Thanks for your reply Paul but I am using {MERGEFIELD Appt_date \@ "dddd d MMMM YYYY"} in the merge field. I understand that the format needs to be defined on the mail merge as well but this doesn't solve the problem. It shows it in the correct format but recognises the month and day the other way aroun ONLY if the day is before the 12th of the month!

So the Microsoft date picker says 03/07/2012 in UK format (3rd July). The linked cell on excel then dispays 03/07/2012 in UK format (I have also tried longer formats on both (3 Jul 2012 etc). The the merge field is set to {MERGEFIELD Appt_date \@ "dddd d MMMM YYYY"} but comes out as Tuesday 7 March 2012. The same if I use \@"dd/MM/YY" (7/3/2012). But if i select 13 July everything is correct in Excel and Mailmerge.

Weird. You help is much appriciated.

Thanks

Dan