Mail Merge with Linked Datasource

I'm doing a mail merge with a linked data source (Excel 2010) and I'm having trouble with it updating. I update the data, but it doesn't update in the merge document data table. I've heard that linked databases do not update if the database is saved on a shared drive. Is this true? My database is saved locally, and it's still not updating. 

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Your description suggests you're not updating the data source the mailmerge main document is connecting to, or that you're updating the data source while the mailmerge main document is already open. If you go to Mailings>Edit Recipient List and hover over the file named in the 'Data Source' box, you should be able to see the full name of the data source.
Cheers
Paul Edstein
(Fmr MS MVP - Word)

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What do you mean by the "merge document data table"?

By "linked data source (Excel 2010)", I assume that you mean that the data source attached to the mail merge main document is an Excel Workbook.  If that is not the case, exactly what do you mean?

What sort of edits have you made to the data? 

Have you re-executed the merge?

Hope this helps,
Doug Robbins - MVP Office Apps & Services (Word)
dougrobbinsmvp@gmail.com
It's time to replace ‘Diversity, Equity & Inclusion’ with ‘Excellence, Opportunity & Civility’ - V Ramaswamy

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Thank you for your response Paul. I am still having trouble and will post below more details.

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Thank you for your response Doug. I am still having trouble and will post below more details.

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Good morning,

After more troubleshooting this morning, I am wondering if there is a different issue at hand. the data source attached to the mail merge is itself a linked document to a database we use at our organization. When information in the database is updated, it updates in the linked excel workbook. This workbook is the data source that is attached to the mail merge document.

This morning I made another change in the database. I opened the linked excel workbook, and hit 'refresh data'. The data was updated. I closed it.

Then I opened my mail merge document that is linked to this datasource. I confirmed the location of the datasource by reselecting the datasource, and reselecting the merge field. When I previewed the results, the merge field had not updated.

I went ahead and created an entirely new mail merge document. I confirmed that I was using the correct and same data source. When I executed this NEW mail merge, the old data was still displaying. I reopened the datasource and confirmed that the new data was there. There is no reason that I can come up that would explain why the old data would be showing up in the mail merge.

EXCEPT if the problem exists when the data is transferred from our organization's database to this linked excel workbook. Is there a chance it could be displaying as a different set of data, but somehow keeping a log somewhere hidden of the previous data, and not really updating?

Thank you,

Kristi

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The only explanations I can see for this behaviour are that:

1. a network error on your system is caching the old file and serving that up for the mailmerge; or

2. you're actually connecting to a different data source. Had the behaviour affected only the existing mailmerge main document, another possibility could have been that the mailmerge main document was already open when the workbook was updated. You seem to have ruled that out too.

Cheers
Paul Edstein
(Fmr MS MVP - Word)

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Thank you Paul.  Is there any easy way to solve the network error?

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I think you'd need to discussed that with your IT people. Networks aren't my area of expertise.
Cheers
Paul Edstein
(Fmr MS MVP - Word)

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You said:

"This morning I made another change in the database. I opened the linked excel workbook, and hit 'refresh data'. The data was updated. I closed it."

However, you did not say that:

"I saved it."

Did you do that?

Hope this helps,
Doug Robbins - MVP Office Apps & Services (Word)
dougrobbinsmvp@gmail.com
It's time to replace ‘Diversity, Equity & Inclusion’ with ‘Excellence, Opportunity & Civility’ - V Ramaswamy

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You said:

"This morning I made another change in the database. I opened the linked excel workbook, and hit 'refresh data'. The data was updated. I closed it."

However, you did not say that:

"I saved it."

Did you do that?

Yes. Thank you. I've done this twice more, and I'm getting the same result.

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Last updated October 5, 2021 Views 1,141 Applies to: