Problem With Word Finding Outlook Contact Lists For Email Merge

[tstern]

I am having a problem getting word (Small Business 2003) to find the
current contact database lists in my Outlook . For some reason or
another when I am asked by the merge wizard to select a contact list
from the contact list folder I am presented with old or deleted lists.
I have done this operation many times before so I am baffled why this
should just happen. If anyone is interested please email me at
(e-mail address removed) and I will be more than happy to send of a
word document with the relevent screen shots. Any and all help would be
appreciated.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Best to start mail merges from inside an Outlook contacts folder with the Tools | Mail Merge command.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[tstern]

Best to start mail merges from inside an Outlook contacts folder with the Tools | Mail Merge command.

Accepted but is there a way to fix the problem I am having with word's
merge tool. Word is so much easier to use and with a lot more control.
However thanks for your suggestion and it is certainly a work around
but if I can do it through word I would really be grateful.

Regards

Tony

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Word merge was what I was talking about. Did you try what I suggested? Starting the merge from Outlook gives you more control, not less, because you get

-- all contact fields including custom fields
-- public folder contact lists

plus all the features you already have in Word merge.

I wouldn't waste time trying to troubleshoot the address book that appears in Word and hasn't been updated in so many version I can't remember.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

 

[tstern]

Word merge was what I was talking about. Did you try what I suggested? Starting the merge from Outlook gives you more control, not less, because you get

-- all contact fields including custom fields
-- public folder contact lists

plus all the features you already have in Word merge.

I wouldn't waste time trying to troubleshoot the address book that appears in Word and hasn't been updated in so many version I can't remember.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

Many thanks for your advice however in the meantime I have found
another work around. If I create a new contact folder in Outlook
Contacts and import a set of contacts into the new folder when I am in
the backend of Word it shows me the new contact list that I created in
Outlook. Strangely it still retains the old contact lists that I have
deleted because they were test lists, there does not seem anyway of
getting rid of them. I tried your original suggestion of starting the
merge in Outlook but I found it quite complicated and as I have only a
limited (but dangerous) amount of knowledge on this whole merge
scenario I feel more comfortable going through the Word wizard starting
in Word. Sorry to be so frustrating but thats my comfort level. Do you
think maybe Word has corrupted some files and that this might be the
problem? Do you think putting the repair disk in Microsoft Office would
help?

Again many thanks for your suggestions.

Tony

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Sorry, I have no idea. The address book in Word is long known to have problems. I wouldn't waste time running Help | Detect and repair, but your priorities may be different.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

Word merge was what I was talking about. Did you try what I suggested? Starting the merge from Outlook gives you more control, not less, because you get

-- all contact fields including custom fields
-- public folder contact lists

plus all the features you already have in Word merge.

I wouldn't waste time trying to troubleshoot the address book that appears in Word and hasn't been updated in so many version I can't remember.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

Many thanks for your advice however in the meantime I have found
another work around. If I create a new contact folder in Outlook
Contacts and import a set of contacts into the new folder when I am in
the backend of Word it shows me the new contact list that I created in
Outlook. Strangely it still retains the old contact lists that I have
deleted because they were test lists, there does not seem anyway of
getting rid of them. I tried your original suggestion of starting the
merge in Outlook but I found it quite complicated and as I have only a
limited (but dangerous) amount of knowledge on this whole merge
scenario I feel more comfortable going through the Word wizard starting
in Word. Sorry to be so frustrating but thats my comfort level. Do you
think maybe Word has corrupted some files and that this might be the
problem? Do you think putting the repair disk in Microsoft Office would
help?

Again many thanks for your suggestions.

Tony

Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook] wrote:
Best to start mail merges from inside an Outlook contacts folder with the Tools | Mail Merge command.

Accepted but is there a way to fix the problem I am having with word's
merge tool. Word is so much easier to use and with a lot more control.
However thanks for your suggestion and it is certainly a work around
but if I can do it through word I would really be grateful.

