Article: Q97484
Product(s): Word 97 for Windows
Version(s): WINDOWS:97
Operating System(s):
Keyword(s): kbualink97 kbfield winword word97 kbmerge
Last Modified: 14-NOV-2000
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The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
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SYMPTOMS
========
A mail merge operation may yield incorrect results if you use a conditional
statement to evaluate alphanumeric data when the first character of the data is
numeric.
CAUSE
=====
This happens because conditional statements (IF fields) evaluate only the first
two characters of a numeric string.
WORKAROUND
==========
To work around this problem, modify the data so that each field begins with a
non-numeric character. Then, modify the conditional field in the main merge
document to match the data.
To do this, follow these steps:
1. In the data document, add a character to the beginning of each data field
that starts with a number. You can use any character, such as a parenthesis
(you can also add one to the end of the field, so that it's easier to read)
or an ampersand (&). This makes the first character in the number field a
character instead of a numeral.
Modified with parentheses:
---------------------------------
| Rec_Num |Name |Number |
---------------------------------
| 1 |John |(1AA) |
---------------------------------
| 2 |Bill |(1AB) |
---------------------------------
| 3 |Fred |(2AA) |
---------------------------------
| 4 |George |(ABC) |
---------------------------------
Modified with an ampersand:
---------------------------------
| Rec_Num |Name |Number |
---------------------------------
| 1 |John |&1AA |
---------------------------------
| 2 |Bill |&1AB |
---------------------------------
| 3 |Fred |&2AA |
---------------------------------
| 4 |George |&ABC |
---------------------------------
2. In the main document, edit the test portion of the conditional field so that
it matches the newly modified data. For example:
If the data is surrounded by parentheses, modify the field to look like this:
{IF {MERGEFIELD number} = "(1A)" "This is true"}
If the data begins with an ampersand, modify the field to look like this:
{IF {MERGEFIELD number} = "&1A" "This is true"}
MORE INFORMATION
================
For example, using the following sample data file, the following conditional
statement incorrectly yields a true result for the first and second records,
although only the second record satisfies the condition:
{IF {MERGEFIELD NUMBER} = "1AB" "This is true"}
NOTE: The IF field evaluated only the first two characters (1A) of the numeric
string.
Sample Data File
----------------
---------------------------------
| Rec_Num |Name |Number |
---------------------------------
| 1 |John |1AA |
---------------------------------
| 2 |Bill |1AB |
---------------------------------
| 3 |Fred |2AA |
---------------------------------
| 4 |George |ABC |
---------------------------------
Additional query words: numbers strings alphabetic
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Keywords : kbualink97 kbfield winword word97 kbmerge
Technology : kbWordSearch kbWord97 kbWord97Search kbZNotKeyword2
Version : WINDOWS:97
Issue type : kbprb
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