Error in Office 2016 Word when trying to use a Automail Letter one 1 user out of 55 - HELP?!?

Question

Answer 1

Restart the computer and then try to perform the required task BEFORE doing anything else with Word.

Answer 2

The error message indicates that Word is in a bad state when the Automail Letter tries to automate it. For the affected user, repair Word/Office so that the automation can open and control Word correctly.

Perform an Online Repair of Office 2016 on that user’s machine:

1. Close all Office applications.
2. In Windows, open Settings → System → Apps → Installed apps.
3. Locate the Office 2016/Microsoft Office product.
4. Select it, choose Modify.
5. Select Online Repair, then Repair, and let the process complete.
6. Restart the computer and test the Automail Letter again.

If the built‑in “Repair now” dialog in Word was already used and did not help, the Online Repair is more thorough and typically resolves persistent “Word has run into an error” and automation issues.

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References:

• Error code 30029-4 when trying to uninstall Office
• Troubleshoot problems that occur when you start or use Word
• Fixes or workarounds for recent issues in Word for Windows
• how to fix word error - Microsoft Q&A word has run into an error preventing it from working properly
• How to fix MS Word has run into an error that is preventing from working properly. Word will need to be closed as a result. - Microsoft Q&A
• We're Sorry but Word Has Run Into an Error - Microsoft Q&A Error message:
• How to fix my MS Word? - Microsoft Q&A
• how can i fix it. - Microsoft Q&A

Answer 3

Dear @Karen Crowley,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Based on your description, one user out of 55 receives the error “OpenDataSource2000 method is not available (0x800A11FD)” when running a mail merge in Word 2016, while others work normally.

For better understanding your situation, could you please confirm some information to narrow down as:

Can the affected user successfully reconnect the data source manually via Mailings > Select Recipients > Use Existing List?

Does the issue still occur when running Word in Safe Mode (winword /safe)? If not, try to Press Windows + R

Type: winword /safe > Press Enter

Word will launch directly in Safe Mode

Is the data source file being opened in Protected View or marked as read-only for that user?
Have you check all instances of Word and Excel are fully closed (including background processes), then retry the merge?

In the meantime, try to repair the app via right click to the app > App settings > scroll down to Reset tap > choose reset or repair the app.

Then reopen the app to check whether the issue still persists or not.

Please understand that the more information you provide, the more effectively I can support.

Looking forward to your update.

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