Regards

I am having a problem getting word (Small Business 2003) to find the
current contact database lists in my Outlook . For some reason or
another when I am asked by the merge wizard to select a contact list
from the contact list folder I am presented with old or deleted lists.
I have done this operation many times before so I am baffled why this
should just happen. If anyone is interested please email me at
(e-mail address removed) and I will be more than happy to send of a
word document with the relevent screen shots. Any and all help would be
appreciated.

 

[Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook]]

You've provided a bit of a clue to your problems. First, Sue (as always) is
spot on. The Word Address Book service is a dinosaur that exists beyond its
extinction date. It retains links that are no longer valid. There is simply
no reason to use it.
The clue you provided is that you're importing Contacts. Nothing corrupts
the address book services more quickly than transferring data incorrectly.
Never import Outlook data.
Abandon the Word Address Book. We have. Microsoft has. Time to take the
hint.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Word merge was what I was talking about. Did you try what I suggested?
Starting the merge from Outlook gives you more control, not less, because
you get

-- all contact fields including custom fields
-- public folder contact lists

plus all the features you already have in Word merge.

I wouldn't waste time trying to troubleshoot the address book that
appears in Word and hasn't been updated in so many version I can't
remember.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

Many thanks for your advice however in the meantime I have found
another work around. If I create a new contact folder in Outlook
Contacts and import a set of contacts into the new folder when I am in
the backend of Word it shows me the new contact list that I created in
Outlook. Strangely it still retains the old contact lists that I have
deleted because they were test lists, there does not seem anyway of
getting rid of them. I tried your original suggestion of starting the
merge in Outlook but I found it quite complicated and as I have only a
limited (but dangerous) amount of knowledge on this whole merge
scenario I feel more comfortable going through the Word wizard starting
in Word. Sorry to be so frustrating but thats my comfort level. Do you
think maybe Word has corrupted some files and that this might be the
problem? Do you think putting the repair disk in Microsoft Office would
help?

Again many thanks for your suggestions.

Tony

Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook] wrote:
Best to start mail merges from inside an Outlook contacts folder with
the Tools | Mail Merge command.

Accepted but is there a way to fix the problem I am having with word's
merge tool. Word is so much easier to use and with a lot more control.
However thanks for your suggestion and it is certainly a work around
but if I can do it through word I would really be grateful.

Regards

I am having a problem getting word (Small Business 2003) to find the
current contact database lists in my Outlook . For some reason or
another when I am asked by the merge wizard to select a contact list
from the contact list folder I am presented with old or deleted
lists.
I have done this operation many times before so I am baffled why
this
should just happen. If anyone is interested please email me at
(e-mail address removed) and I will be more than happy to send of a
word document with the relevent screen shots. Any and all help would
be
appreciated.

 

[tstern]

Hi Russ,

Many thanks for your insight I appreciate what both you and Sue are
trying to get across to my thick skull so I am moving forward utilizing
the merge tool inside Outlook. You mention that I should never import
Outlook data so what do I do instead. Example my assistant has been
gathering Outlook contact information from a Exhibition she puts it to
our local server and then I have been importing it in to my outlook, so
far no problems (except email which I have mentioned). The only
alternative I can think of is for my PA to save the outlook data in
excel and then I import that and in turn save as a PST file and then
bring it in to my contacts. Seems a very long winded way of going about
things. Any other ideas remembering on a scale of 1 through 10 I am a
six when it comes to computer literacy.

Regards

Tony

You've provided a bit of a clue to your problems. First, Sue (as always) is
spot on. The Word Address Book service is a dinosaur that exists beyond its
extinction date. It retains links that are no longer valid. There is simply
no reason to use it.
The clue you provided is that you're importing Contacts. Nothing corrupts
the address book services more quickly than transferring data incorrectly.
Never import Outlook data.
Abandon the Word Address Book. We have. Microsoft has. Time to take the
hint.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Word merge was what I was talking about. Did you try what I suggested?
Starting the merge from Outlook gives you more control, not less, because
you get

-- all contact fields including custom fields
-- public folder contact lists

plus all the features you already have in Word merge.

I wouldn't waste time trying to troubleshoot the address book that
appears in Word and hasn't been updated in so many version I can't
remember.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

Many thanks for your advice however in the meantime I have found
another work around. If I create a new contact folder in Outlook
Contacts and import a set of contacts into the new folder when I am in
the backend of Word it shows me the new contact list that I created in
Outlook. Strangely it still retains the old contact lists that I have
deleted because they were test lists, there does not seem anyway of
getting rid of them. I tried your original suggestion of starting the
merge in Outlook but I found it quite complicated and as I have only a
limited (but dangerous) amount of knowledge on this whole merge
scenario I feel more comfortable going through the Word wizard starting
in Word. Sorry to be so frustrating but thats my comfort level. Do you
think maybe Word has corrupted some files and that this might be the
problem? Do you think putting the repair disk in Microsoft Office would
help?

Again many thanks for your suggestions.

Tony

Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook] wrote:
Best to start mail merges from inside an Outlook contacts folder with
the Tools | Mail Merge command.

Accepted but is there a way to fix the problem I am having with word's
merge tool. Word is so much easier to use and with a lot more control.
However thanks for your suggestion and it is certainly a work around
but if I can do it through word I would really be grateful.

Regards

I am having a problem getting word (Small Business 2003) to find the
current contact database lists in my Outlook . For some reason or
another when I am asked by the merge wizard to select a contact list
from the contact list folder I am presented with old or deleted
lists.
I have done this operation many times before so I am baffled why
this
should just happen. If anyone is interested please email me at
(e-mail address removed) and I will be more than happy to send of a
word document with the relevent screen shots. Any and all help would
be
appreciated.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

Exactly what did she put on your server? Are you using Exchange as your mail server?

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

Hi Russ,

Many thanks for your insight I appreciate what both you and Sue are
trying to get across to my thick skull so I am moving forward utilizing
the merge tool inside Outlook. You mention that I should never import
Outlook data so what do I do instead. Example my assistant has been
gathering Outlook contact information from a Exhibition she puts it to
our local server and then I have been importing it in to my outlook, so
far no problems (except email which I have mentioned). The only
alternative I can think of is for my PA to save the outlook data in
excel and then I import that and in turn save as a PST file and then
bring it in to my contacts. Seems a very long winded way of going about
things. Any other ideas remembering on a scale of 1 through 10 I am a
six when it comes to computer literacy.

Regards

Tony

You've provided a bit of a clue to your problems. First, Sue (as always) is
spot on. The Word Address Book service is a dinosaur that exists beyond its
extinction date. It retains links that are no longer valid. There is simply
no reason to use it.
The clue you provided is that you're importing Contacts. Nothing corrupts
the address book services more quickly than transferring data incorrectly.
Never import Outlook data.
Abandon the Word Address Book. We have. Microsoft has. Time to take the
hint.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]

Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook] wrote:
Word merge was what I was talking about. Did you try what I suggested?
Starting the merge from Outlook gives you more control, not less, because
you get

-- all contact fields including custom fields
-- public folder contact lists

plus all the features you already have in Word merge.

I wouldn't waste time trying to troubleshoot the address book that
appears in Word and hasn't been updated in so many version I can't
remember.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers



Many thanks for your advice however in the meantime I have found
another work around. If I create a new contact folder in Outlook
Contacts and import a set of contacts into the new folder when I am in
the backend of Word it shows me the new contact list that I created in
Outlook. Strangely it still retains the old contact lists that I have
deleted because they were test lists, there does not seem anyway of
getting rid of them. I tried your original suggestion of starting the
merge in Outlook but I found it quite complicated and as I have only a
limited (but dangerous) amount of knowledge on this whole merge
scenario I feel more comfortable going through the Word wizard starting
in Word. Sorry to be so frustrating but thats my comfort level. Do you
think maybe Word has corrupted some files and that this might be the
problem? Do you think putting the repair disk in Microsoft Office would
help?

Again many thanks for your suggestions.

Tony


Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook] wrote:
Best to start mail merges from inside an Outlook contacts folder with
the Tools | Mail Merge command.

Accepted but is there a way to fix the problem I am having with word's
merge tool. Word is so much easier to use and with a lot more control.
However thanks for your suggestion and it is certainly a work around
but if I can do it through word I would really be grateful.

