Mail Merge to Labels

[BK]

Using Windows XP-Pro and Office 2003.

I have a very simple data table in Excel of "first name" and "last name"
that I want to merge onto labels in Publisher. I seem to end up with an
entire page of labels for each line of data in the Excel file rather than
the 8 labels on the Publisher page each having the information from a
separate line of data out of Excel.

For example, I get all 8 labels on page one reading "John Doe" and all 8
labels on page 2 reading "Susie Smith" instead of the first label on page
one reading "John Doe" and the second label on page one reading "Susie
Smith."

What am I missing????

 

[JoAnn Paules [MVP]]

Did you actually do a test print or did you just look at Print Preview? PP
has a glitch in that it will only show you one name. Try printing a page on
plain paper or using a .pdf driver and see what you get.

 

[BK]

I just used the print preview, but will try to actually print a page. Am I
correct that I need a "mail merge" onto the labels and not a "catalog
merge"?

Did you actually do a test print or did you just look at Print Preview? PP
has a glitch in that it will only show you one name. Try printing a page
on plain paper or using a .pdf driver and see what you get.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

Using Windows XP-Pro and Office 2003.

I have a very simple data table in Excel of "first name" and "last name"
that I want to merge onto labels in Publisher. I seem to end up with an
entire page of labels for each line of data in the Excel file rather than
the 8 labels on the Publisher page each having the information from a
separate line of data out of Excel.

For example, I get all 8 labels on page one reading "John Doe" and all 8
labels on page 2 reading "Susie Smith" instead of the first label on page
one reading "John Doe" and the second label on page one reading "Susie
Smith."

What am I missing????

 

[JoAnn Paules [MVP]]

Yes, use a mail merge for this task.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

I just used the print preview, but will try to actually print a page. Am I
correct that I need a "mail merge" onto the labels and not a "catalog
merge"?

Did you actually do a test print or did you just look at Print Preview?
PP has a glitch in that it will only show you one name. Try printing a
page on plain paper or using a .pdf driver and see what you get.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

Using Windows XP-Pro and Office 2003.

I have a very simple data table in Excel of "first name" and "last name"
that I want to merge onto labels in Publisher. I seem to end up with
an entire page of labels for each line of data in the Excel file rather
than the 8 labels on the Publisher page each having the information from
a separate line of data out of Excel.

For example, I get all 8 labels on page one reading "John Doe" and all 8
labels on page 2 reading "Susie Smith" instead of the first label on
page one reading "John Doe" and the second label on page one reading
"Susie Smith."

What am I missing????

 

[BK]

JoAnn

Well, it wasn't just messed up on print preview. The labels I merged in
Publisher did, in fact, also print out as an entire page of each individual
name from my Excel data table.

I ended up performing the merge to labels in Word, and it worked like a
charm. Just makes me curious as to what is wrong with the Publisher 2003
merge???

Just to add to the confusion, I tried the merge on another machine on our
network that still has Publisher 2000, and it also worked like a charm.
Something amiss with Publisher 2003 mail merge.

Yes, use a mail merge for this task.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

I just used the print preview, but will try to actually print a page. Am
I correct that I need a "mail merge" onto the labels and not a "catalog
merge"?

Did you actually do a test print or did you just look at Print Preview?
PP has a glitch in that it will only show you one name. Try printing a
page on plain paper or using a .pdf driver and see what you get.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



Using Windows XP-Pro and Office 2003.

I have a very simple data table in Excel of "first name" and "last
name" that I want to merge onto labels in Publisher. I seem to end up
with an entire page of labels for each line of data in the Excel file
rather than the 8 labels on the Publisher page each having the
information from a separate line of data out of Excel.

For example, I get all 8 labels on page one reading "John Doe" and all
8 labels on page 2 reading "Susie Smith" instead of the first label on
page one reading "John Doe" and the second label on page one reading
"Susie Smith."

What am I missing????

 

[Ed Bennett]

Just to add to the confusion, I tried the merge on another machine on
our network that still has Publisher 2000, and it also worked like a
charm. Something amiss with Publisher 2003 mail merge.

Slightly more likely that something is amiss with your document setup, but I
can't be anywhere near certain without seeing the source file or knowing
exactly how you conducted the merge..

 

[Mary Sauer]

There is nothing amiss in Publisher's merge. If it worked in 2000 then it will
work in 2003. Are you certain you only had one label on your screen?

--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/

JoAnn

Well, it wasn't just messed up on print preview. The labels I merged in
Publisher did, in fact, also print out as an entire page of each individual
name from my Excel data table.

I ended up performing the merge to labels in Word, and it worked like a charm.
Just makes me curious as to what is wrong with the Publisher 2003 merge???

Just to add to the confusion, I tried the merge on another machine on our
network that still has Publisher 2000, and it also worked like a charm.
Something amiss with Publisher 2003 mail merge.

Yes, use a mail merge for this task.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

I just used the print preview, but will try to actually print a page. Am I
correct that I need a "mail merge" onto the labels and not a "catalog merge"?


Did you actually do a test print or did you just look at Print Preview? PP
has a glitch in that it will only show you one name. Try printing a page on
plain paper or using a .pdf driver and see what you get.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



Using Windows XP-Pro and Office 2003.

I have a very simple data table in Excel of "first name" and "last name"
that I want to merge onto labels in Publisher. I seem to end up with an
entire page of labels for each line of data in the Excel file rather than
the 8 labels on the Publisher page each having the information from a
separate line of data out of Excel.

For example, I get all 8 labels on page one reading "John Doe" and all 8
labels on page 2 reading "Susie Smith" instead of the first label on page
one reading "John Doe" and the second label on page one reading "Susie
Smith."

What am I missing????

 

[BK]

Considering I performed the merge exactly the same way on the Publisher 2000
machine and the Publisher 2003 machine, I cannot imagine how I might have
screwed up the 2003 merge, but I suppose anything is possible. Here is what
I do on the 2003 machine:

Open Publisher (blank 8 1/2 by 11 sheet)
Tools | Mail and Catalog Merge | Mail and Catalog Merge Wizard
Select a merge type | Mail Merge
Select data source | Use an existing list | Browse (select my Excel data
sheet)
Create your publication | File | Page Set up | Layout of "Label" and I pick
the one I want
Create your publication and I insert my merge fields
Preview your publication and individual information is displayed
Complete the merge
Create new publication

The resulting publication is a series of pages and each label on each page
is identical. If I had 8 names to merge onto the labels, I get 8 pages.
All 8 labels on page 1 have "John Doe" and all 8 labels on page 2 have
"Susie Smith." The result I desire and the one I get on both Publisher 2000
and Word is one page of 8 labels and a different name on each label.

By the way, I've tried using different label layouts, and I've also tried
setting the page to label layout before beginning the merge process. Same
result.

I'm open to whatever explanation you can give.

There is nothing amiss in Publisher's merge. If it worked in 2000 then it
will work in 2003. Are you certain you only had one label on your screen?

--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/
http://msauer.mvps.org/
news://msnews.microsoft.com

JoAnn

Well, it wasn't just messed up on print preview. The labels I merged in
Publisher did, in fact, also print out as an entire page of each
individual name from my Excel data table.

I ended up performing the merge to labels in Word, and it worked like a
charm. Just makes me curious as to what is wrong with the Publisher 2003
merge???

Just to add to the confusion, I tried the merge on another machine on our
network that still has Publisher 2000, and it also worked like a charm.
Something amiss with Publisher 2003 mail merge.

Yes, use a mail merge for this task.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



I just used the print preview, but will try to actually print a page.
Am I correct that I need a "mail merge" onto the labels and not a
"catalog merge"?


Did you actually do a test print or did you just look at Print
Preview? PP has a glitch in that it will only show you one name. Try
printing a page on plain paper or using a .pdf driver and see what you
get.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



Using Windows XP-Pro and Office 2003.

I have a very simple data table in Excel of "first name" and "last
name" that I want to merge onto labels in Publisher. I seem to end
up with an entire page of labels for each line of data in the Excel
file rather than the 8 labels on the Publisher page each having the
information from a separate line of data out of Excel.

For example, I get all 8 labels on page one reading "John Doe" and
all 8 labels on page 2 reading "Susie Smith" instead of the first
label on page one reading "John Doe" and the second label on page one
reading "Susie Smith."

