puts each field on a
new
label, instead of each record. If I take out the marks or replace them
with
something else, it still doesn't work. I can get Word to create a
decent
looking table, but I can't use it in anything else. I can create a
short
table with just a few addresses and email it to you. This is the
version
after I changed the record and field delimiters to those that Word
recognizes. How do I find your email address? I really appreciate
this -
I've been up all night and day working on it. I'm sure you will find a
simple solution, which will make me look like the novice that I am!
Thanks
a million to you and to JoAnn for trying to help.
S Jan


:

Eliminating blank lines is done when printing a mail merge file. What
the
OP
needs in this case is just the opposite. Blank lines need to be added
to
insure alignment is correct when doing a text to table conversion with
Word.
--
Ron

There's a step somewhere along the line to eliminate any blank lines
when
printing. My mailing list also has a few of those addresses.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



Thanks so much, Ron, for offering to do this. I would like to try
myself,
first, because I am learning so much, even with my failures! I'm
not
sure
what to do about the fact that each record does not have the same
number
of
lines. Some addresses have one line, some have two. There are no
blank
lines. Also, I did do a "convert text to table", but Publisher did
not
recognize it as a table!
I had to do a "save as" as plain text, then Publisher recognized it
as
a
table. I will convert it to a .csv file and see what happens.
Thank
you
so much for your suggestions.
:

It would be better to convert the file to Excel so that you could
use
a
column as a field identifier for sorting/printing. Each record
needs
to
be
on a single row w/a column for each field, not in a stacked
format.
Publisher can then use this directly from Excel or you can create
a
.csv
file. Publisher can use either. Since you have the file in Word
format,
converting it to a single record per line layout is no more
difficult
to
do
than replacing the field delimiters. In Word all you need to do is
'Table/Convert Text to Table'. To make this work it is necessary
to
insure
that each address record has the same number of lines (including
blank
lines). i.e. There must be the same number of lines from the first
line
of
one record to the first lines of each succeeding record. The table
would
have that same number of columns.

If this doesn't seem clear, send me a private email and if the
file
isn't
outrageously large you can attach it. I'll do the conversion and
send
it
back to you.
--
Ron Cohen

I have an address file originally created by an old non-
microsoft
program.
In order to create labels with this file, I copy it into Word,
replace
the
record and field delimiters with those recognizable by Word and
do
a
mail
merge. But, I need to use Publisher, because most of the time,
I
need
to
be
able to pick and choose which addresses to print. I can't use a
filter,
since
this file is not in Excel, Access, etc. I've tried getting it
in
those,
and
couldn't. It always stays stacked.
My problem is that after saving the Word address file as a text
file
(the
only way Publisher recognized it as a table) Publisher puts each
line
of
the
addres on a new label.
The address file is stacked, with a record delimiter at the
beginning
of
the
first line (Company name), underneath that is the person's name,
then
underneath that is a field delimiter with the street address,
then
under
that
is the rest of the address, with no additional delimiters.
My boss will be forever grateful if you can help me solve this.
Thank
you
in advance.
S Jan

 

[Sagit]

They are physically printing on the paper. They are the same delimiters that
I replaced in the original file when I was trying to get the Word mail merge
to work. The original delimiters were __ (two underlines) and _ (one
underline) They were not recognized by Word as delimiters, so I changed them
to ! and $ respectively.
I will be glad to send you a shortened file. It should take only a few
minutes. Thank you so much. My husband says to thank you, too, because I
will soon be off the computer and can spend some time with him, instead!
--
S Jan

I don't understand why the delimiters are printing out since they should be
special characters. Are they physically printing on paper or is this from
reviewing in Publisher? If it's in Publisher, that may just be a display of
the characters. Ctrl-Shift-Y toggles them on and off. I keep them on all the
time to help with formatting, but they don't print.

