You receive a "<File name> is a mail merge main document" error message when you open a mail-merge document or template in Word 2002 (275934)

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods, as appropriate for your situation.

Method 1: If the Data Source Still Exists

If the data source mentioned in the error message still exists, and you know where to find it, follow these steps to reattach the data source:

1. In the error message dialog box, click Find Data Source.
2. In the Select Data Source dialog box, select the data source mentioned in the error message, and then click Open.
3. On the File menu, click Save to save the changes that you made to reattach the missing data source.
4. Complete your mail merge as usual.

Method 2: If the Data Source Does Not Exist

If the data source mentioned in the error message does not exist, or you do not know where to find the data source, follow these steps:

1. In the error message dialog box, click Options.
2. Click Remove Data/Header Source when you receive the following message:

   If the mail merge data/header source file name no longer exists, choose Remove Data/Header Source to remove its association with file name or choose Remove All Merge Info to make file name a normal Word document.

   NOTE: Your Word document is no longer a Word mail-merge main document with a data source attached. Instead, it is a normal Word document.

To reattach a data source and make your document a mail-merge main document again, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, point to Letters and Mailings, and then click Mail Merge Wizard.
2. In the Select recipients section of the Mail Merge Wizard (Step 3 of 6), do one of the following:
   • If you are performing a merge with a file that is saved as your address list (data source), follow these steps:
     1. Click Use an existing list, and then click Browse.
     2. In the Select Data Source dialog box, select the file that contains the address list (data source) that you want to use, and then click Open.
     -or-
     
     
   • If you are performing a merge with a Microsoft Outlook Contact list, follow these steps:
     1. Click Select from Outlook contacts. In the Select from Outlook contacts section, click Choose Contacts Folder.
     2. In the Select Contact List folder dialog box, select the contact list (address list) that you want to use, and then click OK.
3. Complete your mail merge as usual.

Method 3: If the Data Source Not Found Is "~~~_virtual_file_~~~"

To work around this problem when you are using a Microsoft Outlook Contact list as your mail-merge data source, follow these steps:

1. When you receive the error message described in the "Symptoms" section of this article, click Options in the error message dialog box.
2. A message similar to the following appears:

   If the mail merge data/header source ~~~_virtual_file_~~~.olk no longer exists, choose Remove Data/Header Source to remove its association with file name or choose Remove All Merge Info to make file name a normal Word document.

   Click Remove Data/Header Source.

NOTE: Your Word document will no longer be a Word mail-merge main document with a data source attached. Instead, it is a normal Word document.

To reattach the Microsoft Outlook Contact list as the data source, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, point to Letters and Mailings, and then click Mail Merge Wizard.
2. In the Select recipients section of the Mail Merge Wizard, click Select from Outlook contacts. In the Select from Outlook contacts section, click Choose Contacts Folder.
3. In the Select Contact List folder dialog box, select the address book that you want to use, and then click OK.
   
   This creates a new virtual file (~~~_virtual_file_~~~), based on the current contact list information.
4. Complete your mail merge as usual.

NOTE: You must repeat these steps each time that you restart Word and open the mail-merge main document that is attached to this data source.