WD: WinWord: Blank Lines Are Not Suppressed in Merge

• Microsoft Word for Windows versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c
• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
• Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

In Word for Windows, if you try to suppress a blank line in a mail merge document containing a field that may or may not contain data, and a paragraph mark follows the field in the merge document, Word suppresses the blank line. However, if a newline character follows the field, the blank line is not suppressed.

If the field does not have the keyword MERGEFIELD, the line will also not be suppressed when there is no data for the field. For example:

   {MERGEFIELD first}
   {last}
   Hello World!

MORE INFORMATION

The Mail Merge command (Print Merge, in Word 2.x) includes the option to automatically suppress blank lines created by empty data fields, including the blank line created by a linefeed. This feature allows you to preserve the option to include a blank line after a field that may or may not contain data.

When you set up labels using the Maillabl.dot template in Word 2.x or Word 6.x, you should always select New Paragraph rather than New Line in the Layout Mailing Labels dialog box. This ensures that Word can suppress blank lines.

The Maillabl.dot is not intended for use in Word 7.0 or Word 97.

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Word for Windows User's Guide," version 2.0, pages 661-664