[AccessD] Word merge document

Heenan, Lambert Lambert.Heenan at chartisinsurance.com
Wed Jul 7 10:32:47 CDT 2010


Why would that be? If you have to design the document from scratch then why not go ahead and build it with all the tabs in the right place to begin with? Tabs are indeed defined by the tab ruler, *but* for each document, and each paragraph, and even each line within a paragraph you can decide what the tab ruler looks like. How many tabs, where they are and what type (left or right justified, decimal tabs etc). To position a tab on the ruler just drag it left or right. To remove it just drag it down.

Correct me if I'm wrong but the goal is that for any given instance of the printed document you want the data in the merge fields and the static text that follows it on the same line to be in the same positions. It seems to me that building the template document with appropriately generous spaces between tabs would do the trick.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Lambert 

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of jwcolby
Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2010 11:09 AM
To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
Subject: Re: [AccessD] Word merge document

Lambert,

AFAIK tab positions are defined by the tab ruler.  Since this is a document with a random number of merge fields on any given line (and positioned in a random location), using the tabs in this manner seems like a non-starter.

John W. Colby
www.ColbyConsulting.com


Heenan, Lambert wrote:
> Did you explain why you were not using tabs on each of the lines with the merge fields? In other words you start each line with the prefix text then hit Tab and add the merge field. Tab again to position the cursor for the next static piece of text, and Tab once again to set up the position of the next merge field. Then hit enter for the next line.
> 
> The tab positions defined on the first line should be inherited by subsequent lines.
> 
> Once the document has been built up, you highlight all the lines with merge fields and then you can adjust the position of each tab to give enough space for the data going into the merge fields. It seems to me that that would be another way to do it, giving you 'flexible white space' between the fields. It would even allow you to use proportional fonts.
> 
> Lambert
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com 
> [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of jwcolby
> Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2010 10:50 AM
> To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving
> Subject: Re: [AccessD] Word merge document
> 
> 
>  > I see your problem but still believes that a table will solve this. Here two rows and four columns (and you would need the variables to be printed in both rows, right?):
> 
> No, not even close.  This is just the first row of a two PAGE document with about 50 fields of various lengths, sometimes just a single field on a line, sometimes three on a line.  ALL with Spanish translations directly below the English "Label".
> 
> For next year I will be doing an Access report but the user printed and mailed fifty of these to parents from last years VBS.  She wants the merged doc to look like the doc she mailed so that the people working the registration table aren't spending all night searching around trying to find the data.
> 
> Word SUCKS sometimes.  Perhaps even most of the time?
> 
> John W. Colby
> www.ColbyConsulting.com
> 
> 
> Gustav Brock wrote:
>> Hi John
>>
>> I see your problem but still believes that a table will solve this. 
>> Here two rows and four columns (and you would need the variables to 
>> be printed in both rows, right?):
>>
>> Child/Youth Name: <<Name1>>	Date of Birth: <<DOB1>>
>> Niño/joven # 1:  <<Name1>>	Fecha de nacimiento: <<DOB1>>
>>
>> Not that I'm a Word expert (actually I stay off Word if at all
>> possible) but I think I saw this method in one of Susan's articles.
>>
>> /gustav
>>
>>
>>>>> jwcolby at colbyconsulting.com 06-07-2010 15:29 >>>
>> Gustav,
>>
>> The problem is the stinkin user (you know users)
>>
>> She wants it to look like the document that she prints for anyone who 
>> just fills out the form manually, so that a person going through 
>> these on the first day of VBS can see all registration documents 
>> looking the same.
>>
>> So I have a field in my merge document that looks like:
>>
>> Child/Youth Name: <<Name1>>	Date of Birth: <<DOB1>>
>> Niño/joven # 1:  Nombre		Fecha de nacimiento:
>>
>>
>> The words on the consecutive lines need to line up with each other, 
>> which I can do with tabs (or spaces).  However as the length of 
>> <<Name1>> changes, it pushes Date Of Birth out to the left, but of 
>> course it does not push Fecha de nacimiento around.  And in the end 
>> it shouldn't push anything around.
>>
>> This is just ugly!  It seems like you should be able to "paint" the 
>> document such that <<Name1>> is a fixed width on the final form.  No 
>> tabs after it, it just takes X inches of space on the line.
>>
>> But the merge field has no handles, no obvious way to say "this field 
>> is always X units wide".  This seems like something that everyone 
>> would want and would have been fixed ohhh.... TWENTY years ago?
>>
>>
>>
>> John W. Colby
>> www.ColbyConsulting.com
> 
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