Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements Pearl 4/25/2007 5:34:03 PM My data source contains codes e.g.3,4,5,14,16 that I want to change for text in my merged documents. First, how do I enter the multiple If statements? I think that I can write the nested If but don't know how to actually enter it in my document. I'm using Word 2000. Also how many nested Ifs will Word accept?

RE: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements Ed 4/25/2007 7:08:06 PM Hi Pearl, Not sure how many levels of nesting you can have. An easy way to create many types of fields is just to type them into your document. Don't use the curly bracket keys on the keyboard to insert the field braces; instead use Ctrl+F9 to insert a pair of them. If you use Ctrl+F9 and don't see anything, press Alt+F9 to toggle field codes view on. If you're testing codes that are mutually exclusive you can often get away without having to nest the IF fields at all; just create them as un-nested and ensure that they are all on the same line. It's less elegant than nesting but should work (provided the codes cover all of the possibilities). The tricky part about nesting fields tends to be getting the structure right. Once you've nested to a few levels it can become hard to see the wood for the trees. However, if you are essentially nesting the same type of test over and over then one way to make it easy to get the structure right is to do the job in two stages. In stage one you create the nesting structure and in stage two you supply the values for the tests and results. If you want to replace codes with text (e.g. "IF code is "3" then insert "Text for 3" ELSE IF code is "4" THEN insert "Text for 4" etc.) you can do it as follows. First create the basic test. (Press Ctrl+F9 to get the field braces for the IF field, type IF followed by a space, press Ctrl+F9 again to get the field braces for the merge field and inside these braces type MERGEFIELD "code" (or whatever), then complete the IF field so that it looks something like the one below.) { IF { MERGEFIELD "code" } = "3" "Text for 3" "" } In this field, "Text for 3" is the TrueText (what you want displayed if the test evaluates to true) and "" is the FalseText (what you want displayed if the test evaluates to false). You can simulate an AND type of test by nesting into an IF field's TrueText and you can simulate an OR test by nesting into the FalseText. In this case, if I understand your requirement, I am going to repeatedly nest into the FalseText part of my fields (the final set of quotation marks) so I have left that part empty for now. To create the first level of nesting I copy the basic field (making sure I don't copy any trailing space or paragraph mark) and paste it into the relevant FalseText to get { IF { MERGEFIELD "code" } = "3" "Text for 3" "{ IF { MERGEFIELD "code" } = "3" "Text for 3" "" }" } I then paste it again into the (sole) set of empty quotation marks to produce the next level of nesting. I repeat the paste for as many levels of nesting as are required - each time just pasting into the empty quotation marks - no need to worry about the growing forest of quotation marks and curly brackets.. Once I've got all of the levels that I want I just go from the top and replace "3" with "4", "5" etc. as appropriate and amend each of the final TrueTexts to whatever it is I want to be displayed. Just having to paste the same thing into (in this case) the FalseText for as many levels of nesting as I want makes it very easy to get the nesting right. Once the nesting is right I can easily make the required substitutions. Depending on the circumstances I might also amend the final FalseText to be other than "". Hope this makes sense :-) Regards. Ed "Pearl" wrote: [Quoted Text] > My data source contains codes e.g.3,4,5,14,16 that I want to change for text > in my merged documents. First, how do I enter the multiple If statements? I > think that I can write the nested If but don't know how to actually enter it > in my document. I'm using Word 2000. Also how many nested Ifs will Word > accept?

RE: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements Pearl 4/25/2007 7:44:02 PM Thanks Ed that sounds quite a comprehensive reply to my query. I'll give it a whorl tomorrow and let you know how I get on. My main problem was in how I actually got to insert the nested Ifs - using the insert word field didn't seem to do anything. The tip about Ctrl+F9 ans Alt+F9 is useful as I wasn't getting anything using Ctrl+F9. Will contact you tomorrow with my results. "Ed" wrote: [Quoted Text] > Hi Pearl, > > Not sure how many levels of nesting you can have. > > An easy way to create many types of fields is just to type them into your > document. Don't use the curly bracket keys on the keyboard to insert the > field braces; instead use Ctrl+F9 to insert a pair of them. If you use > Ctrl+F9 and don't see anything, press Alt+F9 to toggle field codes view on. > > If you're testing codes that are mutually exclusive you can often get away > without having to nest the IF fields at all; just create them as un-nested > and ensure that they are all on the same line. It's less elegant than nesting > but should work (provided the codes cover all of the possibilities). > > The tricky part about nesting fields tends to be getting the structure > right. Once you've nested to a few levels it can become hard to see the wood > for the trees. > > However, if you are essentially nesting the same type of test over and over > then one way to make it easy to get the structure right is to do the job in > two stages. In stage one you create the nesting structure and in stage two > you supply the values for the tests and results. > > If you want to replace codes with text (e.g. "IF code is "3" then insert > "Text for 3" ELSE IF code is "4" THEN insert "Text for 4" etc.) you can do it > as follows. > > First create the basic test. > > (Press Ctrl+F9 to get the field braces for the IF field, type IF followed by > a space, press Ctrl+F9 again to get the field braces for the merge field and > inside these braces type MERGEFIELD "code" (or whatever), then complete the > IF field so that it looks something like the one below.) > > { IF { MERGEFIELD "code" } = "3" "Text for 3" "" } > > In this field, "Text for 3" is the TrueText (what you want displayed if the > test evaluates to true) and "" is the FalseText (what you want displayed if > the test evaluates to false). > > You can simulate an AND type of test by nesting into an IF field's TrueText > and you can simulate an OR test by nesting into the FalseText. > > In this case, if I understand your requirement, I am going to repeatedly > nest into the FalseText part of my fields (the final set of quotation marks) > so I have left that part empty for now. > > To create the first level of nesting I copy the basic field (making sure I > don't copy any trailing space or paragraph mark) and paste it into the > relevant FalseText to get > > { IF { MERGEFIELD "code" } = "3" "Text for 3" "{ IF { MERGEFIELD "code" } = > "3" "Text for 3" "" }" } > > I then paste it again into the (sole) set of empty quotation marks to > produce the next level of nesting. > > I repeat the paste for as many levels of nesting as are required - each time > just pasting into the empty quotation marks - no need to worry about the > growing forest of quotation marks and curly brackets.. > > Once I've got all of the levels that I want I just go from the top and > replace "3" with "4", "5" etc. as appropriate and amend each of the final > TrueTexts to whatever it is I want to be displayed. Just having to paste the > same thing into (in > this case) the FalseText for as many levels of nesting as I want makes it > very easy to get the nesting right. Once the nesting is right I can easily > make the required substitutions. > > Depending on the circumstances I might also amend the final FalseText to be > other than "". > > Hope this makes sense :-) > > Regards. > > Ed > > > "Pearl" wrote: > > > My data source contains codes e.g.3,4,5,14,16 that I want to change for text > > in my merged documents. First, how do I enter the multiple If statements? I > > think that I can write the nested If but don't know how to actually enter it > > in my document. I'm using Word 2000. Also how many nested Ifs will Word > > accept?