What am I missing????

 

[drc023]

I'm glad that you did describe the procedure you went through and it fully
explains why you got the results that you did. Mail merge works with one and
only one record per page, therefore by using a label template, this results
in the same info being propagated to each one of the labels. Mail merge was
easier to use in Pub2000 than in Pub2002 or Pub2003, but the rule is the
same - Only one record from the data source per page of output. The
resolution to the problem is simple. Create a single label and make the page
size the same size as the label, i.e. 2x3 4x5 1x3 etc... Then select 'Change
copies per sheet' on the page setup screen. Adjust the spacing so the labels
print in the proper position. That's all it takes to get mail merge to print
different records on the same output sheet.
--
Ron

Considering I performed the merge exactly the same way on the Publisher
2000 machine and the Publisher 2003 machine, I cannot imagine how I might
have screwed up the 2003 merge, but I suppose anything is possible. Here
is what I do on the 2003 machine:

Open Publisher (blank 8 1/2 by 11 sheet)
Tools | Mail and Catalog Merge | Mail and Catalog Merge Wizard
Select a merge type | Mail Merge
Select data source | Use an existing list | Browse (select my Excel data
sheet)
Create your publication | File | Page Set up | Layout of "Label" and I
pick the one I want
Create your publication and I insert my merge fields
Preview your publication and individual information is displayed
Complete the merge
Create new publication

The resulting publication is a series of pages and each label on each page
is identical. If I had 8 names to merge onto the labels, I get 8 pages.
All 8 labels on page 1 have "John Doe" and all 8 labels on page 2 have
"Susie Smith." The result I desire and the one I get on both Publisher
2000 and Word is one page of 8 labels and a different name on each label.

By the way, I've tried using different label layouts, and I've also tried
setting the page to label layout before beginning the merge process. Same
result.

I'm open to whatever explanation you can give.

There is nothing amiss in Publisher's merge. If it worked in 2000 then it
will work in 2003. Are you certain you only had one label on your screen?

--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/
http://msauer.mvps.org/
news://msnews.microsoft.com

JoAnn

Well, it wasn't just messed up on print preview. The labels I merged in
Publisher did, in fact, also print out as an entire page of each
individual name from my Excel data table.

I ended up performing the merge to labels in Word, and it worked like a
charm. Just makes me curious as to what is wrong with the Publisher 2003
merge???

Just to add to the confusion, I tried the merge on another machine on
our network that still has Publisher 2000, and it also worked like a
charm. Something amiss with Publisher 2003 mail merge.

Yes, use a mail merge for this task.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



I just used the print preview, but will try to actually print a page.
Am I correct that I need a "mail merge" onto the labels and not a
"catalog merge"?


Did you actually do a test print or did you just look at Print
Preview? PP has a glitch in that it will only show you one name. Try
printing a page on plain paper or using a .pdf driver and see what
you get.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



Using Windows XP-Pro and Office 2003.

I have a very simple data table in Excel of "first name" and "last
name" that I want to merge onto labels in Publisher. I seem to end
up with an entire page of labels for each line of data in the Excel
file rather than the 8 labels on the Publisher page each having the
information from a separate line of data out of Excel.

For example, I get all 8 labels on page one reading "John Doe" and
all 8 labels on page 2 reading "Susie Smith" instead of the first
label on page one reading "John Doe" and the second label on page
one reading "Susie Smith."

What am I missing????

 

[BK]

Thank you for the explanation as to why I was getting the unexpected results
when I performed the merge in Publisher 2003. It certainly didn't work like
that in Publisher 2000. Wonder why the "upgrade" to 2003 totally changed
the merge function.

Actually, maybe I'll just continue to use Word. Works great in Word.

