Mail Merge Template Cannot Be Edited

WilliamM 46 Reputation points
2021-03-01T14:36:06.057+00:00

I am trying to edit a Mail Merge template in the Word client for Mac. I am trying to update part of the text that is not in a field code, so this particular text will appear in all mail merge documents created through the template. However, this particular mail merge template automatically requires to 'Find Data Source' after opening. I cannot make the edits to the template even after selecting a data source, anything I change just gets overwritten by the original template when I actually run the mail merge. Does anyone have experience with editing mail merge template or can point me to some documentation on the subject?

Office Mac
Office Mac
Office: A suite of Microsoft productivity software that supports common business tasks, including word processing, email, presentations, and data management and analysis.Mac: A family of Apple personal computers that run the macOS operating system.
463 questions
Office Management
Office Management
Office: A suite of Microsoft productivity software that supports common business tasks, including word processing, email, presentations, and data management and analysis.Management: The act or process of organizing, handling, directing or controlling something.
2,011 questions
Word Management
Word Management
Word: A family of Microsoft word processing software products for creating web, email, and print documents.Management: The act or process of organizing, handling, directing or controlling something.
896 questions
0 comments
Accepted answer
  1. Anonymous
    2021-03-02T22:52:02.367+00:00

    In which case it's not a template; it's a document.

    That the content you're typing reverts to the original indicates that what you're trying to do is to overtype content that is output via field coding in the document. You can't edit fields that way. What you need to do is to press Alt-F9 to expose the field codes in the document, then scroll to where the content occurs within the fields edit the content there.

    Unless you know what you're doing, don't overtype any field braces (i.e. { })) or mergefield contents.

    When you're done editing press Ctrl-A, F9 then Alt-F9 again to restore the field code display with the updated output.

    1 person found this answer helpful.

3 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Emily Hua-MSFT 27,546 Reputation points
    2021-03-02T05:05:16.937+00:00

    @WilliamM

    What type of data source do you use? Such as Excel spreadsheet, Outlook Contact List.

    Please backup this Mail Merge Template first, then go to Select Recipients > Create a New List to check this issue.

    If it does not work, please go to Start Mail Merge > Word Normal Documents, then choose back to the previous options, such as Email Messages.

    If an Answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote it.
    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

  2. Anonymous
    2021-03-02T06:49:23.343+00:00

    You shouldn't be using a template for a mailmerge; you should instead be using a mailmerge main document. That said, since you're using a template, simply open the template for editing instead of creating a new document from it.

  3. Anonymous
    2021-03-02T22:34:03.957+00:00

    What file extension does this 'template' have (e.g., 'dotx', 'docx') and what filename does Word display at the top (e.g., 'Document 1') when you 'open' it?