RE: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements Peter 4/26/2007 4:10:03 PM Hi Ed, I came across this post in a search regarding this type of merge. I tried your advice and it worked. Thanks for all the information you've given. I do have a question regarding the final merge output however. I noticed that "do not print blank lines" seems to be ignored when merging the document to a printer or even a pdf driver. If I merge to New Document , then the blank lines do not appear. Any ideas? Thanks again. Peter

RE: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements Ed 4/26/2007 6:54:02 PM Hi Peter, Don't think I can be of any help with this one :-( I found one thread in the NG which seems similar: http://groups.google.co.uk/group/microsoft.public.word.mailmergefields/browse_thread/thread/cd3d4c423b043099/338f9b11bce3dc98?lnk=st&q=&rnum=2&hl=en#338f9b11bce3dc98 There, the problem seemed to be a possible font oddity. I suppose you could try different fonts and see what happens. I tried a test here with non-nested fields in Word 97, 2003 and 2007 and in each case the blank lines were suppressed. Answers to some of the following might spark a solution from someone in the NGs. What version of Word are you using? Are the merge fields "free-standing" or are they embedded in other fields (such as IF fields)? I ask because when Microsoft produced Word 2002 they re-wrote the merge part and one of the changes was that there were some circumstances where blank lines would no longer be suppressed automatically (even when merging to a new document) and one of the circumstances was when merge fields were inside IF fields. There are a couple of ways to work around that particular problem. If you turn on the display of formatting marks does anything unusual show up? Does the problem happen with one mail merge main document or with all of them? If you have access to a different printer does the problem happen when you merge to that? (Seems likely if you also get the problem merging to PDF.) If you copy everything from you mail merge main document except the last paragraph mark into a new document and try the merge with that one do you still get the problem? If your mail merge main document is based on normal.dot, what happens if you bypass normal.dot, create a new test document and merge that to the printer? (To bypass normal.dot, start Word by clicking Start/Run and typing "winword /a" (without the quotes) in the Run dialog. This will also stop any addins or global templates loading.) I've asked a bunch of questions and unfortunately I won't be around for the rest of today to see the answers as I'm just about to leave the building, but maybe somebody else will :) Regards and good luck!. Ed "Peter" wrote: [Quoted Text] > Hi Ed, > > I came across this post in a search regarding this type of merge. I tried > your advice and it worked. Thanks for all the information you've given. > > I do have a question regarding the final merge output however. I noticed > that "do not print blank lines" seems to be ignored when merging the document > to a printer or even a pdf driver. If I merge to New Document , then the > blank lines do not appear. Any ideas? > > Thanks again. > > Peter > >

RE: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements Peter 4/27/2007 10:00:01 PM Thanks again Ed. Really appreciate all your advice! I am using Ver 2000. I have tried various things you have mentioned, but no luck. The code I have I initially set with information from Microsoft, combined with your initial suggestions. I have a link to a screen shot I took of the code I am using. I did try keying in the code as you showed Pearl but the documents would not come up. The code in the link gives me the documents, just will not supress blank lines unless I merge to a new document. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/Peterout/code2.jpg?t=1177710767 Thanks again . . . Peter

Re: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements "Doug Robbins - Word MVP" <dkr[ at ]REMOVECAPSmvps.org> 4/28/2007 6:53:47 AM I don't know if it will make any difference, but the opening quote mark in front of the true result in each If...then...Else construction should not be there. That is { IF { MERGEFIELD ALERT } = GEN "{ INCLUDETEXT etc should only be { IF { MERGEFIELD ALERT } = GEN { INCLUDETEXT etc -- Hope this helps. Please reply to the newsgroup unless you wish to avail yourself of my services on a paid consulting basis. Doug Robbins - Word MVP "Peter" <Peter[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:66BEF88A-3E64-4D73-9C8F-08925446AA65[ at ]microsoft.com... [Quoted Text] > Thanks again Ed. > > Really appreciate all your advice! > > I am using Ver 2000. > > I have tried various things you have mentioned, but no luck. The code I > have > I initially set with information from Microsoft, combined with your > initial > suggestions. I have a link to a screen shot I took of the code I am using. > I > did try keying in the code as you showed Pearl but the documents would not > come up. The code in the link gives me the documents, just will not > supress > blank lines unless I merge to a new document. > > http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/Peterout/code2.jpg?t=1177710767 > > Thanks again . . . > > Peter

