Is there a Special method to inserting fields?

[=?iso-8859-1?Q?JethroUK=A9?=]

I have been experimenting with a mail merge field all night long and have
finally come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter what i put e.g.

{IF{MERGEFIELD "CSCS_Test_DateTime"}> {DATE} {MERGEFIELD
"CSCS_Test_DateTime" \@ "ddd dd MM hh:mm"}
{MERGEFIELD "CSCS_Test_DateTime" dd MM}

The machine just doesn't not like the way i am entering them

They just sit there like a string of mis-spelled text - I know that when
entering array formulas in XL you have to use CTRL + ENTER

Is there some secret handshake that i'm missing?

 

[Graham Mayor]

Do you mean apart from using CTRL+F9 for the field boundaries {}?

In any case it is not going to work. You cannot compare dates like that -
and I seem to recall Macropod showing you how in another thread; however
life's too short to go looking for that thread on a Sunday morning, so what
you should have is presumably:

{IF{Mergefield "CSCS_Test_DateTime" \@ "yyyyMMdd"} > {Date \@ "yyyyMMdd"}
"{MERGEFIELD
"CSCS_Test_DateTime" \@ "ddd dd MM hh:mm"}" "{MERGEFIELD
"CSCS_Test_DateTime" \@ "dd MM"}"}

See http://www.gmayor.com/formatting_word_fields.htm
--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

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[Graham Mayor]

The other thread was in the mailmerge field forum to which you crossposted!


--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[=?iso-8859-1?Q?JethroUK=A9?=]

I tried CTRL+F9 and it now treats it like a field - Thanks

I tried macropods post 'as is' but unsuccessfully - upon reflection i
thought changing the date format (long for pending to short for history)
would be more effective (and might even work ) - It still doesn't work
(just leaves empty field) and for a lot of reasons i don't think it ever
will:

News gets broken into pieces - i might be missing some subtle spacing
I'm in UK and MS Office struggles with the dates here
They are appointments so have to include time which must blow it's mind e.g.

Thu 18 Oct 06:00 PM

It's a shame that when connected as DDE there's no option to adopt the
format since it is sitting in Excel exactly as intended

I might shift the Day of the Week to a seperate field incase this is
puzzling it
I might just get XL to add "Pending" to the end
I might try shifting all the data into MS Word table - One day )

Until then I think i'll just print it out and highlight all pending
appointments with a pen )

 

[Graham Mayor]

Office doesn't struggle with dates in the UK? They merely have a different
format to US dates. As a former UK resident I always have my PC configured
for the UK and Macropod is in Australia where they use the same format..

{ Date \@ "ddd dd MMM mm:ss am/pm" }

is the correct switch to get the date and time in the format you chose from
the current date. As for your data, we don't appear to know what the field
contains. It won't make up a time if none exists in the field.

What does
{Mergefield "CSCS_Test_DateTime" }
produce?
Connected by DDE that field should show what you have in Excel?

--
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Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Graham Mayor]

Plan B - that should be

{ Date \@ "ddd dd MMM hh:mm am/pm" }

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[=?iso-8859-1?Q?JethroUK=A9?=]

The source is e.g.

Thu 18 Oct 06:00 PM

{Mergefield "CSCS_Test_DateTime" } (after DDE connection) is same:

Thu 18 Oct 06:00 PM

Just as info: prior to connecting as DDE it was translated as Fri 18 Oct
06:00 PM ?????? - i assume this is something to do with differing start of
week but couldn't find a cure

After any IF function it's just blank - It might be something simple i just
can't see

P.S. I've had UK date problem before when connected by default OLE - and no
amount of formatting can put day/month correctly where they are ambiguous -
e.g. it can figure 23 of June (because there are not 23 months) - but not
the 7 June - it returns 6th July irrespective of any format - this does
suggest that Dates/times are not being passed as a number (as per Access and
Excel)

I don't know how DDE passes dates but i expect it must be text which could
open up a whole new can of worms

I'll give it another try and see if it works

 

[Peter Jamieson]

Just as info: prior to connecting as DDE it was translated as Fri 18 Oct

06:00 PM ?????? - i assume this is something to do with differing start
of week but couldn't find a cure

I wondered about this, but I don't think so - after all, 18 Oct 2007 is the
same day regardless of which day you regard as "day 1" in the week. Although
I read your previous messages about this and wondered whether you might have
the "1904" date system checked in Excel Tools|Options for this workbook,
that wouldn't give this particular result either. Much more likely is that
you are entering 07 and it's being interpreted as 1907 (where the dates
would indeed shift 1 day in the way you suggest. But that doesn't quite
square with what you have actually said, which is that you are entering and
seeing 2007. I wonder what happens if you start with a brand new Excel
workbook.

