Access Mail Merge

Word Mail Merge Using VBA Access Mail Merge Only

Access mail merge to a database or spreadsheet is a very common in the RFPs we receive.  For one or two page letters we recommend using Microsoft Access Visual Basic totally – bypassing the activation of Microsoft Word and performing the merge operation directly in Access.

The end result of using Access directly to mail merge is that you can provide a much simpler user interface and don’t have the complications of linking to the Access database from Word and don’t have problems having to filter the records or trying to figure out table names, query names and field names to place into the mail merge Word document.
Steps are fairly simple:

1) Create a Microsoft Word document (two pages max) and format it exactly as you want the resulting letter or document to appear.

2) In Word pick the Edit menu and then choose ‘Select All’, then Edit again and select Copy.  This will place of copy of the document into your clipboard

3) Open up Microsoft Access and create a new blank report.

4) With the Edit menu choose Paste.  This will place a copy of the Word document into the Access report.  The document will retain the formatting and other characteristics since it is still a Word Document.  In the Access report the document will be an OLE field and will likely be called OLE1

5) You can then assign the record source for the report using either a table or query.

6) After the record source is defined you then can select the database fields and simply drop them on top of the text in the Word Document.  Setting the Background field property to Normal will completely hide the Word document text underneath the database field.

7) After aligning and sizing the database fields appropriately you are ready to run the report.

Usually you want to filter to select some subset of your database table.  We use a little parameter form and filter a query or the report itself.

 

Use the Site Search  menu choice at the top of the page to locate examples of Using Form Fields to Filter Reports.  To see an advanced technique try search for Using Global Variable as Parameters.

For simple letters and other communications you may find that using Word Bookmarks combined with Access Visual Basic a better method to perform document mail merge.