We are using mail merge to create documents using fields from a database. We want to be able to show only a portion of the field (for example, the left three characters). For reasons beyond the scope of this discussion, we can't do this in the database, prior to sending the merge fields to Word.

Is it possible to use VBA to create the equivalent of a MID() function for word, so that I can use a reference something like {mid( mergefield, 1, 3) }?

I've never done anything with VBA, but according to what I've seen, it is mostly designed to be invoked by user actions, not by function calls in the text. Before I spend a lot of time trying to learn how to use VBA, I thought I would ask the experts if what I wanted to do was even possible.

If it isn't possible, can anyone think of another way to accomplish the goal (IE, in a merge field reference in word, somehow limit the resulting text to the first 3 characters)?

Thank you.