I'm glad that you did describe the procedure you went through and it fully
explains why you got the results that you did. Mail merge works with one
and only one record per page, therefore by using a label template, this
results in the same info being propagated to each one of the labels. Mail
merge was easier to use in Pub2000 than in Pub2002 or Pub2003, but the
rule is the same - Only one record from the data source per page of
output. The resolution to the problem is simple. Create a single label and
make the page size the same size as the label, i.e. 2x3 4x5 1x3 etc...
Then select 'Change copies per sheet' on the page setup screen. Adjust the
spacing so the labels print in the proper position. That's all it takes to
get mail merge to print different records on the same output sheet.
--
Ron

Considering I performed the merge exactly the same way on the Publisher
2000 machine and the Publisher 2003 machine, I cannot imagine how I might
have screwed up the 2003 merge, but I suppose anything is possible. Here
is what I do on the 2003 machine:

Open Publisher (blank 8 1/2 by 11 sheet)
Tools | Mail and Catalog Merge | Mail and Catalog Merge Wizard
Select a merge type | Mail Merge
Select data source | Use an existing list | Browse (select my Excel data
sheet)
Create your publication | File | Page Set up | Layout of "Label" and I
pick the one I want
Create your publication and I insert my merge fields
Preview your publication and individual information is displayed
Complete the merge
Create new publication

The resulting publication is a series of pages and each label on each
page is identical. If I had 8 names to merge onto the labels, I get 8
pages. All 8 labels on page 1 have "John Doe" and all 8 labels on page 2
have "Susie Smith." The result I desire and the one I get on both
Publisher 2000 and Word is one page of 8 labels and a different name on
each label.

By the way, I've tried using different label layouts, and I've also tried
setting the page to label layout before beginning the merge process.
Same result.

I'm open to whatever explanation you can give.

There is nothing amiss in Publisher's merge. If it worked in 2000 then
it will work in 2003. Are you certain you only had one label on your
screen?

--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/
http://msauer.mvps.org/
news://msnews.microsoft.com

JoAnn

Well, it wasn't just messed up on print preview. The labels I merged
in Publisher did, in fact, also print out as an entire page of each
individual name from my Excel data table.

I ended up performing the merge to labels in Word, and it worked like a
charm. Just makes me curious as to what is wrong with the Publisher
2003 merge???

Just to add to the confusion, I tried the merge on another machine on
our network that still has Publisher 2000, and it also worked like a
charm. Something amiss with Publisher 2003 mail merge.

Yes, use a mail merge for this task.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



I just used the print preview, but will try to actually print a page.
Am I correct that I need a "mail merge" onto the labels and not a
"catalog merge"?


Did you actually do a test print or did you just look at Print
Preview? PP has a glitch in that it will only show you one name. Try
printing a page on plain paper or using a .pdf driver and see what
you get.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



Using Windows XP-Pro and Office 2003.

I have a very simple data table in Excel of "first name" and "last
name" that I want to merge onto labels in Publisher. I seem to
end up with an entire page of labels for each line of data in the
Excel file rather than the 8 labels on the Publisher page each
having the information from a separate line of data out of Excel.

For example, I get all 8 labels on page one reading "John Doe" and
all 8 labels on page 2 reading "Susie Smith" instead of the first
label on page one reading "John Doe" and the second label on page
one reading "Susie Smith."

What am I missing????

 

[BK]

I hate to tell you this, but I just tried your solution and got the same
stupid result as the first time I tried this!!!! I created a custom size
sheet by using File | Page Setup | Custom size. I set the width and height
to the label size, completed the merge up to the point where it says "create
new publication." That's where I "change copies per sheet" and adjusted the
margins and the horizontal gap and the vertical gap. When I viewed the
labels, I still had a whole page of the same label!!!!

At this point, I'm wondering why they call 2003 an "upgrade" and wondering
why I ever tried to accomplish this task in Publisher instead of Word in the
first place.

Thanks for your attention to this issue, but it doesn't seem to have done
the trick.

I'm glad that you did describe the procedure you went through and it fully
explains why you got the results that you did. Mail merge works with one
and only one record per page, therefore by using a label template, this
results in the same info being propagated to each one of the labels. Mail
merge was easier to use in Pub2000 than in Pub2002 or Pub2003, but the
rule is the same - Only one record from the data source per page of
output. The resolution to the problem is simple. Create a single label and
make the page size the same size as the label, i.e. 2x3 4x5 1x3 etc...
Then select 'Change copies per sheet' on the page setup screen. Adjust the
spacing so the labels print in the proper position. That's all it takes to
get mail merge to print different records on the same output sheet.
--
Ron

