WD97: Err Msg: "MergeField Was Not Found..." When Mail Merging

• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you try to run a mail merge using a main document and data source that were created in Word version 5.x for Macintosh, the following error message may appear:

Error! MergeField was not found in header record of data source.

CAUSE

This problem occurs if the Word 5.x document contains a MERGEFIELD field with a division (/) symbol. This symbol is not converted correctly in later versions of Word.

For example:

In a converted Word 5.x main document, you may have a MERGEFIELD that resembles one of the following examples:

<<Zip/10>>

-or-

{ MergeField Zip/10 }

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, change the MERGEFIELD so that it resembles the following:

{ = { MergeField Zip } / 10 }

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbfield word97
Version : WINDOWS:97
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbbug