mail merge with Excel data source

[Guest]

I have an excel file that is laid out as follows:

Doe John 123456789 Jimmy Doe
Doe John 123456789 Jack Doe
Doe John 123456789 Mary Doe
Doe Jane 987654321 Brian Doe
Doe Jane 987654321 Timmy Doe

For each time John Doe is listed I want Jimmy, Jack and Mary to show on the
mail merge document. The mail merge document would look something like this:

Dear John Doe:
We haven't received information on the following individuals:
Jimmy Doe
Jack Doe
Mary Doe
Thanks for your prompt attention.

Will the layout of the file work for this?

If not, how do I move all the children names from being in a column to being
in a row for each initial name?

 

[David McRitchie]

Are you actually printing a letter or printing labels, that format will not work
with Mail Merge.

You can put your data in order with
http://www.mvps.org/dmcritchie/excel/snakecol.htm#joining

You can use it in mail merge in that form if you accept printing the children's names
all on one line; otherwise, you can modify the macro.