Microsoft Office Forums

Go Back   Microsoft Office Forums > >

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 03-28-2014, 07:10 AM
MDBeets MDBeets is offline MS Word and Excel Data Link Windows 7 64bit MS Word and Excel Data Link Office 2010 64bit
Novice
MS Word and Excel Data Link
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 3
MDBeets is on a distinguished road
Question MS Word and Excel Data Link


In my job I prepare bid packets which contain multiple documents (12-18 different word documents) which must be filled in with the same data. I was tired of opening each document, filling in each blank with the correct information and ensuring I have the correct information in each document. I created a master folder which contained all these documents and a single excel spreadsheet I titled "Bid Information". I then copied links from the excel into each word document where information is changed so i update the excel sheet and the link fills in the blanks on all sheets. My thought was I would copy the master document folder into a new project folder and change the information on the new excel sheet. Here is my problem; my word document still references back to the original (master) excel sheet and not the copied excel file in the new project folder. Is their a way to make these documents tie to the new copy rather than the original? Thanks for your help!
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 03-28-2014, 04:53 PM
macropod's Avatar
macropod macropod is offline MS Word and Excel Data Link Windows 7 32bit MS Word and Excel Data Link Office 2010 32bit
Administrator
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Canberra, Australia
Posts: 21,956
macropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond repute
Default

You can do that by right-clicking on the linked object, then choosing Linked Worksheet Object>Links>Change source.
__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 03-28-2014, 06:23 PM
Charles Kenyon Charles Kenyon is offline MS Word and Excel Data Link Windows 7 64bit MS Word and Excel Data Link Office 2010 32bit
Moderator
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
Posts: 9,083
Charles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant future
Default

Why are you using links like this rather than mail merge?
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 03-28-2014, 07:23 PM
macropod's Avatar
macropod macropod is offline MS Word and Excel Data Link Windows 7 32bit MS Word and Excel Data Link Office 2010 32bit
Administrator
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Canberra, Australia
Posts: 21,956
macropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond repute
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles Kenyon View Post
Why are you using links like this rather than mail merge?
Perhaps because there's a separate workbook for each bid and mailmerges only work with a single data source.

Although a mailmerge could be used to output a single record, you'd still have to change the data source for each workbook and, compared to links, the resulting Word documents are static. Consequently, you'd have to work with the mailmerge preview until the editing's finished; otherwise you'd be unable to auto-update the document to reflect ongoing changes in the Excel data.
__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 03-29-2014, 07:09 AM
Charles Kenyon Charles Kenyon is offline MS Word and Excel Data Link Windows 7 64bit MS Word and Excel Data Link Office 2010 32bit
Moderator
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
Posts: 9,083
Charles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant future
Default

I would have each bid be a separate record (row) in a single Excel sheet. I guess different strokes.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 03-31-2014, 10:08 AM
MDBeets MDBeets is offline MS Word and Excel Data Link Windows 7 64bit MS Word and Excel Data Link Office 2010 64bit
Novice
MS Word and Excel Data Link
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 3
MDBeets is on a distinguished road
Default Explanation to my problem.

Every year I deal with 15-20 separate bid packets from several departments. I have set up my files so I can simply copy a "Master Folder" into a new project folder and have all the documentation and legal mumbo-jumbo needed for each bid packet included. This eliminates the chance I will miss something when starting up a new project.

I am looking for a simple way to update similar data in all the documents within my project folder (i.e. bid opening date, project name, contact information, etc.). By linking these fields to a "project information sheet" I will reduce the hours of sifting through each document to update the information and eliminating any input errors.

I know my file structure sounds weird, but I have several funding sources along with different bid I think this will work well for my situation. If I can only make it read the project information sheet in the project folder and not the original stored in my master folder.

Thanks for your help and input, I always welcome new fresh ideas to my mayhem.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 03-31-2014, 01:11 PM
MDBeets MDBeets is offline MS Word and Excel Data Link Windows 7 64bit MS Word and Excel Data Link Office 2010 64bit
Novice
MS Word and Excel Data Link
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 3
MDBeets is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by macropod View Post
You can do that by right-clicking on the linked object, then choosing Linked Worksheet Object>Links>Change source.
The problem I see with this is I will have to update each link in each document every time I copy the master folder to a new project folder. It's like I am fighting a absolute reference point when I need it to be a relative reference point.

each time I copy the master to a new folder, I need the word worksheets to look at the new excel worksheet which was copied at the same time within the original master folder.

Does this make sense?
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 03-31-2014, 02:23 PM
macropod's Avatar
macropod macropod is offline MS Word and Excel Data Link Windows 7 32bit MS Word and Excel Data Link Office 2010 32bit
Administrator
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Canberra, Australia
Posts: 21,956
macropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond repute
Default

To see how to implement relative paths for LINK fields in Word, check out the macro solution I've posted at:
http://windowssecrets.com/forums/sho...External-Files
__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
excel 2010, linked data, word 2010

Thread Tools
Display Modes


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
MS Word and Excel Data Link Excel Link in word chandan56 Office 3 07-02-2015 07:07 PM
MS Word and Excel Data Link Help Plz! Link Excel data to Word document cory_0101 Office 1 09-27-2012 07:15 PM
MS Word and Excel Data Link How to dynamically link imbedded Excel chart with source data from Word TBoz Excel 1 07-06-2012 05:53 PM
MS Word and Excel Data Link Link data from embedded excel sheet rwbarrett Word 1 05-27-2011 02:05 AM
Excel 07-Access 03 Data Link Issue ddw23 Excel 0 08-20-2010 09:05 AM

Other Forums: Access Forums

All times are GMT -7. The time now is 06:46 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
MSOfficeForums.com is not affiliated with Microsoft