On 6 Mar 2005 at 19:26, Sophie Gautier wrote: > Just for information, here is a macro that will merge the mailing > result in only one file. It's only in French, but basically, you just > have to indicate the directory where the file to be merge are. > http://fr.openoffice.org/Documentation/Macros/FusionneDocuments.sxw > Thanks Sophie, I'll give it a try. However, it does not make things easir for the ordinary user of OO.o, who is the person I have in mind.
The problem with the new Wizard is that it is the only way to easily get the multi letter file. But there are lots of scenarios, particularly in the business world (which I'm sure we would all like to see OO.o used in) where the Wizard would fall short of what is needed. Here are my particular observations: 1) When you choose a data source that is different from the standard set of items used by the Wizard, you can specify a filter. But when the merge is done you still get the whole data set. The spec does not ask for the filter to be applied - perhaps that is why it is not used, but then why have the filter in the first place. 2) If you have a non-standard data source, you have to still use the standard data items the address block dialog, then relate them to your non-standard items in an arbitrary way. Even the spec says this may be difficult for users to comprehend. 3) The salutation (aka Greeting) dialog misses the point altogether. In my experience I have to decide quite precisely what to use on a person by person basis which cuts across any rules based on gender. People you don't know are quite happy to be adressed as 'Mr Smith' or 'Mrs Jones', but someone you do know would be quite offended by that. They would want you to use their first name, 'John' or 'Jane'. This mixture of formal and informal slutations cannot be handled by the Wizard. 4) There is no help for inserting data other than Address and Greeting in the Wizard. In my case, I would always want to insert the salutation. In business you may want to insert all sorts of data items. If you were the secretary of a club, you may want to insert a membership number. I know you can do it at the Prepare Merge stage by doing Edit Document then using Insert > Fields > Other > Database > Mailmerge fields, but the Wizard could be more helpful somehow. 5) I can get round a lot of the problems with the Wizard by using the standard Mail Merge option (which I have to put on the menu myself), but then I don't get the multi letter document option. These are just a few 'first look' issues. I'm sure there are more. I'm passionate about mail merge (I have used it intensively - it is a great productivity tool) and I'm passionate about OO.o. But as far as I can see, unless we do better, people like me will still keep going back to MS Office. Tony Pursell --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
