protecting a merge document

[Parkateer]

I have a couple of generic letters that I send out. Recently other coworkers
have also been sending out the letters but they tend to mess up the document
by adding in extra spaces or hitting "enter" which adds extra lines. Is there
a way to lock (like in Excel) the text of the letter but still alow access to
the merge contents so my fellow coworkers can use the document and I do not
have to worry that they will ruin the letter? Thanks

 

[Cindy M -WordMVP-]

Hi =?Utf-8?B?UGFya2F0ZWVy?=,

I have a couple of generic letters that I send out. Recently other coworkers
have also been sending out the letters but they tend to mess up the document
by adding in extra spaces or hitting "enter" which adds extra lines. Is there
a way to lock (like in Excel) the text of the letter but still alow access to
the merge contents so my fellow coworkers can use the document and I do not
have to worry that they will ruin the letter?

Not really, no. Any document protection of that nature is not compatible with
mail merge.

I suggest saving the document as a template. Place it in the "Workgroup
templates" location on your network. Then everyone can use File/New to access
it. This will create a COPY of the template, as a normal Word document; the
template will always remain in its original state.

(The Workgroup Templates location can be found/set in Tools/Options/File
locations)

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 8 2004)
http://www.word.mvps.org

This reply is posted in the Newsgroup; please post any follow question or reply
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[Parkateer]

Ugh, thanks for your help.

Hi =?Utf-8?B?UGFya2F0ZWVy?=,

Not really, no. Any document protection of that nature is not compatible with
mail merge.

I suggest saving the document as a template. Place it in the "Workgroup
templates" location on your network. Then everyone can use File/New to access
it. This will create a COPY of the template, as a normal Word document; the
template will always remain in its original state.

(The Workgroup Templates location can be found/set in Tools/Options/File
locations)

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 8 2004)


This reply is posted in the Newsgroup; please post any follow question or reply
in the newsgroup and not by e-mail

 

[Charles Kenyon]

This is one, of many, reason to base new documents on templates rather than
on old documents. When a new document is created based on a template,
changes typed into the new document do not change the template.

For more on the different kinds of templates, tabs on the file new dialog,
and locations of templates folders see
http://addbalance.com/usersguide/templates.htm.
--

Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


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[DPurplRose]

Sorry to but in, but if I use a template, can I still use the mail merge with
it? We have a database of almost 200 records that we still use frequently.
We insert the record, and print the document. Will that work with a template
the same way?

 

[Charles Kenyon]

Mailmerge works fine with templates. Again, to use a template, create a new
document based on the template. The easiest way to do this is to use File >
New.

I routinely merge a single document to a single record. You can have the
merge template linked to the database. If you do that, the document created
from the template will also be linked.

I have actually unlinked my templates, saving them as normal rather than
merge templates. I have a macro that first changes them back to merge
templates, links the database, and brings up a search dialog so that I can
go right to my record. I display my merge files with data in them. Thus,
when the search is completed and the record found, the document shown on
screen is my completed merge.

I have another macro that locks the merge fields and changes the document
back to a regular document. That way when I reopen it, it will have the same
data.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.