Regards

I am having a problem getting word (Small Business 2003) to find the
current contact database lists in my Outlook . For some reason or
another when I am asked by the merge wizard to select a contact list
from the contact list folder I am presented with old or deleted
lists.
I have done this operation many times before so I am baffled why
this
should just happen. If anyone is interested please email me at
(e-mail address removed) and I will be more than happy to send of a
word document with the relevent screen shots. Any and all help would
be
appreciated.

 

[tstern]

Hi Sue,

We run a small business server 2003 acting as a domain controller which
is used primarily as a file server; we don't currently run exchange
in our office.

My PA is exporting a .pst file from her local profile to a folder
available to our entire office on our local servers public sector.. To
explain the public sector on our server is a common area where our
entire office can access information, update it and then save it back.
Not very sophisticated granted but it works for us.

Regards

Tony

Exactly what did she put on your server? Are you using Exchange as your mail server?

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

Hi Russ,

Many thanks for your insight I appreciate what both you and Sue are
trying to get across to my thick skull so I am moving forward utilizing
the merge tool inside Outlook. You mention that I should never import
Outlook data so what do I do instead. Example my assistant has been
gathering Outlook contact information from a Exhibition she puts it to
our local server and then I have been importing it in to my outlook, so
far no problems (except email which I have mentioned). The only
alternative I can think of is for my PA to save the outlook data in
excel and then I import that and in turn save as a PST file and then
bring it in to my contacts. Seems a very long winded way of going about
things. Any other ideas remembering on a scale of 1 through 10 I am a
six when it comes to computer literacy.

Regards

Tony

You've provided a bit of a clue to your problems. First, Sue (as always) is
spot on. The Word Address Book service is a dinosaur that exists beyond its
extinction date. It retains links that are no longer valid. There is simply
no reason to use it.
The clue you provided is that you're importing Contacts. Nothing corrupts
the address book services more quickly than transferring data incorrectly.
Never import Outlook data.
Abandon the Word Address Book. We have. Microsoft has. Time to take the
hint.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook] wrote:
Word merge was what I was talking about. Did you try what I suggested?
Starting the merge from Outlook gives you more control, not less, because
you get

-- all contact fields including custom fields
-- public folder contact lists

plus all the features you already have in Word merge.

I wouldn't waste time trying to troubleshoot the address book that
appears in Word and hasn't been updated in so many version I can't
remember.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers



Many thanks for your advice however in the meantime I have found
another work around. If I create a new contact folder in Outlook
Contacts and import a set of contacts into the new folder when I am in
the backend of Word it shows me the new contact list that I created in
Outlook. Strangely it still retains the old contact lists that I have
deleted because they were test lists, there does not seem anyway of
getting rid of them. I tried your original suggestion of starting the
merge in Outlook but I found it quite complicated and as I have only a
limited (but dangerous) amount of knowledge on this whole merge
scenario I feel more comfortable going through the Word wizard starting
in Word. Sorry to be so frustrating but thats my comfort level. Do you
think maybe Word has corrupted some files and that this might be the
problem? Do you think putting the repair disk in Microsoft Office would
help?

Again many thanks for your suggestions.

Tony


Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook] wrote:
Best to start mail merges from inside an Outlook contacts folder with
the Tools | Mail Merge command.

Accepted but is there a way to fix the problem I am having with word's
merge tool. Word is so much easier to use and with a lot more control.
However thanks for your suggestion and it is certainly a work around
but if I can do it through word I would really be grateful.

Regards

I am having a problem getting word (Small Business 2003) to find the
current contact database lists in my Outlook . For some reason or
another when I am asked by the merge wizard to select a contact list
from the contact list folder I am presented with old or deleted
lists.
I have done this operation many times before so I am baffled why
this
should just happen. If anyone is interested please email me at
(e-mail address removed) and I will be more than happy to send of a
word document with the relevent screen shots. Any and all help would
be
appreciated.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

The main problem with that scenario is that only one person can be using the .pst file at a time. In particular, that means that even if she exports it, you won't be able to use it until she logs out of Outlook. Once she does that, you can open it in Outlook, copy any items you want to copy, then close the .pst file, and exit Outlook so someone else can use it. A .csv export might be more appropriate for your scenario.