Re: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements "Peter Jamieson" <pjj[ at ]KillmapSpjjnet.demon.co.uk> 4/28/2007 7:14:52 AM FYI blank line suppression does not work with fields nested in other fields (such as INCLUDETEXT, IF) in Word 2002/2003. Or at least some versions of it. Although I think it did work with Word 2000, a. I probably mostly merged to new documents, not the printer b. various aspects of field behaviour have been changed with service packs and security updates in Word 2000. This /could/ be one of them. If so, it could be that the only way you will get these fields to function correctly is to use the other, more complex technique of inserting blank lines when the fields are not empty, e.g. { IF "{ MERGEFIELD myfield1 }" = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD myfield1 } " }{ IF "{ MERGEFIELD myfield2 }" = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD myfield2 } " } I'm not sure I can get at my Word 2000 system right now but when I can I'll take a look. Which Word SR/SP are you using? Peter Jamieson "Peter" <Peter[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:66BEF88A-3E64-4D73-9C8F-08925446AA65[ at ]microsoft.com... [Quoted Text] > Thanks again Ed. > > Really appreciate all your advice! > > I am using Ver 2000. > > I have tried various things you have mentioned, but no luck. The code I > have > I initially set with information from Microsoft, combined with your > initial > suggestions. I have a link to a screen shot I took of the code I am using. > I > did try keying in the code as you showed Pearl but the documents would not > come up. The code in the link gives me the documents, just will not > supress > blank lines unless I merge to a new document. > > http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/Peterout/code2.jpg?t=1177710767 > > Thanks again . . . > > Peter

Re: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements "Peter Jamieson" <pjj[ at ]KillmapSpjjnet.demon.co.uk> 4/28/2007 10:37:00 AM I've now had another look at this on Word 2000 SP3 (not fully patched though) and the current patched version of Word 2003. Using relatively simple tests (i.e. may not be the whole story): a. the behaviour is the same in both versions b. the print and the preview are the same on both versions, but the results when merging to a new document are different c. for fields inside an INCLUDETEXT, the technique described in my previous post consistently achieves suppression on both versions of Word, i.e. unless someone knows a better way, it's the way to go. { IF "{ MERGEFIELD myfield1 }" = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD myfield1 } " }{ IF "{ MERGEFIELD myfield2 }" = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD myfield2 } " } d. MERGEFIELDs inside an IF /in the main document/ (e.g. { IF 1 = 1 "{ MERGEFIELD a } { MERGEFIELD b }" "" } are never suppressed e. When you merge to a new document, there is a difference between the behaviour of an INCLUDETEXT that is nested in an IF in the main document, and an INCLUDETEXT that is not nested: The result of an { INCLUDETEXT "pathname" } is that 1. the INCLUDETEXT is retained 2. fields are not suppressed 3. the output document looks the same as the preview and printed version The result of an { IF 1 = 1 "{ INCLUDETEXT "pathname" }" "" } is that 4. the INCLUDETEXT is resolved 5. fields are suppressed, as long as they are not also nested inside an IF inside the INCLUETEXTed document 6. the output document may therefore not look like the preview and printed version. Peter Jamieson "Peter Jamieson" <pjj[ at ]KillmapSpjjnet.demon.co.uk> wrote in message news:uu3V3SWiHHA.4904[ at ]TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... [Quoted Text] > FYI blank line suppression does not work with fields nested in other > fields (such as INCLUDETEXT, IF) in Word 2002/2003. Or at least some > versions of it. Although I think it did work with Word 2000, > a. I probably mostly merged to new documents, not the printer > b. various aspects of field behaviour have been changed with service packs > and security updates in Word 2000. This /could/ be one of them. If so, it > could be that the only way you will get these fields to function correctly > is to use the other, more complex technique of inserting blank lines when > the fields are not empty, e.g. > > { IF "{ MERGEFIELD myfield1 }" = "" > "" "{ MERGEFIELD myfield1 } > " }{ IF "{ MERGEFIELD myfield2 }" = "" > "" "{ MERGEFIELD myfield2 } > " } > > I'm not sure I can get at my Word 2000 system right now but when I can > I'll take a look. Which Word SR/SP are you using? > > Peter Jamieson > > "Peter" <Peter[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message > news:66BEF88A-3E64-4D73-9C8F-08925446AA65[ at ]microsoft.com... >> Thanks again Ed. >> >> Really appreciate all your advice! >> >> I am using Ver 2000. >> >> I have tried various things you have mentioned, but no luck. The code I >> have >> I initially set with information from Microsoft, combined with your >> initial >> suggestions. I have a link to a screen shot I took of the code I am >> using. I >> did try keying in the code as you showed Pearl but the documents would >> not >> come up. The code in the link gives me the documents, just will not >> supress >> blank lines unless I merge to a new document. >> >> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/Peterout/code2.jpg?t=1177710767 >> >> Thanks again . . . >> >> Peter > >

RE: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements Ed 4/28/2007 6:22:00 PM Hi Peter, I can't actually see your example as our company firewall (or whatever) blocks access to lots of sites. But I see that Peter J is on the case so it doesn't matter anyway :) Regards. Ed "Peter" wrote: [Quoted Text] > Thanks again Ed. > > Really appreciate all your advice! > > I am using Ver 2000. > > I have tried various things you have mentioned, but no luck. The code I have > I initially set with information from Microsoft, combined with your initial > suggestions. I have a link to a screen shot I took of the code I am using. I > did try keying in the code as you showed Pearl but the documents would not > come up. The code in the link gives me the documents, just will not supress > blank lines unless I merge to a new document. > > http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/Peterout/code2.jpg?t=1177710767 > > Thanks again . . . > > Peter

