Replies

You have asked a lot of questions here, and none of them has a simple answer. Especially as you haven’t made clear exactly what you need to do with these Word documents…

Hi StuartR,
Thanks for your thought-provoking feedback. My objective here is learn about the practical Word security practice actually implemented on a daily basis. It must be simple to run. That’s, what would most corporates and attorneys would do when sending out Word documents?
Some of your descriptions appear to be highly speculative/theorectical and, thus, unhelpful.
Thank you for pointing me to a very useful URL http://addbalance.com/usersguide/metadata.htm.
Thanks.

Regards,
Armstrong

Hi Hans,

Though you didn’t mention the document type for your illustration, I suggest it’s of “labels” type.
Most likely, the different {NEXTIF} behaviors are related and caused by the different document types (Letters, Email Messages,…etc.)

Armstrong

Stay away from style-based number list. It’s unreliable and unpredictable.
Personally I prefer {SEQ}, which allows me a maximal control. {SEQ} is extremely reliable and robust.
Armstrong

Hi Hans,
Please reply my last post. In particular, on the one hand, you state, “If the condition is false, the merge continues as if there had been no NEXTIF field.” On the other hand, you state, “If the condition evaluates to false, Word merges the next record into a new letter.”
Please help me understand the confusion. Thanks.

Armstrong

{ IF { MERGEFIELD “Phone2” } = “” “Did not provide alternate info” “{MERGEFIELD “Phone2″ }” }

Do you actually need {QUOTE} in this case?
That’s, {QUOTE{ IF { MERGEFIELD “Phone2” } = “” “Did not provide alternate info” “{MERGEFIELD “Phone2″ }”}}

Armstrong

Hi Hans,

Thanks for your thorough answer.

Armstrong

1. Which version of Word are you using?
2. Have you tried Organizer to to mange macros across templates?

Armstrong

Hi Hans,

Thanks for adding clarity. I wish you were the author of most Microsoft user manuals.
So for “Letters” document type, {NEXTIF} does insert a form feed. Does it? Now at least we agree {NEXTIF} can “merge the next record into a new letter” if the condition is FALSE. In actuality, how? Does it generate a form feed immediately upon finding the condition FALSE?
Also, in your first reply, you state, “If the condition is false, the merge continues as if there had been no NEXTIF field.”

That’s exactly where I was confused. Please help. Thanks.

Armstrong

Hans,

Thanks for your feedback. I didn’t take into account a lengthy document. In that case, you’re right, it’s inconvenient to locate the hidden comments even with Find (Ctrl+F).

Armstrong

Hi Hans,

Thanks for your extremely perfect answer.

Armstrong

Hi Pam,

Would people also use hidden text for commenting? Using regular commenting (Ctrl+Alt+M) or hidden text, which is better?

Armstrong

Hi Hans,
Thanks for your fast reply. I did test it myself. Yes, {NEXTIF} actually performs the comparison first.
In my case, for example, {NEXTIF {MergeField CustID} = “XYZ” } performs the comparison on the current record.

Referring to Microsoft’s official description http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HP100779671033.aspx:
“The NEXTIF field compares two expressions. If the comparison is true, Microsoft Office Word merges the next data record (data record: A complete set of related information that corresponds to one row of information in the data source. All information about one client in a client mailing list is an example of a data record.) into the current merge document. If the comparison is false, Word merges the next data record into a new merge document.”
It’s slightly different than yours. Specifically, “If the comparison is false, Word merges the next data record into a new merge document.”
That’s how it causes confusion to me.

Thanks for your help.

Regards,
Armstrong

Hi Hans,
Thanks for your absolutely thorough explanation, far more exceeding Microsoft’s.
Nonetheless I’m confused by “the next record is combined with the current one as if they were one record.”
Questions:
1. How could it be technically possible with respect to {MergeField}? Say, the current record pointer is Record 1 and the comparison is TRUE, how would {MergeField} in this scenario?
{IF {MergeRec} = 1 {SET KEY {MergeField CustID}}}

/* Before the following {NEXTIF} field, the current Record Pointer is 1 (the first record) */
{NEXTIF {MergeField CustID} = {Key}}{MergeField CustID}

2. Here now comes the most challenging question. In {NEXTIF {MergeField CustID} = {Key}}, which record, Record 1 or Record 2, does the comparison {MergeField CustID} = {Key} base on? That’s, does the CustID in the comparison belong to the Record 1 or Record 2? That’s, in the general, does the comparison base on the NEXT record? That’s, when executing {NEXTIF}, does the record pointer already move forward before performing the comparison?

Thanks for your enormous help.

Armstrong

Hi Han,
Thanks a lot for adding a lot of clarity. Now it makes a lot of sense. Compared with Macro, field codes lack the readability. Both brackets and quotation marks are hard to trace.
Thanks.
Armstrong

Hi Macropod,
I have trouble to understand your field codes.
{Quote{If{MergeSeq}=1}{SET Key “”}}”If{MergeField State}{Key} “{If{MERGESEQ}>1 {QUOTE 12}}{MergeField State}{Set Key {MergeField State}}“}{MergeField City}{MergeField Representative}{Mergefield Sales}”}

I don’t understanding the meaning of:
{If{MergeSeq}>1 {QUOTE 12}}{MergeField State}{Set Key {MergeField State}}”}
After the first record, would always the MergeSeq be set to greater than 1?

{MergeField City}{MergeField Representative}{Mergefield Sales}
Regardless whether MergeSeq is equal to or greater than 1, the City, Representative, and Sales are always printed out? Isn’t it?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Armstrong