Considering I performed the merge exactly the same way on the Publisher
2000 machine and the Publisher 2003 machine, I cannot imagine how I might
have screwed up the 2003 merge, but I suppose anything is possible. Here
is what I do on the 2003 machine:

Open Publisher (blank 8 1/2 by 11 sheet)
Tools | Mail and Catalog Merge | Mail and Catalog Merge Wizard
Select a merge type | Mail Merge
Select data source | Use an existing list | Browse (select my Excel data
sheet)
Create your publication | File | Page Set up | Layout of "Label" and I
pick the one I want
Create your publication and I insert my merge fields
Preview your publication and individual information is displayed
Complete the merge
Create new publication

The resulting publication is a series of pages and each label on each
page is identical. If I had 8 names to merge onto the labels, I get 8
pages. All 8 labels on page 1 have "John Doe" and all 8 labels on page 2
have "Susie Smith." The result I desire and the one I get on both
Publisher 2000 and Word is one page of 8 labels and a different name on
each label.

By the way, I've tried using different label layouts, and I've also tried
setting the page to label layout before beginning the merge process.
Same result.

I'm open to whatever explanation you can give.

There is nothing amiss in Publisher's merge. If it worked in 2000 then
it will work in 2003. Are you certain you only had one label on your
screen?

--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/
http://msauer.mvps.org/
news://msnews.microsoft.com

JoAnn

Well, it wasn't just messed up on print preview. The labels I merged
in Publisher did, in fact, also print out as an entire page of each
individual name from my Excel data table.

I ended up performing the merge to labels in Word, and it worked like a
charm. Just makes me curious as to what is wrong with the Publisher
2003 merge???

Just to add to the confusion, I tried the merge on another machine on
our network that still has Publisher 2000, and it also worked like a
charm. Something amiss with Publisher 2003 mail merge.

Yes, use a mail merge for this task.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



I just used the print preview, but will try to actually print a page.
Am I correct that I need a "mail merge" onto the labels and not a
"catalog merge"?


Did you actually do a test print or did you just look at Print
Preview? PP has a glitch in that it will only show you one name. Try
printing a page on plain paper or using a .pdf driver and see what
you get.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



Using Windows XP-Pro and Office 2003.

I have a very simple data table in Excel of "first name" and "last
name" that I want to merge onto labels in Publisher. I seem to
end up with an entire page of labels for each line of data in the
Excel file rather than the 8 labels on the Publisher page each
having the information from a separate line of data out of Excel.

For example, I get all 8 labels on page one reading "John Doe" and
all 8 labels on page 2 reading "Susie Smith" instead of the first
label on page one reading "John Doe" and the second label on page
one reading "Susie Smith."

What am I missing????

 

[drc023]

Two things. First, mail merge with Pub2000 requires the setup I described to
you. There isn't any way that you can have multiple records (lines) from an
Excel file on the same sheet. Pub2000 is the same as Pub 2003 in that
regard. Second, when you did the preview of the output you saw the same
record instead of the expected output of multiple records on the same sheet.
This is a known bug in Pub2003 where the preview gives incorrect results.
The actual printed output will be correct.
--
Ron

I hate to tell you this, but I just tried your solution and got the same
stupid result as the first time I tried this!!!! I created a custom size
sheet by using File | Page Setup | Custom size. I set the width and height
to the label size, completed the merge up to the point where it says
"create new publication." That's where I "change copies per sheet" and
adjusted the margins and the horizontal gap and the vertical gap. When I
viewed the labels, I still had a whole page of the same label!!!!

At this point, I'm wondering why they call 2003 an "upgrade" and wondering
why I ever tried to accomplish this task in Publisher instead of Word in
the first place.

Thanks for your attention to this issue, but it doesn't seem to have done
the trick.