Re: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements "Peter Jamieson" <pjj[ at ]KillmapSpjjnet.demon.co.uk> 4/28/2007 6:31:38 PM Ed You are more confident than I am :-) test, test, and test again may be my motto but $0, $0 and $0 are the usual rewards :-)) Peter Jamieson "Ed" <Ed[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:FBA47C98-195C-48A2-81F4-0BF77F186ED8[ at ]microsoft.com... [Quoted Text] > Hi Peter, > > I can't actually see your example as our company firewall (or whatever) > blocks access to lots of sites. > > But I see that Peter J is on the case so it doesn't matter anyway :) > > Regards. > > Ed > > "Peter" wrote: > >> Thanks again Ed. >> >> Really appreciate all your advice! >> >> I am using Ver 2000. >> >> I have tried various things you have mentioned, but no luck. The code I >> have >> I initially set with information from Microsoft, combined with your >> initial >> suggestions. I have a link to a screen shot I took of the code I am >> using. I >> did try keying in the code as you showed Pearl but the documents would >> not >> come up. The code in the link gives me the documents, just will not >> supress >> blank lines unless I merge to a new document. >> >> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/Peterout/code2.jpg?t=1177710767 >> >> Thanks again . . . >> >> Peter

Re: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements Pearl 4/28/2007 6:36:00 PM Hi Peter and Ed. I tried out the suggestion for nested If statements from Ed using a simple data source in Excel 2003 to a Word 2003 merge doc and it worked really well. I got to 9 nested Ifs and put in a dummy code to test the FalseText with no problems. The reason I originally raised the query was because I was having problems getting data out of a 3rd party software system into a merge doc. Only one of the code conversions worked and I thought that this was because of the way I was constructing the If statements. Turns out that the system is only recording one code when it should be recording more - so I think a fix is required!! Thanks for the great advice here. My query seems to have generated further queries relating to different versions of Word. Well I use Office 2000 at work so I'll be trying out my test mail merge that I've created in 2003 there on Monday so I'll let you know if it still works :-) Still don't know how many nested IFs Word will take, I need about 16 in all so I'll keep going and let you all know how I get on Still don't know how many nested Ifs Word will take, I need about 16 in all so I'll keep going and let you all know how I get on. "Peter Jamieson" wrote: [Quoted Text] > I've now had another look at this on Word 2000 SP3 (not fully patched > though) and the current patched version of Word 2003. > > Using relatively simple tests (i.e. may not be the whole story): > a. the behaviour is the same in both versions > b. the print and the preview are the same on both versions, but the results > when merging to a new document are different > c. for fields inside an INCLUDETEXT, the technique described in my previous > post consistently achieves suppression on both versions of Word, i.e. unless > someone knows a better way, it's the way to go. > > { IF "{ MERGEFIELD myfield1 }" = "" > "" "{ MERGEFIELD myfield1 } > " }{ IF "{ MERGEFIELD myfield2 }" = "" > "" "{ MERGEFIELD myfield2 } > " } > > d. MERGEFIELDs inside an IF /in the main document/ (e.g. > > { IF 1 = 1 "{ MERGEFIELD a } > { MERGEFIELD b }" "" } > > are never suppressed > > e. When you merge to a new document, there is a difference between the > behaviour of an INCLUDETEXT that is nested in an IF in the main document, > and an INCLUDETEXT that is not nested: > > The result of an { INCLUDETEXT "pathname" } is that > 1. the INCLUDETEXT is retained > 2. fields are not suppressed > 3. the output document looks the same as the preview and printed version > > The result of an { IF 1 = 1 "{ INCLUDETEXT "pathname" }" "" } is that > 4. the INCLUDETEXT is resolved > 5. fields are suppressed, as long as they are not also nested inside an IF > inside the INCLUETEXTed document > 6. the output document may therefore not look like the preview and printed > version. > > Peter Jamieson > > "Peter Jamieson" <pjj[ at ]KillmapSpjjnet.demon.co.uk> wrote in message > news:uu3V3SWiHHA.4904[ at ]TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... > > FYI blank line suppression does not work with fields nested in other > > fields (such as INCLUDETEXT, IF) in Word 2002/2003. Or at least some > > versions of it. Although I think it did work with Word 2000, > > a. I probably mostly merged to new documents, not the printer > > b. various aspects of field behaviour have been changed with service packs > > and security updates in Word 2000. This /could/ be one of them. If so, it > > could be that the only way you will get these fields to function correctly > > is to use the other, more complex technique of inserting blank lines when > > the fields are not empty, e.g. > > > > { IF "{ MERGEFIELD myfield1 }" = "" > > "" "{ MERGEFIELD myfield1 } > > " }{ IF "{ MERGEFIELD myfield2 }" = "" > > "" "{ MERGEFIELD myfield2 } > > " } > > > > I'm not sure I can get at my Word 2000 system right now but when I can > > I'll take a look. Which Word SR/SP are you using? > > > > Peter Jamieson > > > > "Peter" <Peter[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message > > news:66BEF88A-3E64-4D73-9C8F-08925446AA65[ at ]microsoft.com... > >> Thanks again Ed. > >> > >> Really appreciate all your advice! > >> > >> I am using Ver 2000. > >> > >> I have tried various things you have mentioned, but no luck. The code I > >> have > >> I initially set with information from Microsoft, combined with your > >> initial > >> suggestions. I have a link to a screen shot I took of the code I am > >> using. I > >> did try keying in the code as you showed Pearl but the documents would > >> not > >> come up. The code in the link gives me the documents, just will not > >> supress > >> blank lines unless I merge to a new document. > >> > >> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/Peterout/code2.jpg?t=1177710767 > >> > >> Thanks again . . . > >> > >> Peter > > > > > > >