P.S. I've had UK date problem before when connected by default OLE - and
no amount of formatting can put day/month correctly where they are
ambiguous - e.g. it can figure 23 of June (because there are not 23
months) - but not the 7 June - it returns 6th July irrespective of any
format - this does suggest that Dates/times are not being passed as a
number (as per Access and Excel)

Yes, this problem certainly exists/existed and originated in the OLE DB
provider for the data source and was fixed in a hotfix and/or service pack,
and or in Word 2003 (sometimes it's not complete clear exactly /where/ the
problem has been fixed). But what it actually says is that the numeric date
in Excel is being converted into a string by the OLE DB provider.

 

[Graham Mayor]

The source is e.g.

Thu 18 Oct 06:00 PM

{Mergefield "CSCS_Test_DateTime" } (after DDE connection) is same:

Thu 18 Oct 06:00 PM

What does the field produce with the default connection - ie what is the
underlying data in the source?

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[macropod]

Hi Graham,

Sorted in the mailmerge field forum.

Cheers

 

[=?iso-8859-1?Q?JethroUK=A9?=]

Sort of - it works but still bugging out:

XL Source = Sat 20 Oct 11:00 AM

{ MERGEFIELD CSCS_Test_DateTime \@ "ddd dd MMM hh:mm am/pm" } = Thu
20 Oct 12:00 AM ?????????

{ MERGEFIELD CSCS_Test_DateTime } = Sat 20 Oct 11:00 AM

It looks like the date/time format is failing - sent out all my appointments
wrong today - but it's fine now without the formatting?

Hi Graham,

Sorted in the mailmerge field forum.

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

What does the field produce with the default connection - ie what is the
underlying data in the source?

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Peter Jamieson]

You get that because when WOrd sees the text string "Sat 20 Oct 11:00 AM"
and tries to extract a date from it, what it sees is 20 Oct 11, i.e. 20 Oct
2011, i.e. Thu 20 Oct at 12:00 AM. To get it to recognise the text correctly
you would have to insert the year - then I think Word would get the day
right and recognise the time correctly as well, probably.

Peter Jamieson

Sort of - it works but still bugging out:

XL Source = Sat 20 Oct 11:00 AM

{ MERGEFIELD CSCS_Test_DateTime \@ "ddd dd MMM hh:mm am/pm" } =
Thu 20 Oct 12:00 AM ?????????

{ MERGEFIELD CSCS_Test_DateTime } = Sat 20 Oct 11:00 AM

It looks like the date/time format is failing - sent out all my
appointments wrong today - but it's fine now without the formatting?

Hi Graham,

Sorted in the mailmerge field forum.

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

JethroUK© wrote:
The source is e.g.

Thu 18 Oct 06:00 PM

{Mergefield "CSCS_Test_DateTime" } (after DDE connection) is same:

Thu 18 Oct 06:00 PM


What does the field produce with the default connection - ie what is the
underlying data in the source?

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[macropod]

Hi Jethro,

Is this an actual date & time in Excel, or just a string? If it's an actual date & time, what *year* is in the Excel data?

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

Sort of - it works but still bugging out:

XL Source = Sat 20 Oct 11:00 AM

{ MERGEFIELD CSCS_Test_DateTime \@ "ddd dd MMM hh:mm am/pm" } = Thu 20 Oct 12:00 AM ?????????

{ MERGEFIELD CSCS_Test_DateTime } = Sat 20 Oct 11:00 AM

It looks like the date/time format is failing - sent out all my appointments wrong today - but it's fine now without the
formatting?

Hi Graham,

Sorted in the mailmerge field forum.

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

JethroUK© wrote:
The source is e.g.

Thu 18 Oct 06:00 PM

{Mergefield "CSCS_Test_DateTime" } (after DDE connection) is same:

Thu 18 Oct 06:00 PM


What does the field produce with the default connection - ie what is the underlying data in the source?

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[=?iso-8859-1?Q?JethroUK=A9?=]

Hi

It works fine without the formatting - it currently shows full date/time if
the appoinment is pending:

Sat 20 Oct 11:00 AM

And short date once it has passed (becomes history)

20-Oct

which is perfect for me - but just for interest - It is a proper date/time
field formatted in XL as:

ddd dd mmm hh:mm AM/PM (not text)

i often leave out the year in the format but for sure it is 2007 - i don't
know, but if it is being translated as text it's just guessing and it's
guessing wrong

Hi Jethro,

Is this an actual date & time in Excel, or just a string? If it's an
actual date & time, what *year* is in the Excel data?

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

Sort of - it works but still bugging out:

XL Source = Sat 20 Oct 11:00 AM

{ MERGEFIELD CSCS_Test_DateTime \@ "ddd dd MMM hh:mm am/pm" } =
Thu 20 Oct 12:00 AM ?????????

{ MERGEFIELD CSCS_Test_DateTime } = Sat 20 Oct 11:00 AM

It looks like the date/time format is failing - sent out all my
appointments wrong today - but it's fine now without the formatting?

Hi Graham,

Sorted in the mailmerge field forum.

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

JethroUK© wrote:
The source is e.g.

