I am attempting to create a wine list from an Excel file (see attachment for example) which I need to look something like the Mini_Wine_list.pdf (attached also)



Macropod was kind enough to point me in the direction of a tutorial that he had written which has been very helpful (see: http://windowssecrets.com/forums/sho...merge-Tutorial)

However, I can't seem to quite get things right, I have tried many different permutations, some with a little success, some with none, but I am clearly totally missing something.

I started with wine1.doc (attached) which listed the glasses of Champagne, I could then get it to list the White Wines by glass, but not insert the headings or even look faintly reasonable.

I then went to wine2.doc (attached) which....well.....hmmm!

Finally after a very long time I tried it in a table, wine3Table.doc (attached), Slightly better but totally stuck on how to proceed.

I would be very grateful if someone could point me in the right direction.

Thanks

Attached Files

	Mini_Wine_list.pdf (7.9 KB, 10 views)
	wine.xls (31.5 KB, 12 views)
	wine1.doc (25.0 KB, 10 views)
	wine2.doc (25.5 KB, 9 views)
	wine3Table.doc (29.0 KB, 11 views)

Hi Rachel?/Simon?,

I'm not sure I should help someone who classifies Coorong Shiraz as a Rose ...

Your Excel workbook really isn't laid out in a format that is conducive to a mailmerge based on glass, half bottle and bottle groupings, as appears to be your aim.

With the current layout, having different groupings according to whether a wine is sold by the glass, half bottle or bottle, would require a filter based on the corresponding column. The Directory/Catalogue merge could then take care of arranging the records by wine type. Essentially, this means you'd need to do three separate merges to generate a full wine list.

To be able to do this all as a single mailmerge would require a separate line for each of the sale types for a given wine. Thus, you'd have two lines for the Billecart Salmon Brut - one for the bottle price and one for the glass price.

Conversely, if all you wanted to do is to classify the wines by type and have three separate columns for the glass, half bottle and bottle prices for each type, that could readily be done with your existing workbook, simply by using the 'Type' column for the key.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

!!! lol - Mis-type.

That said, I was going to correct it but I can't see where I've messed up

It has been suggested to me elsewhere that I may be better off using Access and using the reporting facility in that might that be a more effective route?

Thanks again

Simon

Hi Simon,

The Coorong Shiraz = Rose reference was in the Excel file you posted. It may not be the same in your 'real' file.

Access is great for maintaining this sort of data, and has good reporting capabilities too - though you can still use mailmerges with it.

Ultimately, though, it all comes down to a question of getting the data structures correct. Doing that in Excel is probably easier for someone who knows Excel but not Access - which means learning a whole new app and how to manage data in it.

Whilst not as flexible as Access for data management, Excel is still quite capable and, should you outgrow it, the data can be exported to Access easily enough.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]