I'm glad that you did describe the procedure you went through and it
fully explains why you got the results that you did. Mail merge works
with one and only one record per page, therefore by using a label
template, this results in the same info being propagated to each one of
the labels. Mail merge was easier to use in Pub2000 than in Pub2002 or
Pub2003, but the rule is the same - Only one record from the data source
per page of output. The resolution to the problem is simple. Create a
single label and make the page size the same size as the label, i.e. 2x3
4x5 1x3 etc... Then select 'Change copies per sheet' on the page setup
screen. Adjust the spacing so the labels print in the proper position.
That's all it takes to get mail merge to print different records on the
same output sheet.
--
Ron

Considering I performed the merge exactly the same way on the Publisher
2000 machine and the Publisher 2003 machine, I cannot imagine how I
might have screwed up the 2003 merge, but I suppose anything is
possible. Here is what I do on the 2003 machine:

Open Publisher (blank 8 1/2 by 11 sheet)
Tools | Mail and Catalog Merge | Mail and Catalog Merge Wizard
Select a merge type | Mail Merge
Select data source | Use an existing list | Browse (select my Excel data
sheet)
Create your publication | File | Page Set up | Layout of "Label" and I
pick the one I want
Create your publication and I insert my merge fields
Preview your publication and individual information is displayed
Complete the merge
Create new publication

The resulting publication is a series of pages and each label on each
page is identical. If I had 8 names to merge onto the labels, I get 8
pages. All 8 labels on page 1 have "John Doe" and all 8 labels on page 2
have "Susie Smith." The result I desire and the one I get on both
Publisher 2000 and Word is one page of 8 labels and a different name on
each label.

By the way, I've tried using different label layouts, and I've also
tried setting the page to label layout before beginning the merge
process. Same result.

I'm open to whatever explanation you can give.



There is nothing amiss in Publisher's merge. If it worked in 2000 then
it will work in 2003. Are you certain you only had one label on your
screen?

--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/
http://msauer.mvps.org/
news://msnews.microsoft.com

JoAnn

Well, it wasn't just messed up on print preview. The labels I merged
in Publisher did, in fact, also print out as an entire page of each
individual name from my Excel data table.

I ended up performing the merge to labels in Word, and it worked like
a charm. Just makes me curious as to what is wrong with the Publisher
2003 merge???

Just to add to the confusion, I tried the merge on another machine on
our network that still has Publisher 2000, and it also worked like a
charm. Something amiss with Publisher 2003 mail merge.

Yes, use a mail merge for this task.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



I just used the print preview, but will try to actually print a page.
Am I correct that I need a "mail merge" onto the labels and not a
"catalog merge"?


Did you actually do a test print or did you just look at Print
Preview? PP has a glitch in that it will only show you one name.
Try printing a page on plain paper or using a .pdf driver and see
what you get.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



Using Windows XP-Pro and Office 2003.

I have a very simple data table in Excel of "first name" and "last
name" that I want to merge onto labels in Publisher. I seem to
end up with an entire page of labels for each line of data in the
Excel file rather than the 8 labels on the Publisher page each
having the information from a separate line of data out of Excel.

For example, I get all 8 labels on page one reading "John Doe" and
all 8 labels on page 2 reading "Susie Smith" instead of the first
label on page one reading "John Doe" and the second label on page
one reading "Susie Smith."

What am I missing????

 

[Ed Bennett]

Create your publication and I insert my merge fields
Preview your publication and individual information is displayed
Complete the merge
Create new publication

You have to use Print Merge. Otherwise, Publisher will treat the setup as
it would any multi-page label document, printing multiple copies of each
label per sheet, not multiple different labels per sheet.

 

[BK]

So there is no way to preview before printing??

You have to use Print Merge. Otherwise, Publisher will treat the setup as
it would any multi-page label document, printing multiple copies of each
label per sheet, not multiple different labels per sheet.

 

[BK]

When I work on Publisher 2000, my first step is File | Page Setup | Labels
and I pick my label from the list available. One label appears as my blank
document and I proceed with the Mail Merge pull down menu that has me open
the data source and insert the merge fields. The result is what I expect.

If I understand you correctly, you are telling me that in Publisher 2003 I
cannot select Labels but I must select "custom size" and set the height and
width to the specific label size then set the vertical gap and the
horizontal gap and all the margins and then change the print options to
"multiple per page" before I can perform the merge.

Tell me how this is an "upgrade"?????