Re: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements "Peter Jamieson" <pjj[ at ]KillmapSpjjnet.demon.co.uk> 4/28/2007 6:51:25 PM The limit for nesting is around 19 or 20 levels. It has been documented (I think the documentation says "20", but it depends how you count), but a. I cannot point you to a definitive statement b. it's possible it has changed in Word 2007. Peter Jamieson "Pearl" <Pearl[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:B9B2FDD2-2926-4A72-9FAF-16DA1DC7CFD8[ at ]microsoft.com... [Quoted Text] > Hi Peter and Ed. I tried out the suggestion for nested If statements from > Ed > using a simple data source in Excel 2003 to a Word 2003 merge doc and it > worked really well. I got to 9 nested Ifs and put in a dummy code to test > the > FalseText with no problems. > The reason I originally raised the query was because I was having problems > getting data out of a 3rd party software system into a merge doc. Only one > of > the code conversions worked and I thought that this was because of the way > I > was constructing the If statements. Turns out that the system is only > recording one code when it should be recording more - so I think a fix is > required!! > Thanks for the great advice here. My query seems to have generated further > queries relating to different versions of Word. Well I use Office 2000 at > work so I'll be trying out my test mail merge that I've created in 2003 > there > on Monday so I'll let you know if it still works :-) > > Still don't know how many nested IFs Word will take, I need about 16 in > all > so I'll keep going and let you all know how I get on? > > > Still don't know how many nested Ifs Word will take, I need about 16 in > all > so I'll keep going and let you all know how I get on. > "Peter Jamieson" wrote: > >> I've now had another look at this on Word 2000 SP3 (not fully patched >> though) and the current patched version of Word 2003. >> >> Using relatively simple tests (i.e. may not be the whole story): >> a. the behaviour is the same in both versions >> b. the print and the preview are the same on both versions, but the >> results >> when merging to a new document are different >> c. for fields inside an INCLUDETEXT, the technique described in my >> previous >> post consistently achieves suppression on both versions of Word, i.e. >> unless >> someone knows a better way, it's the way to go. >> >> { IF "{ MERGEFIELD myfield1 }" = "" >> "" "{ MERGEFIELD myfield1 } >> " }{ IF "{ MERGEFIELD myfield2 }" = "" >> "" "{ MERGEFIELD myfield2 } >> " } >> >> d. MERGEFIELDs inside an IF /in the main document/ (e.g. >> >> { IF 1 = 1 "{ MERGEFIELD a } >> { MERGEFIELD b }" "" } >> >> are never suppressed >> >> e. When you merge to a new document, there is a difference between the >> behaviour of an INCLUDETEXT that is nested in an IF in the main document, >> and an INCLUDETEXT that is not nested: >> >> The result of an { INCLUDETEXT "pathname" } is that >> 1. the INCLUDETEXT is retained >> 2. fields are not suppressed >> 3. the output document looks the same as the preview and printed version >> >> The result of an { IF 1 = 1 "{ INCLUDETEXT "pathname" }" "" } is that >> 4. the INCLUDETEXT is resolved >> 5. fields are suppressed, as long as they are not also nested inside an >> IF >> inside the INCLUETEXTed document >> 6. the output document may therefore not look like the preview and >> printed >> version. >> >> Peter Jamieson >> >> "Peter Jamieson" <pjj[ at ]KillmapSpjjnet.demon.co.uk> wrote in message >> news:uu3V3SWiHHA.4904[ at ]TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... >> > FYI blank line suppression does not work with fields nested in other >> > fields (such as INCLUDETEXT, IF) in Word 2002/2003. Or at least some >> > versions of it. Although I think it did work with Word 2000, >> > a. I probably mostly merged to new documents, not the printer >> > b. various aspects of field behaviour have been changed with service >> > packs >> > and security updates in Word 2000. This /could/ be one of them. If so, >> > it >> > could be that the only way you will get these fields to function >> > correctly >> > is to use the other, more complex technique of inserting blank lines >> > when >> > the fields are not empty, e.g. >> > >> > { IF "{ MERGEFIELD myfield1 }" = "" >> > "" "{ MERGEFIELD myfield1 } >> > " }{ IF "{ MERGEFIELD myfield2 }" = "" >> > "" "{ MERGEFIELD myfield2 } >> > " } >> > >> > I'm not sure I can get at my Word 2000 system right now but when I can >> > I'll take a look. Which Word SR/SP are you using? >> > >> > Peter Jamieson >> > >> > "Peter" <Peter[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message >> > news:66BEF88A-3E64-4D73-9C8F-08925446AA65[ at ]microsoft.com... >> >> Thanks again Ed. >> >> >> >> Really appreciate all your advice! >> >> >> >> I am using Ver 2000. >> >> >> >> I have tried various things you have mentioned, but no luck. The code >> >> I >> >> have >> >> I initially set with information from Microsoft, combined with your >> >> initial >> >> suggestions. I have a link to a screen shot I took of the code I am >> >> using. I >> >> did try keying in the code as you showed Pearl but the documents would >> >> not >> >> come up. The code in the link gives me the documents, just will not >> >> supress >> >> blank lines unless I merge to a new document. >> >> >> >> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/Peterout/code2.jpg?t=1177710767 >> >> >> >> Thanks again . . . >> >> >> >> Peter >> > >> > >> >> >>

Re: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements Peter 4/29/2007 9:40:01 PM Hi Doug, Peter and Ed, Really appreciate all your advice and tips. I have being trying all the various tests as suggested. The end result is that I am still getting the blank line on merge outputs other than new document. When I get back to my office tomorrow I will apply the SP3 pack to my MS Word. Not sure if that alone will make the difference in all of this. Depending on the project deadline I may just apply the merge to a new document and then print pdf files from there. Creating new documents for me creates a real slow down in my project. I have over 14,000 letters to merge from 5 different letter formats. Even though I merge in blocks of 500, the merge to "new document" is very slow (even with the spell check off). Anyway, thanks again. Frankly, I'm blown away by your efforts and advice . .. . much appreciate it! Peter ps - I will let you know if I resolve the problem . . .

