From what you've posted, it appears your data can easily be reformatted for use as a mailmerge data source, using nothing more sophisticated than Find/Replace, then converting to a Word table or copying & pasting into an Excel workbook which you then use as the mailmerge data source. We'd need to see a representative sample of the actual data.

Can you attach a document to a post with some representative data (obfuscate anything sensitive)? You do this via the paperclip symbol on the 'Go Advanced' tab at the bottom of this screen.

PS: Please don't solicit paid solutions through this forum.

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

All right, I attached a list with some of the real data. You'll see that these addresses are badly formatted; some entries have 2 lines of information condensed into a single one (for instance, city and zip code); some entries have an extra line with "to the care of" information regarding recipient. So they vary between 4 and 6 lines mostly, with some of them being only 3 lines due to missing neighborhood information (not really an issue, mailmen are able to deliver the letter) AND condensed information.

Now, I neither want, nor HAVE to actually fix the formatting for the letters to be correctly delivered. So if the address is like this:

BRIDGE STORE
AV.HELLO,123 CENTRO
CEP=99999-999 MARAU-RS

There is no need to change it into:

BRIDGE STORE
AV.HELLO,123
CENTRO
CEP=99999-999
MARAU-RS

Because, for the mail guys, it doesn't really matter. They can find the place with either one. BUT the suggestions made here indicate I might need to fix the formatting to have then made into mailmerge or table.

To be honest, I kinda looked for a solution that didn't force me to go through the entire document putting everything with 6 lines of text - which is the maximum I could find - and then adding labels or markers. Some, maybe all of you might think I'm lazy, but the fact is these 1,000 adresses are just a sample I received from a customer. He wants to see how I deal with those and if I'm able to deliver what he needs with these first 1,000 addresses, then he'll provide me with 10x more. And he wants it fast and cheap! Printing is done in minutes, but this job can't take much time to be solved before printing. It will take many, many hours to sort through 10,000 addresses fixing their formatting, that's crazy.

OK, sorry about that, was written in a moment of little despair. Tried to catch attention to the problem, it's all. Not gonna happen again.

Attached Files

25 addresses.txt (2.3 KB, 9 views)

Here's an idea I had, but since I don't know how to do it in Word or if it's even feasible, I bring it to the more experienced guys. The page I use for labels measure 215x320 mm; each label is 41x61 mm and are all contiguous, no space between them either vertically or horizontally. They are all pre-cut in this adhesive sheet.

What I figured as a fast and effective solution to the problem is a way to make little "windows" that are connected to each other in a way that, when the text overflows from one window, it continues on the next one. When the last window of a page has its capacity filled, the text then flows to the first window of the next page and so on, automatically creating new pages as needed.

Because the addresses have varying number of lines/paragraphs, I could then simply press Enter enough times to push the whole text behind that point, effectively putting the addresses below in their correct windows. This task would consume much, much less time than having to turn the whole bunch of addresses into a proper database or table, which is not a demand of my customer. I rather prefer not having to do it if a simpler solution exists or can be made!

Attached is a zip file containing images for better understanding, using the same 25 addresses attached in my previous post. What you guys think, is such a solution simple to do, or at all possible? If it's possible to make such a "windows grid mask" (I don't how the correct name) with variables for sizes, it could be adapted to labels of other sizes and quantities as well. In this example it's a 5x5 grid but I have labels in 4x4 to 7x7 grids as well as 4x6 and 6x9.

Attached Files

examples.zip (635.0 KB, 10 views)