Word 2003 Mail Merge stops responding with "Word was unable to open the data source" error message when you use an Access parameter query in Access 2003 (833736)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office Access 2003
  • Microsoft Office Word 2003
This article applies only to a Microsoft Access database (.mdb).

Novice: Requires knowledge of the user interface on single-user computers.

For a Microsoft Access 2002 version of this article, see 833064.

SYMPTOMS

You may try to merge the data from a Microsoft Office Access 2003 parameter query into a Microsoft Office Word 2003 Mail Merge document by using Microsoft Word Mail Merge Wizard. When you do this, you may receive the following error message:
Word was unable to open the data source.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, you can start the Word 2003 Mail Merge process from the Word 2003 environment instead of from the Access 2003 environment. To create a Word 2003 Mail Merge document, you may use one of the following methods:

Method 1: Use the parameter query as the data source

You can create a Word 2003 Mail Merge document by using an Access 2003 parameter query in the Word 2003 environment. You can use the parameter query as the data source of the Word 2003 Mail Merge process. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Create a Word 2003 document or open a Word 2003 document.
  2. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the General tab.
  3. Click to select the Confirm conversion at Open check box, and then click OK.
  4. On the Tools menu, point to Letters and Mailings, and then click Mail Merge.
  5. In the right pane, click the document type that you want to create in the Select document type list box, and then click Next: Starting document.
  6. In the Select starting document list box, click the document that you want to use.

    Note For any option other than Use the current document, you must select the appropriate template or the appropriate existing document before you continue.
  7. Click Next: Select recipients.
  8. In the Select recipients list box, click Use an existing list, and then click Browse.
  9. Locate the Access 2003 database that contains the parameter query that you want to use as your data source. Open this Access 2003 database.
  10. In the Confirm Data Source dialog box, click MS Access Databases via DDE (*.mdb;*.mde), and then click OK.
  11. In the Microsoft Access dialog box, click the parameter query on the Queries tab that you want to use as the data source, and then click OK.

    The Enter Parameter Value dialog box appears.

    Note If the Enter Parameter Value dialog box does not appear, press ALT+TAB one time. If Word 2003 does not respond, press ALT+TAB one time.
  12. In the Enter Parameter Value dialog box, enter the parameter value that you want to use, and then click OK.
  13. In the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box, click OK.

    Note If the Mail Merge Recipients dialog box does not appear, press ALT+TAB one time.
  14. Complete the Word 2003 Mail Merge process.

Method 2: Export the parameter query and then use the exported document as the data source

You can also work around this problem by exporting the parameter query to a file and then use the file as the data source in Word 2003 Mail Merge. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Open an Access 2003 database with the parameter query that you want to use.
  2. In the Database window, click Queries in the Objects section.
  3. In the right pane, click the parameter query that you want to use.
  4. On the File menu, click Export.
  5. In the Save as type combo box, click Microsoft Word Merge (*.txt).
  6. In the File name box, type a name for the Word 2003 Mail Merge document, and then click Export.
  7. In the Enter Parameter Value dialog box, enter the parameter value that you want to use, and then click OK.
  8. In a Word 2003 document, include this file as the data source for the recipients.

MORE INFORMATION

Steps to Reproduce the Problem

  1. Start Access 2003.
  2. Open the Northwind.mdb sample database.
  3. In the Database window, click Queries in the Objects section.
  4. In the right pane, click the Invoices Filter query.
  5. On the Tools menu, point to Office Links, and then click Merge It with Microsoft Word.
  6. In the Microsoft Word Mail Merge Wizard dialog box, click Create a new document and then link the data to it, and then click OK.
  7. In the Confirm Data Source dialog box, click MS Access Database via DDE (*.mdb;*.mde) in the Open data source list box, and then click OK.

    When you view the Database window in Access 2003, you may receive the error message that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section.

REFERENCES

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

826838 Frequently asked questions about Mail Merge

813989 Multiple causes for the "Word could not re-establish a DDE connection" error message

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:6/4/2004
Keywords:kbstoprespond kbQuery kbmerge kberrmsg kbprb KB833736 kbAudDeveloper
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