Address labels list

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
From the point of view of someone charged with supporting and trouble
shooting approximately 125 mail mergers, I would caution you to add one
feature that is often neglected by Excel experts, normalize your data as much
as possible.
Break it up into first name, last name , several address fields as well as
separate city, stat and zip fields. This will allow far more flexibility in
sorting and filtering if required, although if you are using Offec 2002 or
later, you will be able to filter from the recipients list in the word mail
merge wizard, or toolbar. Normalizing may save you future headaches that
will require more sophisiticated parsing. You never know what the future of
you data requirments and uses will require.
 
With all due respect, I must disagree with you. The example of a data source
at
http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/mailmerg.htm
is not normalized. Even the Mail Merge Wizard in MS Word leads the user to
a more normalized set of fields. The example you cite combines frist and
last name and also combines city, state and zip.
The heavy mailmerge user needs much flexibility in sorting, by last name, or
city or state or someother field. They are also mainly Word users and not
power users of Excel. While sorting by State in a field of combined City,
State, Zip data would be easy for you (even I can do it). an administrative
assistant, under the gun to get out 800 form letters does not have time to
learn.

For further clarification on this and other MailMerge issues, you should
refer to microsoft.public.word.mailmerge
 
PA

You are correct in your summation of the material presented at David's site.

I did not look closely enough. He does combine some fields as you point out.

Please accept apologies and thanks for your observations on this subject.

Gord
 
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