Thu 18 Oct 06:00 PM

{Mergefield "CSCS_Test_DateTime" } (after DDE connection) is same:

Thu 18 Oct 06:00 PM


What does the field produce with the default connection - ie what is
the underlying data in the source?

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[=?iso-8859-1?Q?JethroUK=A9?=]

I'm sure you're right - it's a shame date/times can't be passed as numbers
which aren't open to mis-interpretation

You get that because when WOrd sees the text string "Sat 20 Oct 11:00 AM"
and tries to extract a date from it, what it sees is 20 Oct 11, i.e. 20
Oct 2011, i.e. Thu 20 Oct at 12:00 AM. To get it to recognise the text
correctly you would have to insert the year - then I think Word would get
the day right and recognise the time correctly as well, probably.

Peter Jamieson

Sort of - it works but still bugging out:

XL Source = Sat 20 Oct 11:00 AM

{ MERGEFIELD CSCS_Test_DateTime \@ "ddd dd MMM hh:mm am/pm" } =
Thu 20 Oct 12:00 AM ?????????

{ MERGEFIELD CSCS_Test_DateTime } = Sat 20 Oct 11:00 AM

It looks like the date/time format is failing - sent out all my
appointments wrong today - but it's fine now without the formatting?

Hi Graham,

Sorted in the mailmerge field forum.

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

JethroUK© wrote:
The source is e.g.

Thu 18 Oct 06:00 PM

{Mergefield "CSCS_Test_DateTime" } (after DDE connection) is same:

Thu 18 Oct 06:00 PM


What does the field produce with the default connection - ie what is
the underlying data in the source?

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[macropod]

Hi Jethro,

In that case, the problem is likely due to the fact you aren't displaying the year in Excel. Without that, Word is coercing the hour
into duty as the year number - 20 Oct 2011 is a Thursday. You'll need to make sure the (correct) year is displayed in Excel.

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

Hi

It works fine without the formatting - it currently shows full date/time if the appoinment is pending:

Sat 20 Oct 11:00 AM

And short date once it has passed (becomes history)

20-Oct

which is perfect for me - but just for interest - It is a proper date/time field formatted in XL as:

ddd dd mmm hh:mm AM/PM (not text)

i often leave out the year in the format but for sure it is 2007 - i don't know, but if it is being translated as text it's just
guessing and it's guessing wrong

Hi Jethro,

Is this an actual date & time in Excel, or just a string? If it's an actual date & time, what *year* is in the Excel data?

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

Sort of - it works but still bugging out:

XL Source = Sat 20 Oct 11:00 AM

{ MERGEFIELD CSCS_Test_DateTime \@ "ddd dd MMM hh:mm am/pm" } = Thu 20 Oct 12:00 AM ?????????

{ MERGEFIELD CSCS_Test_DateTime } = Sat 20 Oct 11:00 AM

It looks like the date/time format is failing - sent out all my appointments wrong today - but it's fine now without the
formatting?







Hi Graham,

Sorted in the mailmerge field forum.

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

JethroUK© wrote:
The source is e.g.

Thu 18 Oct 06:00 PM

{Mergefield "CSCS_Test_DateTime" } (after DDE connection) is same:

Thu 18 Oct 06:00 PM


What does the field produce with the default connection - ie what is the underlying data in the source?

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Peter Jamieson]

How exactly are you arranging to use the longer format for future dates and
the shorter one for past dates?

--
Peter Jamieson
http://tips.pjmsn.me.uk

Hi

It works fine without the formatting - it currently shows full date/time
if the appoinment is pending:

Sat 20 Oct 11:00 AM

And short date once it has passed (becomes history)

20-Oct

which is perfect for me - but just for interest - It is a proper date/time
field formatted in XL as:

ddd dd mmm hh:mm AM/PM (not text)

i often leave out the year in the format but for sure it is 2007 - i
don't know, but if it is being translated as text it's just guessing and
it's guessing wrong

Hi Jethro,

Is this an actual date & time in Excel, or just a string? If it's an
actual date & time, what *year* is in the Excel data?

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

Sort of - it works but still bugging out:

XL Source = Sat 20 Oct 11:00 AM

{ MERGEFIELD CSCS_Test_DateTime \@ "ddd dd MMM hh:mm am/pm" } =
Thu 20 Oct 12:00 AM ?????????

{ MERGEFIELD CSCS_Test_DateTime } = Sat 20 Oct 11:00 AM

It looks like the date/time format is failing - sent out all my
appointments wrong today - but it's fine now without the formatting?







Hi Graham,

Sorted in the mailmerge field forum.

Cheers
--
macropod
[MVP - Microsoft Word]
-------------------------

JethroUK© wrote:
The source is e.g.

Thu 18 Oct 06:00 PM

{Mergefield "CSCS_Test_DateTime" } (after DDE connection) is same:

Thu 18 Oct 06:00 PM


What does the field produce with the default connection - ie what is
the underlying data in the source?

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>