My client is having problems with mail merge using a custom contact form. The
form shows all the proper fields and the properties for the Exchange public
folder show it is using the form. I can enter data into a new entry with all
custom form fields. When I run that new contact in a mail merge against a
Word 2003 .dot file, I get 'Invalid Merge Field' on all the custom form
fields. This same mail merge works fine with a similar contacts public folder
in the same Public Folder hierarchy. I do not know how the custom contact
fields were populated in the folder that fails to merge.

I have published the from from the original .oft file to the Organizational
Forms folder and the form shows up correctly under the 'Actions' tab.

The option to substitute a field for the invalid merge field appears to show
me only the standard contact fields. I haven't check each possible
substitution field but they look almost identical the standard contact fields.

Help?

You didn't say how you're performing the merge. Basics are that you need to start the merge from OUtlook, not Word, and any custom fields you want to use must be defined so that they show up in the User-defined Fields in Folder list for the folder. If the fields aren't available to a folder view, they won't be available to a merge either.

The substitution feature won't help you here, I suspect.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.turtleflock.com/olconfig/index.htm
and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx

"JCH" wrote in message ...
My client is having problems with mail merge using a custom contact form. The
form shows all the proper fields and the properties for the Exchange public
folder show it is using the form. I can enter data into a new entry with all
custom form fields. When I run that new contact in a mail merge against a
Word 2003 .dot file, I get 'Invalid Merge Field' on all the custom form
fields. This same mail merge works fine with a similar contacts public folder
in the same Public Folder hierarchy. I do not know how the custom contact
fields were populated in the folder that fails to merge.

I have published the from from the original .oft file to the Organizational
Forms folder and the form shows up correctly under the 'Actions' tab.

The option to substitute a field for the invalid merge field appears to show
me only the standard contact fields. I haven't check each possible
substitution field but they look almost identical the standard contact fields.

Help?

The mail merge is started from outlook. The entire form is custom. There are
several additional pages of fields. It looks like it was created using the
basic contact form. You lost me with the 'User Defined Fields in folder list
for the folder'. These folders in Outlook from which the mail merge is
started are Exchange Public folders. Please elaborate.


"Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

You didn't say how you're performing the merge. Basics are that you need to start the merge from OUtlook, not Word, and any custom fields you want to use must be defined so that they show up in the User-defined Fields in Folder list for the folder. If the fields aren't available to a folder view, they won't be available to a merge either.

The substitution feature won't help you here, I suspect.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.turtleflock.com/olconfig/index.htm
and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx

"JCH" wrote in message ...
My client is having problems with mail merge using a custom contact form. The
form shows all the proper fields and the properties for the Exchange public
folder show it is using the form. I can enter data into a new entry with all
custom form fields. When I run that new contact in a mail merge against a
Word 2003 .dot file, I get 'Invalid Merge Field' on all the custom form
fields. This same mail merge works fine with a similar contacts public folder
in the same Public Folder hierarchy. I do not know how the custom contact
fields were populated in the folder that fails to merge.

I have published the from from the original .oft file to the Organizational
Forms folder and the form shows up correctly under the 'Actions' tab.

The option to substitute a field for the invalid merge field appears to show
me only the standard contact fields. I haven't check each possible
substitution field but they look almost identical the standard contact fields.

Help?

In any table view, right-click the column headings and choose Field Chooser. Change the display from Frequently Used Fields to User-defined Fields in Folder. If you don't see your fields there, you'll need to click the New button and add them.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.turtleflock.com/olconfig/index.htm
and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx

"JCH" wrote in message ...
The mail merge is started from outlook. The entire form is custom. There are
several additional pages of fields. It looks like it was created using the
basic contact form. You lost me with the 'User Defined Fields in folder list
for the folder'. These folders in Outlook from which the mail merge is
started are Exchange Public folders. Please elaborate.


"Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

You didn't say how you're performing the merge. Basics are that you need to start the merge from OUtlook, not Word, and any custom fields you want to use must be defined so that they show up in the User-defined Fields in Folder list for the folder. If the fields aren't available to a folder view, they won't be available to a merge either.

"JCH" wrote in message ...
My client is having problems with mail merge using a custom contact form. The
form shows all the proper fields and the properties for the Exchange public
folder show it is using the form. I can enter data into a new entry with all
custom form fields. When I run that new contact in a mail merge against a
Word 2003 .dot file, I get 'Invalid Merge Field' on all the custom form
fields. This same mail merge works fine with a similar contacts public folder
in the same Public Folder hierarchy. I do not know how the custom contact
fields were populated in the folder that fails to merge.