Can you email me a Word file with just a handful of the original records?
I'd like to go through the steps you've taken and try to get to the final
label output.
--
Ron

Oh my goodness! It worked! It worked! I would never have thought to
convert it back to a text. I had tried tabs before, but I guess that
didn't
work because I never converted back to text. The only thing is: the
record
delimiter and field delimiter print out on the labels, too. Is there
some
way around that? Other than that it's perfect! Thank you Thank you! I
can't
say thank you enough!
--
S Jan

After you have done a Convert Text to Table, the table needs to be
converted
back to text. It looks like you are using paragraph marks as the
separator
character. Use the Tab character instead. That should fix it. If you need
to
email me directly it's: drc023 at sbcglobal dot net take out the
spaces and change at & dot to @ & .
--
Ron

Ron, I have manually omitted the 5th line and you are right, the Word
table
looks much better. Actually, it looks perfect. But I still cannot get
it
in
Excel properly, or get Publisher to merge properly. It looks to me
like
the
paragraph symbol at the end of each field is what is messing up the
merge.
No matter what I do in manipulating the field delimiters in this file,
as
long as those paragraph marks are there, Publisher puts each field on a
new
label, instead of each record. If I take out the marks or replace them
with
something else, it still doesn't work. I can get Word to create a
decent
looking table, but I can't use it in anything else. I can create a
short
table with just a few addresses and email it to you. This is the
version
after I changed the record and field delimiters to those that Word
recognizes. How do I find your email address? I really appreciate
this -
I've been up all night and day working on it. I'm sure you will find a
simple solution, which will make me look like the novice that I am!
Thanks
a million to you and to JoAnn for trying to help.
S Jan


:

Eliminating blank lines is done when printing a mail merge file. What
the
OP
needs in this case is just the opposite. Blank lines need to be added
to
insure alignment is correct when doing a text to table conversion with
Word.
--
Ron

There's a step somewhere along the line to eliminate any blank lines
when
printing. My mailing list also has a few of those addresses.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



Thanks so much, Ron, for offering to do this. I would like to try
myself,
first, because I am learning so much, even with my failures! I'm
not
sure
what to do about the fact that each record does not have the same
number
of
lines. Some addresses have one line, some have two. There are no
blank
lines. Also, I did do a "convert text to table", but Publisher did
not
recognize it as a table!
I had to do a "save as" as plain text, then Publisher recognized it
as
a
table. I will convert it to a .csv file and see what happens.
Thank
you
so much for your suggestions.
:

It would be better to convert the file to Excel so that you could
use
a
column as a field identifier for sorting/printing. Each record
needs
to
be
on a single row w/a column for each field, not in a stacked
format.
Publisher can then use this directly from Excel or you can create
a
.csv
file. Publisher can use either. Since you have the file in Word
format,
converting it to a single record per line layout is no more
difficult
to
do
than replacing the field delimiters. In Word all you need to do is
'Table/Convert Text to Table'. To make this work it is necessary
to
insure
that each address record has the same number of lines (including
blank
lines). i.e. There must be the same number of lines from the first
line
of
one record to the first lines of each succeeding record. The table
would
have that same number of columns.

If this doesn't seem clear, send me a private email and if the
file
isn't
outrageously large you can attach it. I'll do the conversion and
send
it
back to you.
--
Ron Cohen

I have an address file originally created by an old non-
microsoft
program.
In order to create labels with this file, I copy it into Word,
replace
the
record and field delimiters with those recognizable by Word and
do
a
mail
merge. But, I need to use Publisher, because most of the time,
I
need
to
be
able to pick and choose which addresses to print. I can't use a
filter,
since
this file is not in Excel, Access, etc. I've tried getting it
in
those,
and
couldn't. It always stays stacked.
My problem is that after saving the Word address file as a text
file
(the
only way Publisher recognized it as a table) Publisher puts each
line
of
the
addres on a new label.
The address file is stacked, with a record delimiter at the
beginning
of
the
first line (Company name), underneath that is the person's name,
then
underneath that is a field delimiter with the street address,
then
under
that
is the rest of the address, with no additional delimiters.
My boss will be forever grateful if you can help me solve this.
Thank
you
in advance.
S Jan

 

[Sagit]

I copied the file that is ready for the mail merge into Excel and it did
beautifully. I then took out the delimiters that were printing, saved and
used the Excel file for the mail merge and it worked!!! For some reason, it
would not work if I took out the delimiters of the text file. Perhaps I did
a step wrong, but at least I can use Publisher for the mail merge. Thanks
again so much everyone, you have been very very helpful. I'm going to look
like a real computer guru at work, thanks to you. Of course, I will give
you credit and more!!
--
S Jan

After you have done a Convert Text to Table, the table needs to be converted
back to text. It looks like you are using paragraph marks as the separator
character. Use the Tab character instead. That should fix it. If you need to
email me directly it's: drc023 at sbcglobal dot net take out the
spaces and change at & dot to @ & .
--
Ron

