PUB2000: How to Use Microsoft Outlook Contacts as a Mail-Merge Data Source (264856)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Publisher 2000

This article was previously published under Q264856

SUMMARY

This article describes how to use the Microsoft Outlook Contacts folder as a data source for a mail-merge publication in Microsoft Publisher 2000.

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft Publisher 2000 can use a variety of data sources to create a mail merge publication. One of the most popular methods to create a mail-merge publication is to use the addresses that are stored in the Contacts folder of Microsoft Outlook.

Publisher 2000 can detect if Outlook is your default e-mail program and use your personal information storage (.pst) files as the mail-merge data source.

If you are using Microsoft Outlook 97 with Service Pack 1 or later installed, Microsoft Outlook 98, or Microsoft Outlook 2000 in Corporate or Workgroup mode, Publisher 2000 uses ersonal Folder information from any .pst file that is located in your Outlook profile, or from the mailbox on your Microsoft Exchange Server (if one is being used).

NOTE: If you are using Outlook 97 without Service Pack 1, you can still create a mail-merge publication by using your Contacts list if the list is stored in a Personal Folder on your computer.

If more than one Personal Folder exists in the profile, Outlook displays the Contacts folder from each Personal Folder, and any other folders that you marked with the Show this folder as an e-mail Address Book option.

If you are using Outlook 98 or Outlook 2000 in Internet Mail Only mode, Outlook displays the Contacts folder and any other folder from the list of Personal Folders that is displayed in the Folder List.

Publisher cannot gain access to other .pst files on your computer if they are not displayed in your Folder List.

If you are using Microsoft Outlook Express as your default e-mail program you receive the following error message:
Either there is no default mail client or the current mail client cannot fulfill the messaging request. Please run Microsoft Outlook and set it as the default mail client.
When you click OK, you receive the following error message:
Publisher cannot merge information from Outlook. The problem may be related to your network connections or to your Microsoft Outlook installation.
Setting Outlook as the default e-mail service resolves these issues if Outlook is installed on your computer.

For additional information about how to use Outlook Express as a mail-merge data source, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

264899 Pub2000: How to Mail Merge Using Microsoft Outlook Express

How to Use Outlook as a Mail-Merge Data Source in Publisher 2000

To use Outlook as a mail-merge data source in Publisher 2000:
  1. Start Publisher 2000, and then open a publication.
  2. Create a text frame in which you want to enter the address information.
  3. On the Mail Merge menu, click Open Data Source.
  4. Click Merge from an Outlook contact list.
  5. Select the address book from the list, and then click OK.
  6. Insert the merge fields into your publication, and then click Close.
  7. On the Mail Merge menu, click Merge.
  8. In the Preview Data dialog box, scroll through the merged data to verify that it appears correctly in the target publication.
  9. To apply filters to select a subset of the chosen addresses, click Filter or Sort on the Mail Merge menu.
  10. To print the merged data, click Print Merge on the File menu.

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:7/8/2000
Keywords:kbhowto kbmerge KB264856