WD98: Conditional Alphanumeric Merge May Yield Incorrect Results (189028)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition
This article was previously published under Q189028

SYMPTOMS

A mail merge operation may yield incorrect results if you use a conditional statement to evaluate alphanumeric data when the first character of the data is numeric.

CAUSE

This behavior is by design of Microsoft Word. This happens because conditional statements (IF fields) evaluate only the first two characters of a numeric string.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, modify the data so that each field begins with a non-numeric character. Then, modify the conditional field in the main merge document to match the data. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. In the data document, add a character to the beginning of each data field that starts with a number. You can use any character, such as a parenthesis (you can also add one to the end of the field, so that it's easier to read) or an ampersand (&). This makes the first character in the number field a character instead of a numeral.

    Modified with parentheses: 
          ---------------------------------
      |  Rec_Num  |Name      |Number  |
      ---------------------------------
      |     1     |John      |(1AA)   |
      ---------------------------------
      |     2     |Bill      |(1AB)   |
      ---------------------------------
      |     3     |Fred      |(2AA)   |
      ---------------------------------
      |     4     |George    |(ABC)   |
      ---------------------------------
    Modified with an ampersand:
          ---------------------------------
      |  Rec_Num  |Name      |Number  |
      ---------------------------------
      |     1     |John      |&1AA    |
      ---------------------------------
      |     2     |Bill      |&1AB    |
      ---------------------------------
      |     3     |Fred      |&2AA    |
      ---------------------------------
      |     4     |George    |&ABC    |
      ---------------------------------
  2. In the main document, edit the test portion of the conditional field so that it matches the newly modified data. For example:

    If the data is surrounded by parentheses, modify the field to look like this:

    {IF {MERGEFIELD number} = "(1A)" "This is true"}

    If the data begins with an ampersand, modify the field to look like this:

    {IF {MERGEFIELD number} = "&1A" "This is true"}

MORE INFORMATION

For example, using the following sample data file, the following conditional statement incorrectly yields a true result for the first and second records, although only the second record satisfies the condition:

{IF {MERGEFIELD NUMBER} = "1AB" "This is true"}

NOTE: The IF field evaluated only the first two characters (1A) of the numeric string.

Sample Data File

   ---------------------------------
   |  Rec_Num  |Name      |Number  |
   ---------------------------------
   |     1     |John      |1AA     |
   ---------------------------------
   |     2     |Bill      |1AB     |
   ---------------------------------
   |     3     |Fred      |2AA     |
   ---------------------------------
   |     4     |George    |ABC     |
   ---------------------------------
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/4/2002
Keywords:kbfield kbhowto kbmerge KB189028
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