WD97: Using Mail Merge to Create a List Sorted by Category

• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

SUMMARY

You can use the Mail Merge feature in Word to create a list of data sorted and separated by a category. This article contains instructions and a sample you can use to create such a list.

MORE INFORMATION

Setting Up the Data File

Sort your data file so that all records with the same value for the key field (category--the field upon which you base the sort) are together, as shown in the sample data file below. The following sample list is sorted by the CITY field (CITY is the key field in this example):

      CITY        EMPLOYEE      SALES
      Atlanta     Smith        $3,000
      Atlanta     Gates       $50,000
      Atlanta     Henderson   $10,000
      Houston     Jones        $8,000
      Houston     Kelley       $9,000
      Houston     Peterson         $0

   ARTICLE-ID: Q142756
   TITLE     : WD: How to Design and Set Up Mail Merge Data Sources

Setting Up the Main Document

NOTE: A Paragraph Mark in the following example is designated as <P>. Do not type the <P>, instead press ENTER.

To set up your main document as a catalog, follow these steps:

1. From a new blank document, click Mail Merge on the Tools menu.

2. In the Mail Merge Helper, click the Create button and then click Catalog.

3. Click New Main Document when prompted.

4. In the Mail Merge Helper, click Get Data and then click "Open Data Source" to attach the data file (use the sample file you created in the "Setting Up the Data File" section of this article.

5. Insert the following fields to compare the contents of each key field record with the contents of the next key field record to determine whether the key field contents change from one data record to the next.

   NOTE: This example uses the sample data from the "Setting up the data file" section of this article.

         {If{MergeSeq} = "1" "{Mergefield City}<P>
         " ""}{Set Place1 {Mergefield City}}<P>
         {If{Place2}<>{Place1}"<P>
         {Mergefield City}<P>
         <P>
         {Mergefield Employee}{Mergefield Sales}" "{Mergefield
         Employee}{Mergefield Sales}"}{Set Place2{Mergefield City}}<P>
   

   The fields laid out in this example will produce a catalog listing on the same page as follows:

         Atlanta
   

         Smith $3,000
         Gates $50,000
         Henderson $10,000
   

         Houston
   

         Jones $8,000
         Kelley $9,000
         Peterson $0
   

Forcing Each New Category to a New Page

The key field in this example is {Mergefield City}. When the value of City changes in the data file to a different city, then a new page is added to the merged results and the merge is continued at the top of the next page.

   {If{MergeSeq} = "1" "{Mergefield City}<P>
   " ""}{Set Place1 {Mergefield City}}<P>
   {If{Place2}<>{Place1}"
   ----------------------------Page Break--------------------------------
   {Mergefield City}<P>
   <P>
   {Mergefield Employee}{Mergefield Sales}" "{Mergefield
   Employee}{Mergefield Sales}"}{Set Place2{Mergefield City}}<P>

The fields laid out in this example will produce a catalog listing on separate pages as follows:

      Atlanta

      Smith $3,000
      Gates $50,000
      Henderson $10,000
   ----------------------------Page Break--------------------------------
      Houston

      Jones $8,000
      Kelley $9,000
      Peterson $0

Formatting the Key Field

The key field in this example is {Mergefield City}. To format the results of the {Mergefield City} as all capital letters, you can use the formatting switch of "\* Upper" (without the quotation marks).

   {If{MergeSeq} = "1" "{Mergefield City \* Upper}<P>
   " ""}{Set Place1 {Mergefield City}}<P>
   {If{Place2}<>{Place1}"<P>
   {Mergefield City \* Upper}<P>
   <P>
   {Mergefield Employee}{Mergefield Sales}" "{Mergefield
   Employee}{Mergefield Sales}"}{Set Place2{Mergefield City}}<P>

      ATLANTA

      Smith $3,000
      Gates $50,000
      Henderson $10,000

      HOUSTON

      Jones $8,000
      Kelley $9,000
      Peterson $0

   fields, formatting

NOTE: You can apply different formatting to the key field {Mergefield City} by selecting the entire field (including the field braces{ }) and formatting the field as desired. To format the field, click Font on the Format menu.

REFERENCES

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q141922
   TITLE     : WD: How to Start a Mail Merge