Re: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements "Peter Jamieson" <pjj[ at ]KillmapSpjjnet.demon.co.uk> 4/30/2007 6:05:03 AM It would surprise me if the { IF "{ MERGEFIELD x }" = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD x } " } approach did not work, but you do have to get the overall layout right. If you have before { MERGEFIELD x } after and you want a blank { MERGEFIELD x } to result in before after then you have to use something like before { IF "{ MERGEFIELD x }" = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD x } " }after or if you prefer fewer lines before { IF "{ MERGEFIELD x }" = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD x } " }after not before { IF "{ MERGEFIELD x }" = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD x } " } after but perhaps that doesn't work on your setup either... Peter Jamieson "Peter" <Peter[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:38C469D5-0473-4447-84BC-836B8EE37E47[ at ]microsoft.com... [Quoted Text] > Hi Doug, Peter and Ed, > > Really appreciate all your advice and tips. I have being trying all the > various tests as suggested. The end result is that I am still getting the > blank line on merge outputs other than new document. When I get back to my > office tomorrow I will apply the SP3 pack to my MS Word. Not sure if that > alone will make the difference in all of this. > > Depending on the project deadline I may just apply the merge to a new > document and then print pdf files from there. Creating new documents for > me > creates a real slow down in my project. I have over 14,000 letters to > merge > from 5 different letter formats. Even though I merge in blocks of 500, the > merge to "new document" is very slow (even with the spell check off). > > Anyway, thanks again. Frankly, I'm blown away by your efforts and advice > . > . . much appreciate it! > > Peter > ps - I will let you know if I resolve the problem . . . > >

Re: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements Peter 4/30/2007 4:42:02 PM Hi Peter, Please bear with me on this since I am very green with the "IF" statements. I created a new document and put in the following single line: { IF "{ MERGEFIELD ALERT }"= "GEN" "{INCLUDETEXT"C:\\Mer\\Gen.doc"}" "{MERGEFIELD ALERT}"} I still get the blank field printed. I did check the Gen.doc itself and it does not print the blank field. Again, I am green at IF statements and perhaps I'm missing some things in the document properties as well . . . and your comment: "but you do have to get the overall layout right" . . . I agree; perhaps I am overlooking something. I have been attempting a SP upgrade from SP1 to SP3. SP1 was a success but SP3 is giving some difficulty in that it looks for DATA1.MSI for SP1 which of course does not exist on my original Office 2000 CD. Anyway, a different matter altogether and I don't even know if the SP3 will address the "blank field printing" issue. Thanks again! Peter

Re: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements "Peter Jamieson" <pjj[ at ]KillmapSpjjnet.demon.co.uk> 4/30/2007 7:11:44 PM Well, there are two possible problems here. If you have MERGEFIELD fields /inside/ gen.doc, then you'll need to wrap them up inside the IF construct I suggested before. If you want Word to suppress the line { IF "{ MERGEFIELD ALERT }"= "GEN" "{INCLUDETEXT"C:\\Mer\\Gen.doc"}" "{MERGEFIELD ALERT}"} when Alert is empty, just using the IF is not above, because Word only suppresses blank lines when they are composed of blank + at least one field that's blank, and blank fields inserted as a result of an IF don't count. So { IF "{ MERGEFIELD ALERT }"= "GEN" "{INCLUDETEXT"C:\\Mer\\Gen.doc"}" "{MERGEFIELD ALERT}"}{ MERGEFIELD ALERT } would be suppressed when Alert is blank. But then if Alert is "RED", you will get REDRED rather than just RED So again, you would need to do something like { IF "{ MERGEFIELD ALERT }"= "" "" "{ IF "{ MERGEFIELD ALERT }" = "GEN" "{INCLUDETEXT"C:\\Mer\\Gen.doc"}" "{MERGEFIELD ALERT} "}then stuff that should be on the next line You might need { IF "{ MERGEFIELD ALERT }"= "" "" "{ IF "{ MERGEFIELD ALERT }" = "GEN" "{INCLUDETEXT"C:\\Mer\\Gen.doc"} " "{MERGEFIELD ALERT} "}then stuff that should be on the next line depending on what's at the end of gen.doc Peter Jamieson "Peter" <Peter[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:E77BFB23-F64B-4D98-8C22-4CA61D97E03E[ at ]microsoft.com... [Quoted Text] > Hi Peter, > > Please bear with me on this since I am very green with the "IF" > statements. > > I created a new document and put in the following single line: > > { IF "{ MERGEFIELD ALERT }"= "GEN" "{INCLUDETEXT"C:\\Mer\\Gen.doc"}" > "{MERGEFIELD ALERT}"} > > I still get the blank field printed. I did check the Gen.doc itself and it > does not print the blank field. > > Again, I am green at IF statements and perhaps I'm missing some things in > the document properties as well . . . and your comment: "but you do have > to > get the overall layout right" . . . I agree; perhaps I am overlooking > something. > > I have been attempting a SP upgrade from SP1 to SP3. SP1 was a success but > SP3 is giving some difficulty in that it looks for DATA1.MSI for SP1 which > of > course does not exist on my original Office 2000 CD. Anyway, a different > matter altogether and I don't even know if the SP3 will address the "blank > field printing" issue. > > Thanks again! > > Peter >