I have published the from from the original .oft file to the Organizational
Forms folder and the form shows up correctly under the 'Actions' tab.

The option to substitute a field for the invalid merge field appears to show
me only the standard contact fields. I haven't check each possible
substitution field but they look almost identical the standard contact fields.

Help?

The fields show up exactly as they should in all the records in the folder
being used in the mail merge. The properties for the folder show it using the
correct form. I even ran the 'Omsgclas.exe' macro against the folder the
analyze the form being used. It confirms the proper form. But, the merge
cannot find the field in the header record. The exact message generated is
'Error! MergeField was not found in header record of data source'. I even
created a new entry using the custom form and ran that one in the merge. The
results were the same. I moved the form to another Exchange server system and
client and the results were the same. I suspect the client has corrupted the
form in some way and the records entered are being 'one offed' back to the
standard contact form. I don't however know how I can confirm this.

"JCH" wrote:

The mail merge is started from outlook. The entire form is custom. There are
several additional pages of fields. It looks like it was created using the
basic contact form. You lost me with the 'User Defined Fields in folder list
for the folder'. These folders in Outlook from which the mail merge is
started are Exchange Public folders. Please elaborate.


"Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

You didn't say how you're performing the merge. Basics are that you need to start the merge from OUtlook, not Word, and any custom fields you want to use must be defined so that they show up in the User-defined Fields in Folder list for the folder. If the fields aren't available to a folder view, they won't be available to a merge either.

The substitution feature won't help you here, I suspect.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.turtleflock.com/olconfig/index.htm
and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx

"JCH" wrote in message ...
My client is having problems with mail merge using a custom contact form. The
form shows all the proper fields and the properties for the Exchange public
folder show it is using the form. I can enter data into a new entry with all
custom form fields. When I run that new contact in a mail merge against a
Word 2003 .dot file, I get 'Invalid Merge Field' on all the custom form
fields. This same mail merge works fine with a similar contacts public folder
in the same Public Folder hierarchy. I do not know how the custom contact
fields were populated in the folder that fails to merge.

I have published the from from the original .oft file to the Organizational
Forms folder and the form shows up correctly under the 'Actions' tab.

The option to substitute a field for the invalid merge field appears to show
me only the standard contact fields. I haven't check each possible
substitution field but they look almost identical the standard contact fields.

Help?

The fields show up exactly as they should in all the records in the folder
being used in the mail merge.

Show up where?

Also, you need to be starting the merge from Outlook and choosing to include all fields in the folder. Are you doing that?

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.turtleflock.com/olconfig/index.htm
and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx

"JCH" wrote in message ...
The fields show up exactly as they should in all the records in the folder
being used in the mail merge. The properties for the folder show it using the
correct form. I even ran the 'Omsgclas.exe' macro against the folder the
analyze the form being used. It confirms the proper form. But, the merge
cannot find the field in the header record. The exact message generated is
'Error! MergeField was not found in header record of data source'. I even
created a new entry using the custom form and ran that one in the merge. The
results were the same. I moved the form to another Exchange server system and
client and the results were the same. I suspect the client has corrupted the
form in some way and the records entered are being 'one offed' back to the
standard contact form. I don't however know how I can confirm this.

"JCH" wrote:

The mail merge is started from outlook. The entire form is custom. There are
several additional pages of fields. It looks like it was created using the
basic contact form. You lost me with the 'User Defined Fields in folder list
for the folder'. These folders in Outlook from which the mail merge is
started are Exchange Public folders. Please elaborate.


"Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

You didn't say how you're performing the merge. Basics are that you need to start the merge from OUtlook, not Word, and any custom fields you want to use must be defined so that they show up in the User-defined Fields in Folder list for the folder. If the fields aren't available to a folder view, they won't be available to a merge either.

"JCH" wrote in message ...
My client is having problems with mail merge using a custom contact form. The
form shows all the proper fields and the properties for the Exchange public
folder show it is using the form. I can enter data into a new entry with all
custom form fields. When I run that new contact in a mail merge against a
Word 2003 .dot file, I get 'Invalid Merge Field' on all the custom form
fields. This same mail merge works fine with a similar contacts public folder
in the same Public Folder hierarchy. I do not know how the custom contact
fields were populated in the folder that fails to merge.

I have published the from from the original .oft file to the Organizational
Forms folder and the form shows up correctly under the 'Actions' tab.

The option to substitute a field for the invalid merge field appears to show
me only the standard contact fields. I haven't check each possible
substitution field but they look almost identical the standard contact fields.

Help?

