sort mail merge by merge record number

N

nathan

Hi.

I'm merging a Word 2002 document with an Access data-source. For some
reason, the order that the records appear in AFTER merging to a new
document is different to the order they appear in BEFORE merging to new
document, despite the fact that no sort options are set in "Query
Options" or anywhere else. The main document consists of a single page
letter, and when I try doing the same thing in Word 2000 or Word 2003,
the <merge record #> field on each page turns out to be the same as the
page number -- ie, merge record #1 is on the first page of the merged
document, merge record #2 is on the second, and so on. If I want to
print out records 5-10, I can simply print "s5-s10". But in Word 2002,
I'm getting record #399 on the second page, record #2 on page three,
etc. Printing "s5-s10" gives me a random-looking group of records, and
I can't even work out what algorithm it's using to sort the data
(although the records do contain address fields -- does Word try to
sort these automatically?).

Ideally, I'd just like the ability to sort the data by <merge record
#>, but the "Query Options" dialogue box doesn't offer that as an
option (it only offers the fields in the original database).

Obviously I could go back to the original database and add a new "sort
order" field -- one that replicates the sorting order generated by the
original query. But I'd be very appreciative if anyone knows a simpler
solution, or can explain what's happening.

Many thanks in advance,


Nathan.
 
C

Cindy Meister

Hi Nathan

I have to admit I'm at a bit of a loss, here. In more than 10 years, I've
never encountered anything like this, that I can recall. My instinctive
feeling is that you could be getting the records in the order they were
entered in the database? (The order they appear if you open the table
directly in Access and remove any "filtering" you may have set there.)

Are you merging to a table, or to a query?

Have you manually selected a connection method, or are you using the Word
2002 default? What menu command are you using to connect to the Access data?
Does the same problem crop up if you link a new Word 2002 document to the
same data source?

-- Cindy
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Top