Ron, I have manually omitted the 5th line and you are right, the Word
table
looks much better. Actually, it looks perfect. But I still cannot get it
in
Excel properly, or get Publisher to merge properly. It looks to me like
the
paragraph symbol at the end of each field is what is messing up the merge.
No matter what I do in manipulating the field delimiters in this file, as
long as those paragraph marks are there, Publisher puts each field on a
new
label, instead of each record. If I take out the marks or replace them
with
something else, it still doesn't work. I can get Word to create a decent
looking table, but I can't use it in anything else. I can create a short
table with just a few addresses and email it to you. This is the version
after I changed the record and field delimiters to those that Word
recognizes. How do I find your email address? I really appreciate this -
I've been up all night and day working on it. I'm sure you will find a
simple solution, which will make me look like the novice that I am!
Thanks
a million to you and to JoAnn for trying to help.
S Jan

Eliminating blank lines is done when printing a mail merge file. What the
OP
needs in this case is just the opposite. Blank lines need to be added to
insure alignment is correct when doing a text to table conversion with
Word.
--
Ron

There's a step somewhere along the line to eliminate any blank lines
when
printing. My mailing list also has a few of those addresses.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



Thanks so much, Ron, for offering to do this. I would like to try
myself,
first, because I am learning so much, even with my failures! I'm not
sure
what to do about the fact that each record does not have the same
number
of
lines. Some addresses have one line, some have two. There are no
blank
lines. Also, I did do a "convert text to table", but Publisher did
not
recognize it as a table!
I had to do a "save as" as plain text, then Publisher recognized it as
a
table. I will convert it to a .csv file and see what happens.
Thank
you
so much for your suggestions.
:

It would be better to convert the file to Excel so that you could use
a
column as a field identifier for sorting/printing. Each record needs
to
be
on a single row w/a column for each field, not in a stacked format.
Publisher can then use this directly from Excel or you can create a
.csv
file. Publisher can use either. Since you have the file in Word
format,
converting it to a single record per line layout is no more difficult
to
do
than replacing the field delimiters. In Word all you need to do is
'Table/Convert Text to Table'. To make this work it is necessary to
insure
that each address record has the same number of lines (including
blank
lines). i.e. There must be the same number of lines from the first
line
of
one record to the first lines of each succeeding record. The table
would
have that same number of columns.

If this doesn't seem clear, send me a private email and if the file
isn't
outrageously large you can attach it. I'll do the conversion and send
it
back to you.
--
Ron Cohen

I have an address file originally created by an old non- microsoft
program.
In order to create labels with this file, I copy it into Word,
replace
the
record and field delimiters with those recognizable by Word and do
a
mail
merge. But, I need to use Publisher, because most of the time, I
need
to
be
able to pick and choose which addresses to print. I can't use a
filter,
since
this file is not in Excel, Access, etc. I've tried getting it in
those,
and
couldn't. It always stays stacked.
My problem is that after saving the Word address file as a text
file
(the
only way Publisher recognized it as a table) Publisher puts each
line
of
the
addres on a new label.
The address file is stacked, with a record delimiter at the
beginning
of
the
first line (Company name), underneath that is the person's name,
then
underneath that is a field delimiter with the street address, then
under
that
is the rest of the address, with no additional delimiters.
My boss will be forever grateful if you can help me solve this.
Thank
you
in advance.
S Jan

 

[drc023]

I didn't see any delimiters in the Word file you sent me. I did remove the
exclamation point from the first position of line one of each address, but
that looked more like a field identifier than a special character. If you
want to use a character to identify which addresses to mail, then those
should be in a separate column and can be done either in Word or Excel. When
I converted the table to text in Word, I selected Tab as the delimiter.
Excel handled the file without any problems or stray characters showing up.

I'm glad that you finally got this resolved. Once you get familiar with the
process, it's pretty easy. When I had my print shops I did quite a bit of
special mailings for customers and it's a procedure I employed frequently.
--
Ron

I copied the file that is ready for the mail merge into Excel and it did
beautifully. I then took out the delimiters that were printing, saved and
used the Excel file for the mail merge and it worked!!! For some reason,
it
would not work if I took out the delimiters of the text file. Perhaps I
did
a step wrong, but at least I can use Publisher for the mail merge. Thanks
again so much everyone, you have been very very helpful. I'm going to
look
like a real computer guru at work, thanks to you. Of course, I will give
you credit and more!!
--
S Jan

After you have done a Convert Text to Table, the table needs to be
converted
back to text. It looks like you are using paragraph marks as the
separator
character. Use the Tab character instead. That should fix it. If you need
to
email me directly it's: drc023 at sbcglobal dot net take out the
spaces and change at & dot to @ & .
--
Ron

