The primary key column of mail merge data is visible in plain text when you save the document as an .htm, .xml, or .mhtml file in Word 2003 (822510)

SUMMARY

If you save a Word 2003 mail merge main document as XML, HTML, or MHTML, and the mail merge document is connected to a mail merge data source, the data from the Primary Key column will be visible if you open the saved copy of the mail merge main document in a text editor such as Notepad.

MORE INFORMATION

This behavior occurs that when Word 2003 opens the XML, HTML, or MHTML document, the visibility of each record in the mail merge is preserved and you do not have to reselect the records that you want to use from the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box.

The following choices can help you make sure that your mail merge data source and records are not accessed unintentionally:

Do not use identifying information as a primary key in a mail merge data source.

- or -
Do not save your mail merge main document in XML, HTML, or MHTM format.

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

825576 HOW TO: Minimize Metadata in Microsoft Word 2003