Mail Merge Problem

[MT DOJ Help Desk]

Word 2000
Outlook 2000
Windows XP

I have a mail merge document that is not working for a user. I can open the
document and do the mail merge without any problems. Once a month I send an
email to another user, and the email contains a link to the file. She can
click on the link to open the file, but can't do the mail merge. If she
opens the file by navigating to it in Windows Explorer, then she CAN do the
mail merge.

I suspect that the inability to do the mail merge after opening the document
using the email link is being caused by a security setting on her computer.
But I'm not sure if that setting would be at the OS level, in Word, or in
Outlook. Does anyone know what's causing this behavior, and how to fix it?

 

[Graham Mayor]

Tell her to save the attachment to the hard drive and open it from there.
Security is striving to prevent you from opening potentially dangerous
attachments.

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Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

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[MT DOJ Help Desk]

What we would prefer is to find a way that she can open and use the document
from the link. That way, we will have one centralized file, and she will
automatically be using the most recent version of the file if she opens it
from the link. Otherwise, there is the risk that we will eventually end up
with a number of versions of the file floating around the office on various
computers and shared drives, which can ultimately lead to a lot of wasted
resources if someone prints several hundred pages using an outdated version
of the file.

Is there a way to sign the document digitally (similar to signing macro
projects) so that her computer will recognize the document as being from a
trusted source? (BTW, the document in question does not contain any macros,
so it's not a macro security problem.)

 

[Graham Mayor]

If you open a Word document from an e-mail attachment directly, you don't
open the document itself, but a temporary copy of it. Whatever changes you
make are saved to the temp file and not to the attachment. The temp is wiped
from the hard drive after use. I can see this producing even more problems.

I would have thought it a simple training exercise to get your staff to save
to a common location which would avoid both problems.

--
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Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[MT DOJ Help Desk]

You've made an assumption which cannot be supported by my previous comments.
If we were interested in having other parties SAVE changes to the document,
then you would be correct in saying that training them to access the
documents in a centralized location would be the best approach. BTW, what
makes you think that we HAVEN'T trained the users to do that?

We have no interest in having other users make changes to the document. In
fact, no one else has any business making changes to the document, and I'd
be pissed if they did. We really only need to have other people be able to
USE the document.

Basically, it's a mail merge document that when merged with the source data
creates a print job of a couple of hundred pages. I handle all the changes
and updates to the document. The user that I email the link to only needs
to be able to open the document, do the mail merge, and print it out. Since
she was unable to do the mail merge when she opened the file using the link
provided in email, we showed her how to navigate to the file and open it
directly (I guess that would be the simple training that you assumed we
hadn't bothered to do). The link is provided in the email more for her
convenience, so that she doesn't have to remember from one month to the next
where the file is stored.

So I'm not looking for a work-a-round, as we've already got that. The
original question was: Why won't the mail merge work when she opens the
file using the link in the email, when it works for other users just fine?
I'd like to know the answer to that question even if we end up changing the
way that this task is accomplished, just to further my own personal
knowledge if for no other reason.

I realize that this may not even be a Word issue. It could be a security
setting at the OS level, or an Outlook setting as well. I just figure that
since we're dealing with a Word document, there is the possibility that it
could be a Word issue, so I thought I should check out that angle too.

-- Tom

MT DOJ Help Desk

Making the world a safer place.

 

[Graham Mayor]

Sorry to cast aspersions on your training regimes. Experience suggests that
far too many companies do not bother to provide the right level of training.

Microsoft has been steadily 'improving' the security of its on-line
activities and this has often been accompanied by reduced functionality. It
is almost certainly one of these updates that is at issue here. Sadly we all
have to suffer because of the malicious antics of a few crackpots.

The Outlook groups may be able to provide more information.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[MT DOJ Help Desk]

Graham,

Thanks for the understanding reply. I read your response to my original
message at a time when I was frustrated over other issues, so my response to
you contained a bit more attitude than was appropriate. Generally, I try
not to direct my frustrations to undeserving parties, but sometimes it slips
through. You've always provided excellent support in this group, and I look
forward to conversing with you in the future.

-- Tom

MT DOJ Help Desk

Making the world a safer place.

 

[Graham Mayor]

If I can help in the future I will be happy to