But ... there are much, much better methods for sharing contact data. Windows SharePoint Services -- which is a free tool you can add to WIndows Server 2003 -- might be an ideal solution. Its contact lists can be exposed in Outlook as read-only contacts, so the secretary could update them using the web interface, and everyone else would have live, up-to-date, read-only access.

See http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/share.htm and http://www.slipstick.com/addins/groupcontacts.htm for other ideas.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

Hi Sue,

We run a small business server 2003 acting as a domain controller which
is used primarily as a file server; we don't currently run exchange
in our office.

My PA is exporting a .pst file from her local profile to a folder
available to our entire office on our local servers public sector.. To
explain the public sector on our server is a common area where our
entire office can access information, update it and then save it back.
Not very sophisticated granted but it works for us.

Exactly what did she put on your server? Are you using Exchange as your mail server?

Hi Russ,

Many thanks for your insight I appreciate what both you and Sue are
trying to get across to my thick skull so I am moving forward utilizing
the merge tool inside Outlook. You mention that I should never import
Outlook data so what do I do instead. Example my assistant has been
gathering Outlook contact information from a Exhibition she puts it to
our local server and then I have been importing it in to my outlook, so
far no problems (except email which I have mentioned). The only
alternative I can think of is for my PA to save the outlook data in
excel and then I import that and in turn save as a PST file and then
bring it in to my contacts. Seems a very long winded way of going about
things. Any other ideas remembering on a scale of 1 through 10 I am a
six when it comes to computer literacy.

Regards

Tony




Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook] wrote:
You've provided a bit of a clue to your problems. First, Sue (as always) is
spot on. The Word Address Book service is a dinosaur that exists beyond its
extinction date. It retains links that are no longer valid. There is simply
no reason to use it.
The clue you provided is that you're importing Contacts. Nothing corrupts
the address book services more quickly than transferring data incorrectly.
Never import Outlook data.
Abandon the Word Address Book. We have. Microsoft has. Time to take the
hint.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook] wrote:
Word merge was what I was talking about. Did you try what I suggested?
Starting the merge from Outlook gives you more control, not less, because
you get

-- all contact fields including custom fields
-- public folder contact lists

plus all the features you already have in Word merge.

I wouldn't waste time trying to troubleshoot the address book that
appears in Word and hasn't been updated in so many version I can't
remember.

Many thanks for your advice however in the meantime I have found
another work around. If I create a new contact folder in Outlook
Contacts and import a set of contacts into the new folder when I am in
the backend of Word it shows me the new contact list that I created in
Outlook. Strangely it still retains the old contact lists that I have
deleted because they were test lists, there does not seem anyway of
getting rid of them. I tried your original suggestion of starting the
merge in Outlook but I found it quite complicated and as I have only a
limited (but dangerous) amount of knowledge on this whole merge
scenario I feel more comfortable going through the Word wizard starting
in Word. Sorry to be so frustrating but thats my comfort level. Do you
think maybe Word has corrupted some files and that this might be the
problem? Do you think putting the repair disk in Microsoft Office would
help?

Again many thanks for your suggestions.

Tony


Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook] wrote:
Best to start mail merges from inside an Outlook contacts folder with
the Tools | Mail Merge command.

Accepted but is there a way to fix the problem I am having with word's
merge tool. Word is so much easier to use and with a lot more control.
However thanks for your suggestion and it is certainly a work around
but if I can do it through word I would really be grateful.

Regards

I am having a problem getting word (Small Business 2003) to find the
current contact database lists in my Outlook . For some reason or
another when I am asked by the merge wizard to select a contact list
from the contact list folder I am presented with old or deleted
lists.
I have done this operation many times before so I am baffled why
this
should just happen. If anyone is interested please email me at
(e-mail address removed) and I will be more than happy to send of a
word document with the relevent screen shots. Any and all help would
be
appreciated.

 

[tstern]

Thank you both for your invaluable help.