Re: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements Peter 5/1/2007 11:06:01 AM Hi Peter, I guess for me, the confusion is where to place the information about the actual fields in my Gen.doc within the If statement. I have 4 different documents to begin with; Gen, Gen2, Gen3, Gen4. Within each document I have 4 merge fields as so: <<Name>> <<Addr1>> <<CPP>> <<Sal>> . . . . then the body text. The field "Alert" does not appear in the document but is only used as reference for type of letter. So in your example of: { IF "{ MERGEFIELD ALERT }"= "" "" "{ IF "{ MERGEFIELD ALERT }" = "GEN" "{INCLUDETEXT"C:\\Mer\\Gen.doc"}" "{MERGEFIELD ALERT} "}then stuff that should be on the next line I am confused about placement of the acutal data fields used in Gen, Gen2, Gen3, Gen4, to suppress blank lines. I will completely understand if you're getting frustrated with trying to get the concept through my thick skull . . . so feel free to throw your hands up and proclaim "what an idiot!" . . . lol Thanks again for your time Peter. Peter

Re: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements "Peter Jamieson" <pjj[ at ]KillmapSpjjnet.demon.co.uk> 5/1/2007 11:41:16 AM If you use Alt-F9 to show the field codes in each gen?.doc, you would see something like { MERGEFIELD Name } { MERGEFIELD Addr1 } { MERGEFIELD CPP } { MERGEFIELD Sal } . . . . then the body text. Assuming you want each of those MERGEFIELD lines to be removed when they are blank, you could use { IF { MERGEFIELD Name } = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD Name } " }{ IF { MERGEFIELD Addr1 } = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD Addr1 } " }{ IF { MERGEFIELD CPP } = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD CPP } " } { IF { MERGEFIELD Sal } = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD Sal } " } . . . . then the body text. As I've probably said before, each of the pairs of {} need to be the special field braces you can insert using ctrl-F9. Everything else is plain text. It doesn't really matter how you lay out the IF fields as long as there's a paragraph mark immediately after the { MERGEFIELD } in the result and the following text follows straight on. e.g. you can use { IF { MERGEFIELD Name } = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD Name } " }{ IF { MERGEFIELD Addr1 } = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD Addr1 } " }{ IF { MERGEFIELD CPP } = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD CPP } " } but not { IF { MERGEFIELD Name } = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD Name }" }{ IF { MERGEFIELD Addr1 } = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD Addr1 }" }{ IF { MERGEFIELD CPP } = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD CPP }" } or { IF { MERGEFIELD Name } = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD Name } " } { IF { MERGEFIELD Addr1 } = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD Addr1 } " } { IF { MERGEFIELD CPP } = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD CPP } " } (I usually do it the first way because it has more chance of getting through these newsgroups unchanged) Peter Jamieson "Peter" <Peter[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:AA6E778C-BB71-467D-9BF0-F280EE7C3085[ at ]microsoft.com... [Quoted Text] > Hi Peter, > > I guess for me, the confusion is where to place the information about the > actual fields in my Gen.doc within the If statement. > > I have 4 different documents to begin with; Gen, Gen2, Gen3, Gen4. Within > each document I have 4 merge fields as so: > > <<Name>> > <<Addr1>> > <<CPP>> > > <<Sal>> > > . . . . then the body text. > > The field "Alert" does not appear in the document but is only used as > reference for type of letter. > > So in your example of: > > { IF "{ MERGEFIELD ALERT }"= "" "" > "{ IF "{ MERGEFIELD ALERT }" = "GEN" > "{INCLUDETEXT"C:\\Mer\\Gen.doc"}" > "{MERGEFIELD ALERT} > "}then stuff that should be on the next line > > I am confused about placement of the acutal data fields used in Gen, Gen2, > Gen3, Gen4, to suppress blank lines. > > I will completely understand if you're getting frustrated with trying to > get > the concept through my thick skull . . . so feel free to throw your hands > up > and proclaim "what an idiot!" . . . lol > > Thanks again for your time Peter. > > Peter > >

Re: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements Peter 5/1/2007 12:33:01 PM Peter! Thanks so much! . . . you've cleared up the fog that's been bugging me for the past few days and got me up at 3:30am this morning . . . Really appreciate all your efforts and putting up with my "not just getting it". I have modified all my documents, Gen, Gen2, Gen3, Gen4, and then tested a couple of hundred letters. They all turned out great. I required a date to be right justified on the same line as the Name merge, so played around with that and got the results I required. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/Peterout/Merge.jpg Have a great day, I know I am with the work you've save me :-) And a big thanks to you as well Ed and Doug . . . Peter

Re: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements Ed 5/1/2007 5:37:00 PM Hi Peter, Glad Peter and yourself got it sorted. And Hi Peter J, [Quoted Text] >You are more confident than I am :-) I rest my case. Regards. Ed "Peter" wrote: > Peter! > > Thanks so much! . . . you've cleared up the fog that's been bugging me for > the past few days and got me up at 3:30am this morning . . . > > Really appreciate all your efforts and putting up with my "not just getting > it". > > I have modified all my documents, Gen, Gen2, Gen3, Gen4, and then tested a > couple of hundred letters. They all turned out great. I required a date to be > right justified on the same line as the Name merge, so played around with > that and got the results I required. > > http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/Peterout/Merge.jpg > > Have a great day, I know I am with the work you've save me :-) > > And a big thanks to you as well Ed and Doug . . . > > Peter > >