Two things. First, mail merge with Pub2000 requires the setup I described
to you. There isn't any way that you can have multiple records (lines)
from an Excel file on the same sheet. Pub2000 is the same as Pub 2003 in
that regard. Second, when you did the preview of the output you saw the
same record instead of the expected output of multiple records on the same
sheet. This is a known bug in Pub2003 where the preview gives incorrect
results. The actual printed output will be correct.
--
Ron

I hate to tell you this, but I just tried your solution and got the same
stupid result as the first time I tried this!!!! I created a custom size
sheet by using File | Page Setup | Custom size. I set the width and
height to the label size, completed the merge up to the point where it
says "create new publication." That's where I "change copies per sheet"
and adjusted the margins and the horizontal gap and the vertical gap.
When I viewed the labels, I still had a whole page of the same label!!!!

At this point, I'm wondering why they call 2003 an "upgrade" and
wondering why I ever tried to accomplish this task in Publisher instead
of Word in the first place.

Thanks for your attention to this issue, but it doesn't seem to have done
the trick.

I'm glad that you did describe the procedure you went through and it
fully explains why you got the results that you did. Mail merge works
with one and only one record per page, therefore by using a label
template, this results in the same info being propagated to each one of
the labels. Mail merge was easier to use in Pub2000 than in Pub2002 or
Pub2003, but the rule is the same - Only one record from the data source
per page of output. The resolution to the problem is simple. Create a
single label and make the page size the same size as the label, i.e. 2x3
4x5 1x3 etc... Then select 'Change copies per sheet' on the page setup
screen. Adjust the spacing so the labels print in the proper position.
That's all it takes to get mail merge to print different records on the
same output sheet.
--
Ron

Considering I performed the merge exactly the same way on the Publisher
2000 machine and the Publisher 2003 machine, I cannot imagine how I
might have screwed up the 2003 merge, but I suppose anything is
possible. Here is what I do on the 2003 machine:

Open Publisher (blank 8 1/2 by 11 sheet)
Tools | Mail and Catalog Merge | Mail and Catalog Merge Wizard
Select a merge type | Mail Merge
Select data source | Use an existing list | Browse (select my Excel
data sheet)
Create your publication | File | Page Set up | Layout of "Label" and I
pick the one I want
Create your publication and I insert my merge fields
Preview your publication and individual information is displayed
Complete the merge
Create new publication

The resulting publication is a series of pages and each label on each
page is identical. If I had 8 names to merge onto the labels, I get 8
pages. All 8 labels on page 1 have "John Doe" and all 8 labels on page
2 have "Susie Smith." The result I desire and the one I get on both
Publisher 2000 and Word is one page of 8 labels and a different name on
each label.

By the way, I've tried using different label layouts, and I've also
tried setting the page to label layout before beginning the merge
process. Same result.

I'm open to whatever explanation you can give.



There is nothing amiss in Publisher's merge. If it worked in 2000 then
it will work in 2003. Are you certain you only had one label on your
screen?

--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/
http://msauer.mvps.org/
news://msnews.microsoft.com

JoAnn

Well, it wasn't just messed up on print preview. The labels I merged
in Publisher did, in fact, also print out as an entire page of each
individual name from my Excel data table.

I ended up performing the merge to labels in Word, and it worked like
a charm. Just makes me curious as to what is wrong with the Publisher
2003 merge???

Just to add to the confusion, I tried the merge on another machine on
our network that still has Publisher 2000, and it also worked like a
charm. Something amiss with Publisher 2003 mail merge.

Yes, use a mail merge for this task.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



I just used the print preview, but will try to actually print a
page. Am I correct that I need a "mail merge" onto the labels and
not a "catalog merge"?


Did you actually do a test print or did you just look at Print
Preview? PP has a glitch in that it will only show you one name.
Try printing a page on plain paper or using a .pdf driver and see
what you get.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]



Using Windows XP-Pro and Office 2003.

I have a very simple data table in Excel of "first name" and
"last name" that I want to merge onto labels in Publisher. I
seem to end up with an entire page of labels for each line of
data in the Excel file rather than the 8 labels on the Publisher
page each having the information from a separate line of data out
of Excel.

For example, I get all 8 labels on page one reading "John Doe"
and all 8 labels on page 2 reading "Susie Smith" instead of the
first label on page one reading "John Doe" and the second label
on page one reading "Susie Smith."

What am I missing????

 

[Ed Bennett]

So there is no way to preview before printing??

Preview before you merge? Execute the merge twice, once to get a preview
and once to do a Print Merge?