Regards

Tony

The main problem with that scenario is that only one person can be using the .pst file at a time. In particular, that means that even if she exports it, you won't be able to use it until she logs out of Outlook. Once she does that, you can open it in Outlook, copy any items you want to copy, then close the .pst file, and exit Outlook so someone else can use it. A .csv export might be more appropriate for your scenario.

But ... there are much, much better methods for sharing contact data. Windows SharePoint Services -- which is a free tool you can add to WIndows Server 2003 -- might be an ideal solution. Its contact lists can be exposed in Outlook as read-only contacts, so the secretary could update them using the web interface, and everyone else would have live, up-to-date, read-only access.

See http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/share.htm and http://www.slipstick.com/addins/groupcontacts.htm for other ideas.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003

and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

Hi Sue,

We run a small business server 2003 acting as a domain controller which
is used primarily as a file server; we don't currently run exchange
in our office.

My PA is exporting a .pst file from her local profile to a folder
available to our entire office on our local servers public sector.. To
explain the public sector on our server is a common area where our
entire office can access information, update it and then save it back.
Not very sophisticated granted but it works for us.

Exactly what did she put on your server? Are you using Exchange as your mail server?

Hi Russ,

Many thanks for your insight I appreciate what both you and Sue are
trying to get across to my thick skull so I am moving forward utilizing
the merge tool inside Outlook. You mention that I should never import
Outlook data so what do I do instead. Example my assistant has been
gathering Outlook contact information from a Exhibition she puts it to
our local server and then I have been importing it in to my outlook, so
far no problems (except email which I have mentioned). The only
alternative I can think of is for my PA to save the outlook data in
excel and then I import that and in turn save as a PST file and then
bring it in to my contacts. Seems a very long winded way of going about
things. Any other ideas remembering on a scale of 1 through 10 I am a
six when it comes to computer literacy.

Regards

Tony




Russ Valentine [MVP-Outlook] wrote:
You've provided a bit of a clue to your problems. First, Sue (as always) is
spot on. The Word Address Book service is a dinosaur that exists beyond its
extinction date. It retains links that are no longer valid. There is simply
no reason to use it.
The clue you provided is that you're importing Contacts. Nothing corrupts
the address book services more quickly than transferring data incorrectly.
Never import Outlook data.
Abandon the Word Address Book. We have. Microsoft has. Time to take the
hint.
--
Russ Valentine
[MVP-Outlook]
Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook] wrote:
Word merge was what I was talking about. Did you try what I suggested?
Starting the merge from Outlook gives you more control, not less, because
you get

-- all contact fields including custom fields
-- public folder contact lists

plus all the features you already have in Word merge.

I wouldn't waste time trying to troubleshoot the address book that
appears in Word and hasn't been updated in so many version I can't
remember.

Many thanks for your advice however in the meantime I have found
another work around. If I create a new contact folder in Outlook
Contacts and import a set of contacts into the new folder when I am in
the backend of Word it shows me the new contact list that I created in
Outlook. Strangely it still retains the old contact lists that I have
deleted because they were test lists, there does not seem anyway of
getting rid of them. I tried your original suggestion of starting the
merge in Outlook but I found it quite complicated and as I have only a
limited (but dangerous) amount of knowledge on this whole merge
scenario I feel more comfortable going through the Word wizard starting
in Word. Sorry to be so frustrating but thats my comfort level. Do you
think maybe Word has corrupted some files and that this might be the
problem? Do you think putting the repair disk in Microsoft Office would
help?

Again many thanks for your suggestions.

Tony


Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook] wrote:
Best to start mail merges from inside an Outlook contacts folder with
the Tools | Mail Merge command.

Accepted but is there a way to fix the problem I am having with word's
merge tool. Word is so much easier to use and with a lot more control.
However thanks for your suggestion and it is certainly a work around
but if I can do it through word I would really be grateful.

Regards

I am having a problem getting word (Small Business 2003) to find the
current contact database lists in my Outlook . For some reason or
another when I am asked by the merge wizard to select a contact list
from the contact list folder I am presented with old or deleted
lists.
I have done this operation many times before so I am baffled why
this
should just happen. If anyone is interested please email me at
(e-mail address removed) and I will be more than happy to send of a
word document with the relevent screen shots. Any and all help would
be
appreciated.