The fields do not show up in the 'User Defined Fields'. They do show up in
the fields for the form name. Are you telling me the fields won't work in
Mail Merge unless they are defined in the 'User Defined Fields'?

"JCH" wrote:

The fields show up exactly as they should in all the records in the folder
being used in the mail merge. The properties for the folder show it using the
correct form. I even ran the 'Omsgclas.exe' macro against the folder the
analyze the form being used. It confirms the proper form. But, the merge
cannot find the field in the header record. The exact message generated is
'Error! MergeField was not found in header record of data source'. I even
created a new entry using the custom form and ran that one in the merge. The
results were the same. I moved the form to another Exchange server system and
client and the results were the same. I suspect the client has corrupted the
form in some way and the records entered are being 'one offed' back to the
standard contact form. I don't however know how I can confirm this.

"JCH" wrote:

The mail merge is started from outlook. The entire form is custom. There are
several additional pages of fields. It looks like it was created using the
basic contact form. You lost me with the 'User Defined Fields in folder list
for the folder'. These folders in Outlook from which the mail merge is
started are Exchange Public folders. Please elaborate.


"Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

You didn't say how you're performing the merge. Basics are that you need to start the merge from OUtlook, not Word, and any custom fields you want to use must be defined so that they show up in the User-defined Fields in Folder list for the folder. If the fields aren't available to a folder view, they won't be available to a merge either.

The substitution feature won't help you here, I suspect.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.turtleflock.com/olconfig/index.htm
and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx

"JCH" wrote in message ...
My client is having problems with mail merge using a custom contact form. The
form shows all the proper fields and the properties for the Exchange public
folder show it is using the form. I can enter data into a new entry with all
custom form fields. When I run that new contact in a mail merge against a
Word 2003 .dot file, I get 'Invalid Merge Field' on all the custom form
fields. This same mail merge works fine with a similar contacts public folder
in the same Public Folder hierarchy. I do not know how the custom contact
fields were populated in the folder that fails to merge.

I have published the from from the original .oft file to the Organizational
Forms folder and the form shows up correctly under the 'Actions' tab.

The option to substitute a field for the invalid merge field appears to show
me only the standard contact fields. I haven't check each possible
substitution field but they look almost identical the standard contact fields.

Help?

Yes, that's exactly what I've been saying.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.turtleflock.com/olconfig/index.htm
and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx

"JCH" wrote in message ...
The fields do not show up in the 'User Defined Fields'. They do show up in
the fields for the form name. Are you telling me the fields won't work in
Mail Merge unless they are defined in the 'User Defined Fields'?

"JCH" wrote:

The fields show up exactly as they should in all the records in the folder
being used in the mail merge. The properties for the folder show it using the
correct form. I even ran the 'Omsgclas.exe' macro against the folder the
analyze the form being used. It confirms the proper form. But, the merge
cannot find the field in the header record. The exact message generated is
'Error! MergeField was not found in header record of data source'. I even
created a new entry using the custom form and ran that one in the merge. The
results were the same. I moved the form to another Exchange server system and
client and the results were the same. I suspect the client has corrupted the
form in some way and the records entered are being 'one offed' back to the
standard contact form. I don't however know how I can confirm this.

"JCH" wrote:

The mail merge is started from outlook. The entire form is custom. There are
several additional pages of fields. It looks like it was created using the
basic contact form. You lost me with the 'User Defined Fields in folder list
for the folder'. These folders in Outlook from which the mail merge is
started are Exchange Public folders. Please elaborate.


"Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

You didn't say how you're performing the merge. Basics are that you need to start the merge from OUtlook, not Word, and any custom fields you want to use must be defined so that they show up in the User-defined Fields in Folder list for the folder. If the fields aren't available to a folder view, they won't be available to a merge either.

The substitution feature won't help you here, I suspect.


"JCH" wrote in message ...
My client is having problems with mail merge using a custom contact form. The
form shows all the proper fields and the properties for the Exchange public
folder show it is using the form. I can enter data into a new entry with all
custom form fields. When I run that new contact in a mail merge against a
Word 2003 .dot file, I get 'Invalid Merge Field' on all the custom form
fields. This same mail merge works fine with a similar contacts public folder
in the same Public Folder hierarchy. I do not know how the custom contact
fields were populated in the folder that fails to merge.

I have published the from from the original .oft file to the Organizational
Forms folder and the form shows up correctly under the 'Actions' tab.

The option to substitute a field for the invalid merge field appears to show
me only the standard contact fields. I haven't check each possible
substitution field but they look almost identical the standard contact fields.

Help?