As a new user of Open Office and an inexperienced user of windows, can you direct me as to how to set up labels for a mail merge. many thanks.
Yes. I'm doing one right now, in fact.
First, make your datasource and register it in OOo. (see Help if you need to)
Second, create the labels document this way:
1. File->New->Labels
2. On the first tab, set the proper paper size and label type. Select the registered database and the proper table (this might be a spreadsheet), then transfer the fields into the label on the left, inserting spaces, line breaks, and commas as necessary. You'll refine the formatting later; just try to get the right fields on the right lines now.
3. on the second tab, make sure the dimensions of the labels and their margins and gutters match your label stock.
4. on the third tab, select "Entire Page" and "Synchronize content" then click New Document
Third, format the master label (first label on the page), using styles or "hard" formatting for typeface, size, color, etc.
Note here: I just had a mysterious problem that was caused by my line breaks being only Returns, not Paragraph breaks. This seems to be a bug in the Labels dialog. Turn on Nonprinting Characters to see if this is so for you, and correct if necessary.
If you have fields (lines) that do not occur in every record, like a second address line, e.g., you will want to precede them with a Hidden Text or Hidden Paragraph field (See Functions tab of Insert->Fields->Other).
It sometimes helps in this process to turn on the display of field names (View->Field Names).
Finally in the formatting process, turn off the display of field names and click the floating "Synchronize Labels" button to make all the labels on the page the same as the master label.
Next, turn on the DataSources Explorer (F4), and navigate to the source used in your labels. Select several records that will test your layout well, and click the Data to Fields icon on the Database Toolbar (top of the Explorer, about three icons from the right side). This will fill several labels with real data, so you can see what it will look like when printed.
When you are satisfied with the layout, do File->Print, and answer the prompt about Mail Merge fields with "Yes". A Mail Merge dialog will appear, from which you can select which records to print. There is a bug in the database preview in that it does not initially show all the records available in the data source. You MUST click the Goto Last Record button to fill it completely, then you can either select records or print them all. When you print, OOo will fill as many pages as necessary to print all the selected records. You will see the last page printed on your screen when it finishes.
If you have any more questions about this, I'll be back tomorrow.
Matt Needles OOo Coach
--------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
