Mail merge does not show up on my WordTools menu.

[Confused Guy]

When I try to create form letters in Word from Office 2000 along with Windows
XP, "Mail Merge" does not appear in the Tools menu. I have have
successfully used this feature several times in the past (2 years ago was
the latest), but have to reteach myself every time I use it. Could I have
inadvertanly changed some setting so the "Mail Merge" doesn't appear in the
Tools menu?

 

[Echo S]

When I try to create form letters in Word from Office 2000 along with
Windows XP, "Mail Merge" does not appear in the Tools menu. I have
have successfully used this feature several times in the past (2
years ago was the latest), but have to reteach myself every time I
use it. Could I have inadvertanly changed some setting so the "Mail
Merge" doesn't appear in the Tools menu?

Perhaps you have "short" menus still turned on. Click the downward-pointing
chevron at the bottom of the Tools menu to expand the full menu. Do you see
MailMerge now?

 

[Beth Melton]

It's possible you have inadvertently removed the menu item. If you
find the issue isn't the abbreviated menus as Echo suggested then:

If you don't have any menu customizations you don't want to keep then:
- Go to Tools/Customize
- Select the Toolbars tab if necessary
- Select "Menu Bar" from the toolbars list
- Click the "Reset...." command on the right

Otherwise you can replace only the Mail Merge command:
- Go to Tools/Customize
- Select the Commands tab
- Select the "All Commands" category on the left
- Locate "MailMergeHelper" on the right
- Drag/Drop the menu item back onto the Tools menu

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/

 

[Confused Guy]

Thanks! That did the trick. But why was the MAIL MERGE turned off. I
re-installed Office 2000. I would have thought the the defalt conditions
would have had MAIL MERGE already in the menue.

 

[Beth Melton]

The default menu bar does have Mail Merge listed under the Tools menu.
There are a few reasons for its disappearance that come to mind, if
you have Word installed as part of Works Suite then the "Microsoft
Works Suite Add-in for Word" is known to either add too many Mail
Merge commands or remove it completely. So aside from a third-party,
there are more than just Works Suite, it's fairly easy to accidentally
remove a menu item. It's easier to remove the entire menu or toolbar
command but menu items can removed too.

Also note reinstalling does not set Office back to the defaults -
custom menus and such are preserved.

In any case, I'm glad to hear you have it back.

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/