Ron, I have manually omitted the 5th line and you are right, the Word
table
looks much better. Actually, it looks perfect. But I still cannot get
it
in
Excel properly, or get Publisher to merge properly. It looks to me
like
the
paragraph symbol at the end of each field is what is messing up the
merge.
No matter what I do in manipulating the field delimiters in this file,
as
long as those paragraph marks are there, Publisher puts each field on a
new
label, instead of each record. If I take out the marks or replace them
with
something else, it still doesn't work. I can get Word to create a
decent
looking table, but I can't use it in anything else. I can create a
short
table with just a few addresses and email it to you. This is the
version
after I changed the record and field delimiters to those that Word
recognizes. How do I find your email address? I really appreciate
this -
I've been up all night and day working on it. I'm sure you will find a
simple solution, which will make me look like the novice that I am!
Thanks
a million to you and to JoAnn for trying to help.
S Jan


:

Eliminating blank lines is done when printing a mail merge file. What
the
OP
needs in this case is just the opposite. Blank lines need to be added
to
insure alignment is correct when doing a text to table conversion with
Word.
--
Ron

There's a step somewhere along the line to eliminate any blank lines
when
printing. My mailing list also has a few of those addresses.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



Thanks so much, Ron, for offering to do this. I would like to try
myself,
first, because I am learning so much, even with my failures! I'm
not
sure
what to do about the fact that each record does not have the same
number
of
lines. Some addresses have one line, some have two. There are no
blank
lines. Also, I did do a "convert text to table", but Publisher did
not
recognize it as a table!
I had to do a "save as" as plain text, then Publisher recognized it
as
a
table. I will convert it to a .csv file and see what happens.
Thank
you
so much for your suggestions.
:

It would be better to convert the file to Excel so that you could
use
a
column as a field identifier for sorting/printing. Each record
needs
to
be
on a single row w/a column for each field, not in a stacked
format.
Publisher can then use this directly from Excel or you can create
a
.csv
file. Publisher can use either. Since you have the file in Word
format,
converting it to a single record per line layout is no more
difficult
to
do
than replacing the field delimiters. In Word all you need to do is
'Table/Convert Text to Table'. To make this work it is necessary
to
insure
that each address record has the same number of lines (including
blank
lines). i.e. There must be the same number of lines from the first
line
of
one record to the first lines of each succeeding record. The table
would
have that same number of columns.

If this doesn't seem clear, send me a private email and if the
file
isn't
outrageously large you can attach it. I'll do the conversion and
send
it
back to you.
--
Ron Cohen

I have an address file originally created by an old non-
microsoft
program.
In order to create labels with this file, I copy it into Word,
replace
the
record and field delimiters with those recognizable by Word and
do
a
mail
merge. But, I need to use Publisher, because most of the time,
I
need
to
be
able to pick and choose which addresses to print. I can't use a
filter,
since
this file is not in Excel, Access, etc. I've tried getting it
in
those,
and
couldn't. It always stays stacked.
My problem is that after saving the Word address file as a text
file
(the
only way Publisher recognized it as a table) Publisher puts each
line
of
the
addres on a new label.
The address file is stacked, with a record delimiter at the
beginning
of
the
first line (Company name), underneath that is the person's name,
then
underneath that is a field delimiter with the street address,
then
under
that
is the rest of the address, with no additional delimiters.
My boss will be forever grateful if you can help me solve this.
Thank
you
in advance.
S Jan

 

[Sagit]

Well, I am a little confused about the delimiter. The exclamation point and
dollar mark were the choices in the Word list of "delimiters" in a dialogue
box that popped up when I was doing a mail merge in Word. It didn't
recognize the __ and _ that was in the file, so I changed it to what Word
expected to see.. At any rate, it's done now, thanks to you, and I will
tell everybody what a great job you did. I thank you and my printing office
thanks you. They were going to have to input the address file for each
customer twice, and proof twice, (400 to 600 addresses per customer, instead
of 200 to 300) without this solution. So you have saved us a lot of time and
money! Thanks so much.
--
S Jan

I didn't see any delimiters in the Word file you sent me. I did remove the
exclamation point from the first position of line one of each address, but
that looked more like a field identifier than a special character. If you
want to use a character to identify which addresses to mail, then those
should be in a separate column and can be done either in Word or Excel. When
I converted the table to text in Word, I selected Tab as the delimiter.
Excel handled the file without any problems or stray characters showing up.