Re: Word mailmerge how to do multiple If statements Pearl 5/1/2007 6:42:02 PM Thank you Peter, that should be enough for my needs at present. I did try it out in Word / Excel 2000 and OK, the mail merge process is different to Office 2003, but it worked all right. Tried several times to print out the If statement and kept getting the result rather than the field codes but managed to get it to print out all right in the end. I've learned so much more about Word/mail merge in the past few days. Thank u all for your help, it's much appreciated. :-) "Peter Jamieson" wrote: [Quoted Text] > The limit for nesting is around 19 or 20 levels. It has been documented (I > think the documentation says "20", but it depends how you count), but > a. I cannot point you to a definitive statement > b. it's possible it has changed in Word 2007. > > Peter Jamieson > "Pearl" <Pearl[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message > news:B9B2FDD2-2926-4A72-9FAF-16DA1DC7CFD8[ at ]microsoft.com... > > Hi Peter and Ed. I tried out the suggestion for nested If statements from > > Ed > > using a simple data source in Excel 2003 to a Word 2003 merge doc and it > > worked really well. I got to 9 nested Ifs and put in a dummy code to test > > the > > FalseText with no problems. > > The reason I originally raised the query was because I was having problems > > getting data out of a 3rd party software system into a merge doc. Only one > > of > > the code conversions worked and I thought that this was because of the way > > I > > was constructing the If statements. Turns out that the system is only > > recording one code when it should be recording more - so I think a fix is > > required!! > > Thanks for the great advice here. My query seems to have generated further > > queries relating to different versions of Word. Well I use Office 2000 at > > work so I'll be trying out my test mail merge that I've created in 2003 > > there > > on Monday so I'll let you know if it still works :-) > > > > Still don't know how many nested IFs Word will take, I need about 16 in > > all > > so I'll keep going and let you all know how I get on? > > > > > > Still don't know how many nested Ifs Word will take, I need about 16 in > > all > > so I'll keep going and let you all know how I get on. > > "Peter Jamieson" wrote: > > > >> I've now had another look at this on Word 2000 SP3 (not fully patched > >> though) and the current patched version of Word 2003. > >> > >> Using relatively simple tests (i.e. may not be the whole story): > >> a. the behaviour is the same in both versions > >> b. the print and the preview are the same on both versions, but the > >> results > >> when merging to a new document are different > >> c. for fields inside an INCLUDETEXT, the technique described in my > >> previous > >> post consistently achieves suppression on both versions of Word, i.e. > >> unless > >> someone knows a better way, it's the way to go. > >> > >> { IF "{ MERGEFIELD myfield1 }" = "" > >> "" "{ MERGEFIELD myfield1 } > >> " }{ IF "{ MERGEFIELD myfield2 }" = "" > >> "" "{ MERGEFIELD myfield2 } > >> " } > >> > >> d. MERGEFIELDs inside an IF /in the main document/ (e.g. > >> > >> { IF 1 = 1 "{ MERGEFIELD a } > >> { MERGEFIELD b }" "" } > >> > >> are never suppressed > >> > >> e. When you merge to a new document, there is a difference between the > >> behaviour of an INCLUDETEXT that is nested in an IF in the main document, > >> and an INCLUDETEXT that is not nested: > >> > >> The result of an { INCLUDETEXT "pathname" } is that > >> 1. the INCLUDETEXT is retained > >> 2. fields are not suppressed > >> 3. the output document looks the same as the preview and printed version > >> > >> The result of an { IF 1 = 1 "{ INCLUDETEXT "pathname" }" "" } is that > >> 4. the INCLUDETEXT is resolved > >> 5. fields are suppressed, as long as they are not also nested inside an > >> IF > >> inside the INCLUETEXTed document > >> 6. the output document may therefore not look like the preview and > >> printed > >> version. > >> > >> Peter Jamieson > >> > >> "Peter Jamieson" <pjj[ at ]KillmapSpjjnet.demon.co.uk> wrote in message > >> news:uu3V3SWiHHA.4904[ at ]TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... > >> > FYI blank line suppression does not work with fields nested in other > >> > fields (such as INCLUDETEXT, IF) in Word 2002/2003. Or at least some > >> > versions of it. Although I think it did work with Word 2000, > >> > a. I probably mostly merged to new documents, not the printer > >> > b. various aspects of field behaviour have been changed with service > >> > packs > >> > and security updates in Word 2000. This /could/ be one of them. If so, > >> > it > >> > could be that the only way you will get these fields to function > >> > correctly > >> > is to use the other, more complex technique of inserting blank lines > >> > when > >> > the fields are not empty, e.g. > >> > > >> > { IF "{ MERGEFIELD myfield1 }" = "" > >> > "" "{ MERGEFIELD myfield1 } > >> > " }{ IF "{ MERGEFIELD myfield2 }" = "" > >> > "" "{ MERGEFIELD myfield2 } > >> > " } > >> > > >> > I'm not sure I can get at my Word 2000 system right now but when I can > >> > I'll take a look. Which Word SR/SP are you using? > >> > > >> > Peter Jamieson > >> > > >> > "Peter" <Peter[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message > >> > news:66BEF88A-3E64-4D73-9C8F-08925446AA65[ at ]microsoft.com... > >> >> Thanks again Ed. > >> >> > >> >> Really appreciate all your advice! > >> >> > >> >> I am using Ver 2000. > >> >> > >> >> I have tried various things you have mentioned, but no luck. The code > >> >> I > >> >> have > >> >> I initially set with information from Microsoft, combined with your > >> >> initial > >> >> suggestions. I have a link to a screen shot I took of the code I am > >> >> using. I > >> >> did try keying in the code as you showed Pearl but the documents would > >> >> not > >> >> come up. The code in the link gives me the documents, just will not > >> >> supress > >> >> blank lines unless I merge to a new document. > >> >> > >> >> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/Peterout/code2.jpg?t=1177710767 > >> >> > >> >> Thanks again . . . > >> >> > >> >> Peter > >> > > >> > > >> > >> > >> > > >