WD97: Error Message in Print Preview with Excel DDE Data Source (178977)

SYMPTOMS

When you click Print Preview (on the File menu) within a Microsoft Word envelope mail merge main document using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet as your data source, you may receive the following error message:

This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down. If the problem persists, contact the program vendor.

When you click Details, you receive the following message:

WINWORD caused an invalid page fault in module WINWORD.EXE at <address>

When you click Close, Word will quit automatically.

CAUSE

This problem occurs when all of the following conditions are true:

You are creating a mail-merge envelope document.

-and-
You are using an Excel spreadsheet as your mail-merge data source, and you select "MS Excel Worksheets via DDE (*.xls)" as the data source.

-and-
You activate the View Merged Data icon on the Mail Merge toolbar.

-and-
You click Print Preview on the File menu.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use any of the following methods.

Method 1: Use a Connection Method to Excel Other Than DDE

When setting up the mail merge document, select a connection method to Excel other than DDE. To do this, follow these steps:

On the Tools menu, click Mail Merge.
Under Data Source, click Get Data, and then click Open Data Source.
Click to select the Select Method check box.
In the Confirm Data Source dialog box, click to select the Show All check box. In the Open Data Source list, select either "Microsoft Excel Worksheet via Converter (*.xls; *.xlw)" or "Microsoft Excel Files via ODBC (*.xls)."

Method 2: Attach an Envelope to a Form Letter Mail-Merge Main Document

When setting up the mail-merge document, add an envelope to a Word document and then select a Mail Merge Main Document type of Form Letters. To do this, follow these steps:

In a new document, on the Tools menu, click Envelopes And Labels.
Click Add to Document and then save the document.
On the Tools menu, click Mail Merge.
Under Create, select Form Letters and then click Active Window.

NOTE: This method may cause another error message. For additional information about this problem, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

171596 WD97: ErrMsg in Letter and Envelope Mail Merge w/ Excel DDE Data[word]

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about similar problems using Word and Excel, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

113705 Word Could Not Re-Establish DDE Connection to MS Excel

155179 WD: How to Use Microsoft Excel Data Source for Word Mail Merge