If another user tries to open a Word file that uses the same data source simultaneously, only read-only permissions can be granted, and therefore the request fails. xlsx file in a shared folder and use it as data source in a Word mail merge, Word opens the. :::image type="content" source="media/mail-merge-error-in-word/error-message.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the error message, showing the external table is not in the expected format."::: Cause In this scenario, you receive the following error message:Įrror has occurred: External table is not in the expected format.
#Office 2016 mail merge to xlsx file code#
For example, if the Zip Code column is formatted for numbers, zips with leading zeros will appear without the zero as a four-digit number. You might need to change the formatting of some columns. Whatever method you need to use, get it into the spreadsheet.Įnsure your data table is labeled with a header in the first row.Ĥ. Click the "Data" tab in the ribbon and choose "Get Data," then "From File," and finally "From Text/CSV." The data might also already be in an Excel spreadsheet, in an Access database, or you might need to type it into Excel from scratch. For example, if you have a large number of addresses stored in a CSV file, import it into this Excel file. You need to import or enter the data you plan to use, and how you do this depends on how the data currently exists. How to do a mail merge in Word and Excelġ. In addition, you'll create a mail merge template in Word - this is a document that includes the boilerplate text you want to be the same for every recipient as well as the placeholder for the data that Word will insert from the Excel data file. This is simply a table that includes the information you want to merge - usually names and addresses, though you can merge data about anything. First, you'll need the data file in Excel.
#Office 2016 mail merge to xlsx file plus#
To mail merge a document - like a letter, envelope, printing label, or email - all you need is Microsoft Word and Excel, plus all the names and addresses you want to merge. It's surprisingly easy to set up a mail merge, which lets you create seemingly personalized communication for a large number of recipients without creating each message by hand. Mail merge helps you quickly create auto-personalized letters, envelopes, labels, and more.You can import an Excel data table into Word to customize your template with names and addresses.You can do a mail merge in Microsoft Word and Excel to create personalized documents for many recipients at once.