WD: Character Formatting in Data Source Not Retained After Merge (188789)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Word for Windows 6.0
- Microsoft Word for Windows 6.0a
- Microsoft Word for Windows 6.0c
- Microsoft Word for Windows NT 6.0
- Microsoft Word for the Macintosh 6.0
- Microsoft Word for the Macintosh 6.0.1
- Microsoft Word for the Macintosh 6.0.1a
- Microsoft Word for Windows 95
- Microsoft Word for Windows 95 7.0a
This article was previously published under Q188789 SYMPTOMS
Formatted characters in a mail merge data source, such as superscripted or
subscripted characters, will not retain their formatting after the data is
merged with the main document.
CAUSE
By design, Word allows you to format the merge fields in the mail merge
main document. Formatting that is applied to the data source is
overridden by formatting applied to the fields in the main document.
WORKAROUNDMethod 1: Change the Main Document Mergefield
Remove the word "MERGEFIELD" from the merge fields in the main document.
To do this, display field codes by pressing ALT+F9 (Windows) or OPTION+F9
(Macintosh). Delete the word "MERGEFIELD" from within the field code.
Ignore the "Error! Bookmark not defined" error message and perform the
merge.
Method 2: Use Equation Editor
To maintain superscript or subscript formatting, use the Equation Editor
to create the superscript or subscript characters in the data source.
Method 3: Use a REF Field
For the data field that contains special character formatting, insert a
REF field in your main document instead of a MERGEFIELD field. For
example, in place of the following MERGEFIELD field
insert the following REF field instead:
Word retains the data document formatting for the results of the REF
field, which preserves the special character formatting. The drawback to
this workaround is that the mail merge helper does not detect errors or
suppress blank lines for this field. If you use this workaround, you must
suppress blank lines and resolve any mail merge errors manually for the
REF field.
STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products
listed at the beginning of this article.
| Modification Type: | Minor | Last Reviewed: | 8/17/2005 |
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| Keywords: | kbbug kbmerge kbpending KB188789 |
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