I'm glad that you finally got this resolved. Once you get familiar with the
process, it's pretty easy. When I had my print shops I did quite a bit of
special mailings for customers and it's a procedure I employed frequently.
--
Ron

I copied the file that is ready for the mail merge into Excel and it did
beautifully. I then took out the delimiters that were printing, saved and
used the Excel file for the mail merge and it worked!!! For some reason,
it
would not work if I took out the delimiters of the text file. Perhaps I
did
a step wrong, but at least I can use Publisher for the mail merge. Thanks
again so much everyone, you have been very very helpful. I'm going to
look
like a real computer guru at work, thanks to you. Of course, I will give
you credit and more!!
--
S Jan

After you have done a Convert Text to Table, the table needs to be
converted
back to text. It looks like you are using paragraph marks as the
separator
character. Use the Tab character instead. That should fix it. If you need
to
email me directly it's: drc023 at sbcglobal dot net take out the
spaces and change at & dot to @ & .
--
Ron

Ron, I have manually omitted the 5th line and you are right, the Word
table
looks much better. Actually, it looks perfect. But I still cannot get
it
in
Excel properly, or get Publisher to merge properly. It looks to me
like
the
paragraph symbol at the end of each field is what is messing up the
merge.
No matter what I do in manipulating the field delimiters in this file,
as
long as those paragraph marks are there, Publisher puts each field on a
new
label, instead of each record. If I take out the marks or replace them
with
something else, it still doesn't work. I can get Word to create a
decent
looking table, but I can't use it in anything else. I can create a
short
table with just a few addresses and email it to you. This is the
version
after I changed the record and field delimiters to those that Word
recognizes. How do I find your email address? I really appreciate
this -
I've been up all night and day working on it. I'm sure you will find a
simple solution, which will make me look like the novice that I am!
Thanks
a million to you and to JoAnn for trying to help.
S Jan


:

Eliminating blank lines is done when printing a mail merge file. What
the
OP
needs in this case is just the opposite. Blank lines need to be added
to
insure alignment is correct when doing a text to table conversion with
Word.
--
Ron

There's a step somewhere along the line to eliminate any blank lines
when
printing. My mailing list also has a few of those addresses.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



Thanks so much, Ron, for offering to do this. I would like to try
myself,
first, because I am learning so much, even with my failures! I'm
not
sure
what to do about the fact that each record does not have the same
number
of
lines. Some addresses have one line, some have two. There are no
blank
lines. Also, I did do a "convert text to table", but Publisher did
not
recognize it as a table!
I had to do a "save as" as plain text, then Publisher recognized it
as
a
table. I will convert it to a .csv file and see what happens.
Thank
you
so much for your suggestions.
:

It would be better to convert the file to Excel so that you could
use
a
column as a field identifier for sorting/printing. Each record
needs
to
be
on a single row w/a column for each field, not in a stacked
format.
Publisher can then use this directly from Excel or you can create
a
.csv
file. Publisher can use either. Since you have the file in Word
format,
converting it to a single record per line layout is no more
difficult
to
do
than replacing the field delimiters. In Word all you need to do is
'Table/Convert Text to Table'. To make this work it is necessary
to
insure
that each address record has the same number of lines (including
blank
lines). i.e. There must be the same number of lines from the first
line
of
one record to the first lines of each succeeding record. The table
would
have that same number of columns.

If this doesn't seem clear, send me a private email and if the
file
isn't
outrageously large you can attach it. I'll do the conversion and
send
it
back to you.
--
Ron Cohen

I have an address file originally created by an old non-
microsoft
program.
In order to create labels with this file, I copy it into Word,
replace
the
record and field delimiters with those recognizable by Word and
do
a
mail
merge. But, I need to use Publisher, because most of the time,
I
need
to
be
able to pick and choose which addresses to print. I can't use a
filter,
since
this file is not in Excel, Access, etc. I've tried getting it
in
those,
and
couldn't. It always stays stacked.
My problem is that after saving the Word address file as a text
file
(the
only way Publisher recognized it as a table) Publisher puts each
line
of
the
addres on a new label.
The address file is stacked, with a record delimiter at the
beginning
of
the
first line (Company name), underneath that is the person's name,
then
underneath that is a field delimiter with the street address,
then
under
that
is the rest of the address, with no additional delimiters.
My boss will be forever grateful if you can help me solve this.
Thank
you
in advance.
S Jan