Mail Merge insanity help please

[Lynn]

After I create the publication, I pick the person to whom it is to be sent. I
merge and save the publication. When I reopen the publication, all of the
persons information is gone. Every time I want to reprint "Mrs. Jones"
publication, i have to go through all of the mail merge rigamarole again.
Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong? I am very grateful for your help.

 

[Ed Bennett]

After I create the publication, I pick the person to whom it is to be sent. I
merge and save the publication. When I reopen the publication, all of the
persons information is gone. Every time I want to reprint "Mrs. Jones"
publication, i have to go through all of the mail merge rigamarole again.
Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong? I am very grateful for your help.

If you're merging to the printer, that is what you're doing wrong.

If you're merging to a new publication you must be opening the wrong
publication - the source publication rather than the merged publication.

 

[Lynn]

Thanks, ed. I must be merging to the printer. Where I am I supposed to be
merging to? I hit tools, mail and catalog merge, the wizard comes up and off
i go to choose Mrs. Jones name again (and again, and again). What do I do to
stop this insanity? thank you!!

 

[Mary Sauer]

From Help

After you merge, if you save your label publication file and open it again
later, information you merged from the data file won't be there. However,
Publisher remembers which data file you last merged with the publication, so you
can immediately see data merged into copies of the publication by pointing to
Mail and Catalog Merge on the Tools menu, and clicking Show Merge Results.

 

[Mary Sauer]

A p.s.
If you do a new publication in step 5, the merge will become a document that you
can edit and print out one merge item at a time.

 

[Lynn]

Thank you, Mary. Now I know the facts. I will not see Mrs. Jones name on
the publication I just made for her the next time I open it.

A p.s.
If you do a new publication in step 5, the merge will become a document that you
can edit and print out one merge item at a time.

 

[Ed Bennett]

Thank you, Mary. Now I know the facts. I will not see Mrs. Jones name on
the publication I just made for her the next time I open it.

Why are you using mail merge if you're creating a publication just for
one person?

 

[Lynn]

Hi Ed,
We create reports for our customers. The reports start out as a 43 page
basic report. Like a boilerplate for us to customize for Mrs. Jones.

So I customize her report, use the mail merge to make her name and address
come up in the right places. Then I save it and print it.

Two days later, I might have to reprint her report. I open her saved
publication and lo and behold, her name is not there. Now, thanks to Mary, I
do understand that it will not be there. I have to merge to her name each
and every time I need to print out her report.

We used to use Word for these report but they are page dependent upon each
other and the hassle was incredible. Publisher works better for us in that
respect.
But I still need to find out how to print one page (and only one page) of a
persons report. I need to print individual pages as needed. Sometimes I
need a particular page that does have their name embedded into it. Still
looking for printing advice.
Thank you very much.

 

[Mary Sauer]

Lynn, If you create the new publication as indicated in step five of the merge
wizard, Mrs. Jones' record will be editable and you can print just that one
record. You can save it as a separate file.

 

[Lynn]

Mary, I dont have any problem printing "that one record". My issue is
sometimes I dont want to print a whole 43 page record. I just want one page.

Let me clarify. I have a publication called New Report Format.
I open that, edit it to suit mrs. jones house, do a mail merge to her name
only and then save it as Jones, Mary. Then I print it, just that one record.

The next time i go to open mary jones' publication, her specific info is not
there, i have to do the mail merge all over again. Am I missing something
here? How can I save it so it pertains to her and her alone? Maybe I am
asking too much of publisher.

Next time

 

[Ed Bennett]

Let me clarify. I have a publication called New Report Format.
I open that, edit it to suit mrs. jones house, do a mail merge to her name
only and then save it as Jones, Mary. Then I print it, just that one record.

The next time i go to open mary jones' publication, her specific info is not
there, i have to do the mail merge all over again. Am I missing something
here?

Unless you're hitting "Create New Publication" in step 5 of the merge,
then yes you are.