File Formats Created by Mail Merge Wizard

 Last reviewed: April 30, 1996
Article ID: Q113004
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Windows, version 3.0
  • Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, version 2.6
  • Microsoft FoxPro for MS-DOS, version 2.6

SUMMARY

FoxPro version 2.6 contains a Mail Merge Wizard to create data files that can be used by a variety of word-processing programs.

MORE INFORMATION

Step 2 of 5 in the Mail Merge Wizard asks "Which word processor will you use for your mail merge?" The table below shows the available choices, whether memo fields are supported, and what type of file will be created for each choice.

FoxPro for MS-DOS Word Processor Choices

   Word processor           Memo?       File format created
   ---------------------------------------------------------------

   Word for MS-DOS          No          ASCII comma-delimited file
   WordPerfect              No          WordPerfect version 5.0
                                           or later merge file
   Other                    No          ASCII tab-delimited file

FoxPro for Windows Word Processor Choices

   Word processor           Memo?       File format created
   ---------------------------------------------------------------

   Word for Windows 6.0     Yes         None; uses Word's ODBC driver
   Word for Windows 2.0     No          ASCII comma-delimited file
   Word for MS-DOS          No          ASCII comma-delimited file
   WordPerfect              No          WordPerfect version 5.0
                                           or later merge file
   Other                    No          ASCII tab-delimited file
Visual FoxPro Word Processor Choices 

   Word processor             Memo?      File format created
   -------------------------------------------------------------------

   Word for Windows 6.0       Yes        None; uses Word's ODBC driver
   Comma Delimited Text File  No         ASCII comma-delimited file
Note that Word 2.0 for Windows and Word for MS-DOS create files with identical formats.

The first record of an ASCII comma-delimited file consists of the names of the fields. Subsequent records contain data, terminated by a carriage return/linefeed (CR/LF) combination. Each field within the record is separated with commas, and character fields are enclosed in double quotation marks.

For additional information about the format of the files produced for the "Other" word processor choice, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q114963
   TITLE: Mail Merge Wizard's "Other" Word Processor File Format
Only the Word 6.0 for Windows mail merge recognizes memo fields. This behavior is by design. The ODBC drivers allow Word to directly use the FoxPro .DBF file and access the corresponding memo fields in that file. If any other mail merge format is chosen, the memo fields will be ignored.

For all other word processor choices, a file will be created after the Finish button is chosen. A Save As dialog box will appear, allowing a specific filename and path to be entered. Unless a different filename is entered, the file will be stored in the default directory with the name MMRGDATA.TXT.

NOTE: None of the word processors listed above support a general field in a mail merge.

Additional reference words: VFoxWin 3.00 FoxDos FoxWin 2.60
KBCategory: kbtool kbinterop kbprg
KBSubcategory: FxinteropOdbc

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Last reviewed: April 30, 1996
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