Nice and simple

[pickwa]

Hi Guys, im sure this is really simple but its had me baffled for over an hour now so i figured there is no harm in asking.

Im going a mail merge from and excel spreadsheet. one of the merge fields is the date.

In the spreadsheet the date is written like <TABLE style="WIDTH: 122pt; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=163 border=0><COLGROUP><COL style="WIDTH: 122pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 5961" width=163><TBODY><TR style="HEIGHT: 15pt" height=20><TD class=xl63 style="BORDER-RIGHT: #d4d0c8; BORDER-TOP: #d4d0c8; BORDER-LEFT: #d4d0c8; WIDTH: 122pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: #d4d0c8; HEIGHT: 15pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" align=right width=163 height=20>31 March 2011</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

but when i merge it into word i get a date that looks like this
3/31/11

Why is this and how to i make work see it in the same format as excel.

Thanks

Nick

 

[pickwa]

Wow that was poorly written!.........<HR style="COLOR: #ffffff; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=1> Hi Guys, im sure this is really simple but its had me baffled for over an hour now so i figured there is no harm in asking.

Im doing a mail merge from and excel spreadsheet, one of the merge fields is the date.

In the spreadsheet the date is written like <TABLE style="WIDTH: 122pt; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=163 border=0><COLGROUP><COL style="WIDTH: 122pt; mso-width-source: userset; mso-width-alt: 5961" width=163><TBODY><TR style="HEIGHT: 15pt" height=20><TD class=xl63 style="BORDER-LEFT-COLOR: #d4d0c8; BORDER-BOTTOM-COLOR: #d4d0c8; WIDTH: 122pt; BORDER-TOP-COLOR: #d4d0c8; HEIGHT: 15pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent; BORDER-RIGHT-COLOR: #d4d0c8" align=right width=163 height=20>31 March 2011</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

but when i merge it into word i get a date that looks like this:
3/31/11

Why is this and how to i make word see it in the same format as excel.

Thanks

Nick

 

[jmthompson]

It's been a while sine I worked with a mail merge, but I believe you'll have to format the merge field in Word.

A quick search is help returned:

Add a formatting switch to a field code 

Right-click the field, and then click Edit Field.
Do one of the following:

If Field properties and Field options are  displayed, select the formatting options that you want.
If only the field code is displayed, click Options, and then  select the formatting options that you want.

 If the Options button appears dimmed,  additional formatting options may not be available.


Date-Time format switch

 The Date-Time format switch (\@) specifies the display of a date or time.
 For example, the switch \@ "dddd, MMMM d, yyyy" in the field { DATE \@ "dddd, MMMM d, yyyy" } displays  "Friday, November 23, 2007." Combine the following date and time instructions —  day (d), month (M), and year (y); hours (h) and minutes (m) — to build a  date-time format. You can also include text, punctuation, and spaces.
 Date instructions

  Month  (M)
  The letter M must be uppercase to distinguish months from  minutes.
 

M    This format item displays the month as a number  without a leading 0 (zero) for single-digit months. For example, July is 7.
MM    This format item displays the month as a number  with a leading 0 (zero) for single-digit months. For example, July is 07.
MMM    This format item displays the month as a  three-letter abbreviation. For example, July is Jul.
MMMM    This format item displays the month as its  full name.

  Day  (d)
  The letter d displays the day of the month or the day of  the week. The letter d can be either uppercase or  lowercase.
 

d    This format item displays the day of the week or  month as a number without a leading 0 (zero) for single-digit days. For example,  the sixth day of the month is displayed as 6.
dd    This format item displays the day of the week  or month as a number with a leading 0 (zero) for single-digit days. For example,  the sixth day of the month is displayed as 06.
ddd    This format item displays the day of the week  or month as a three-letter abbreviation. For example, Tuesday is displayed as Tue.
dddd    This format item displays the day of the week  as its full name.

  Year  (y)
  The letter y displays the year as two or four digits. The  letter y can be either uppercase or lowercase.
 

yy    This format item displays the year as two  digits with a leading 0 (zero) for years 01 through 09. For example, 1999 is  displayed as 99, and 2006 is displayed as 06.
yyyy    This format item displays the year as four  digits.

 Time instructions

  Hours  (h)
  A lowercase h bases time on the 12-hour clock. An  uppercase H bases time on the 24-hour, or military, clock;  for example, 5 P.M. is displayed as 17.
 

h or H    This format item displays the hour without  a leading 0 (zero) for single-digit hours. For example, the hour of 9 A.M. is  displayed as 9.
hh or HH    This format item displays the hour with a  leading 0 (zero) for single-digit hours. For example, the hour of 9 A.M. is  displayed as 09.

  Minutes  (m)
  The letter m must be lowercase to distinguish minutes from  months.
 

m    This format item displays minutes without a  leading 0 (zero) for single-digit minutes. For example, {  TIME \@ "m" } displays 2.
mm    This format item displays minutes with a  leading 0 (zero) for single-digit minutes. For example, {  TIME \@ "mm" } displays 02.

  A.M.  and P.M. (AM/PM)
This displays A.M. and P.M. To change the A.M. and P.M. symbols for Microsoft  Windows, change the regional settings in Control Panel.
 

am/pm or AM/PM    This format item displays A.M. and  P.M. as uppercase. For example, { TIME \@ "h AM/PM" } and { TIME \@ "h am/pm" } display 9 AM or 5  PM.

I think what you will want is \@ "dd MMMM yyyy"