Data Merge with MS Word and FM

[victorialine]

I want to do a data merge in MS word using FM file (created with FM8) as the data source.

Word is supposed to be able to bring in filemaker data under choose data source. The problem is that when I go to CHOOSE the filemaker file, all of them are greyed out as if word can't recognize them.

I have tried this with Mac OS X Tiger using Word 2004 and

Windows XP using MS Word 2002.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Cin

[SteveB]

I have successfully done this by using WinBatch, which will only work on Windows. Wim Decorte might be able to comment on whether VBScript could do it. An Apple expert should comment on Applescript.

I create a prototype mailmerge with merge fields for Name, Street Address, CityStateZip and a Salutation line. I then have Filemaker create a datafile and run a small script that causes the merge procedure to complete.

Steve

[victorialine]

Steve,

Thanks for your reply. I suppose it would be possible to do it as a script and run it from FM. One thing is that I have to be able to run it in a PC and a Mac environment. Also, apparently it is a function of MS Word that I can run the mail merge FROM Word, and locate the FM database as the data source.

And now that I think about it, I'm not sure how I would tell Word which contacts to get. I certainly would not want to grab a the WHOLE database. Hummm, maybe I should try and post on a good MS Word BB. Anybody know good BBs to post on?

OR does anyone have experience running the MM from MS Word?:

Thanks,

Cin

[SteveB]

Cin:

My best guess is that you're better off driving Word from Filemaker than Filemaker from Word. While someone might take me to task, I think Filemaker's hooks outside itself stink (e.g. we still need a plugin for dealing with files), but its ability to be controlled by another app is even worse. I think you need to pass a found set to Word.

The best advise is FM Forums. While you might find people that know more about Word, the experts here will know more about Filemaker.

Steve