WD97: Conditional Alphanumeric Merge May Yield Incorrect Results (97484)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
This article was previously published under Q97484

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     |
   ---------------------------------
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/14/2000
Keywords:kbfield kbmerge kbprb kbualink97 KB97484
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