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#1
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How to always link source data (.xlsx) to same directory as Mailmergefile?
Hi,
I made a Mailmerge that will be used by different colleagues, which means it will get moved around a lot between folders and users. This often means that the data source can no longer be found and has to be re-added manually. I was wondering if it might be possible to hard code the data source in the Wordfile itself so it always refers to the same directory the Mailmerge is in (e.g. by changing the extension to a .zip and altering the relevant references in settings.xml and settings.xml.rels)? Cheers, Paul |
#2
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Moving the mailmerge main document around isn't the problem; it's moving the data source around that's the problem. If you keep the data source in a fixed folder to which all users have access, there shouldn't be any issues with the mailmerge main document finding it. That said, the mailmerge main document should also be kept in a folder all users have access to, instead of moving it around; otherwise there's a risk that different users will end up using different versions of the mailmerge main document for their merges.
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Cheers, Paul Edstein [Fmr MS MVP - Word] |
#3
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You are, of course, entirely right. The only thing is that I am making a template that will be used by different people by different purposes. I would like them to be able to move the mailmergedocument and Excel source data to different folders without them having to reselect (remerge) the source file.
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#4
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That isn't going to happen. How would Word ever know where it should look for the data source?
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Cheers, Paul Edstein [Fmr MS MVP - Word] |
#5
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I realize that, Paul That's why my initial question was whether it might be possible to hard code the data source (which always has the same name) in the Mailmerge Word file itself so that it always looks for this datasource in the same directory the Mailmerge Wordfile is opened from? I really appreciate the help!
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#6
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With a mailmerge main document, that is not possible.
A macro could be used in a mailmerge main document that has been converted back to an ordinary document (thus preserving the megefields), but that would also mean having to recreate, in the macro code, the merge type, any sheet/range references, filters etc. used for the merge. Plus you wouldn't be able to change any of the: workbook name; merge sheet name; or any relevant merge range names, without updating the macro as well. Otherwise the whole process would collapse. Unless the person responsible for managing all this is a competent coder, it would be well-nigh impossible to maintain. Imagine what's going to happen when users - being users - decide to get creative and have different workbook, sheet, etc. names to reflect their area's preferences and everything is in code...
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Cheers, Paul Edstein [Fmr MS MVP - Word] |
#7
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Many thanks. I can see how that will go downhill really fast. I guess I'll just have to write a really clear guide!
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