Continuation of MS-Access and Mail Merge-2
Continued from the previous post, MS-Access and Mail Merge-2.
MAIL MERGE IN MS-ACCESS
We have already designed and tried the Form Letter preparation procedure through the earlier article. We need all those Objects for the Mail Merge in Access and here we have less work to do. I hope you understood the intricacies of the procedure explained there and how all those objects and methods work together to prepare the Form Letter. Since we are through with the major designing tasks already; we can concentrate on the implementation of the Mail Merge method with some minor changes in two or three places.
I will give a few examples below as how to insert Field Values from the Report source Query/Table and how to use Built-in Functions in the letter body text on the editing Form. The user needs only a few simple rules to keep in mind to use the Mail Merge method.
I will insert the Main Program Codes at the end of this Article. You may Copy and Paste them into the appropriate locations in your Project as suggested there.
Usage of Field Values to merge with the Text:
Data Field Names must be enclosed in square brackets [] and there should not be any typographical errors in Field Names.
If field names are placed next to each other, use at least one space between them, but can be used without space also.
Field Names must be picked from the Report Source Data Table/Query only and can be inserted anywhere in the text.
Data field values from another Table/Query can be inserted with the help of built-in Functions (like DLOOKUP()), see the usage of built-in functions given below.
If Field Names are joined with & + ' * / (for character or numerical values) it will not be treated as an expression, instead, the symbol will appear between the field values. (See Usage of built-in functions for expressions involving Field Values).
Usage Example -1: A Statement of Year-wise special Sales Incentive, credited to [TitleofCourtesy] [Firstname] [LastName]'s personal Account, is given below for information. His request for transfer to his hometown [City]&[Zip] has been approved.
Output: A Statement of Year-wise special Sales Incentive, credited to Dr. Andrew Fuller's personal Account is given below for information. His request for transfer, to his hometown, Tacoma9801 has been approved.
NB: The inserted text will not appear in bold as shown above, it is used here for highlighting the results only.
Usage of Built-in Functions to Merge the result with the Letter text:
Built-in Functions must be enclosed in {} brackets.
Nested Functions should have only the outermost pair of {} brackets, like in {Format(Date(),"mmm-yy")}
Data Field Names enclosed in [] can be inserted as parameters for Built-in Functions, like DLOOKUP().
Expressions involving Data Field Names enclosed in [] can be joined with + - * / symbols in numerical expressions, & in text data expressions and must be inserted as parameters to the built-in Functions.
Example: To find the 90 days credit period expiry date: {Format([InvoiceDate]+90,"dd/mm/yyyy")}
Usage Example-2: A statement of Year-wise special Sales incentive, of [TitleofCourtesy] [FirstName] [LastName], for a sum of ${DLOOKUP("TotalAmt","Yearwise_Incentive","EmployeeID = " & [EmployeeID])} is credited into his personal Account during {Format(DateAdd("m",-1,Date()),"mmm-yyyy")}, is given below for information. His request for transfer to his home town [City], has been approved effective {Date()+15}.
Output: A statement of Yearwise special Sales incentive of Dr. Andrew Fuller, for a sum of $8696.41 credits into his personal Account during Sep-2007, is given below for information. His request for transfer to his home town Tacoma has been approved effective 30/10/2007.
Don'ts:
[] And {} brackets should not be used within the letter body text anywhere other than enclosing Field Names and Built-in Functions respectively.
NB: A simple validation check is performed on the input text for matching pairs of [] and {} and if you leave out one closing ] in one Field and one opening [ in a different Field the validation check will not detect it and you will end up with Errors. In that case, find out the errors, correct them, and re-run.
Always print a trial run page of the letter and check the output thoroughly for accuracy before the final print.
We need to make a few changes to the Objects as a final step, the Cross-tab Query, the Letter editing Screen, and the Report Design.
Copy and paste the SQL String given below into the SQL window of the Yearwise_FreightQ1 Query that we created earlier overwriting the old SQL String and saving the Query. This change is to create a new column for the Total Amount of 1996, 1997 & 1998 figures.
TRANSFORM Sum(Yearwise_FreightQ0.Sales) AS SumOfSales SELECT Yearwise_FreightQ0.EmployeeID, Sum(Yearwise_FreightQ0.Sales) AS TotalAmt FROM Yearwise_FreightQ0 GROUP BY Yearwise_FreightQ0.EmployeeID PIVOT Yearwise_FreightQ0.Year;
After saving the Yearwise_FreightQ1 run the Make-table Query: Yearwise_IncentiveQ by double-clicking on it to create the output table Yearwise_incentive with the new column TotalAmt, which we have used within the DLOOKUP() Function in the usage Example-2 above.
Open the letter editing Form (Letter) in the design view, and create a Combo Box to display the Report Source Data Field Names, which the Users can reference and type correctly in the Body Text. See the image below:
Turn off the Control Wizards (the Magic Want Symbol) on the Toolbox, if it is On, before clicking on the combo box control on the toolbox. Draw a Combo Box on the Form anywhere convenient on the design surface (I have placed it on the left side of the body text area). Display the Property Sheet of the Combo Box and change the following property values:
Name = cboFields
Row Source Type = Field List
Row Source = LetterQ
Column Count = 1
Column Width = 1"
List Rows = 8
List Width = 1"
Copy and Paste the following revised Code into the VB Module of the above Form (Letter) for the cmdPreview Button:
Private Sub cmdPreview_Click() On Error Resume Next Me.Refresh DoCmd.OpenReport "Letter", acViewPreview If Err > 0 Then MsgBox "Errors in Report source Data." Err.clear End If End Sub
Save the Form with the above change.
Open the Report named Letter in design view. Click on Para1 text box control and remove the field name Para1 from the Control Source property. Change the Name property to Para1x.
Remove the Field Name Para2 of the second Text Box's Control Source property and change its Name Property to Para2x.
Both Controls now show as Unbound Text Boxes.
Copy and paste the following VB Code into the VB Module of the above Report:
Private Sub Report_Open(Cancel As Integer)
Dim xPara1, xPara2, ErrFlag1 As Boolean
Dim ErrFlag2 As Boolean, x
On Error Resume Next
xPara1 = DLookup("Para1", "LetterQ")
xPara2 = DLookup("Para2", "LetterQ")
'submit para1 for parsing
ErrFlag1 = False
x = MailMerge(xPara1)
Me![Para1x].ControlSource = x
If Err > 0 Then
ErrFlag1 = True
Err.Clear
End If
'submit para2 for parsing
ErrFlag2 = False
x = MailMerge(xPara2)
Me![Para2x].ControlSource = x
If Err > 0 Then
ErrFlag2 = True
Err.Clear
End If
If ErrFlag1 Or ErrFlag2 Then
MsgOK "Errors Found, Correct them and re-try."
End If
End SubSave the Report after the changes.
Open a new Global VB Module in your Project. Copy and paste the following Main Programs and save the Module. The lines of code above the Function MailMerge() are Global Declarations and must appear at the topmost area of the Module.
Type ParaTxt
text As Variant
status As Boolean
End Type
Type SpecRec
LsStart As Integer
Lsend As Integer
LfStart As Integer
Lfend As Integer
Str As String
fun As String
End Type
Dim V As ParaTxt, DatF() As SpecRec, DatF2() As SpecRec
Public Function MailMerge(ByVal inpara) As String
'------------------------------------------------------
'Author : a.p.r. pillai
'Date : 01-10-2007
'Remarks: Scan and Parse Text
'------------------------------------------------------
Dim i As Integer, k As Long, L As Long
Dim i2 As Integer, xpara, ypara, yxpara
Dim j As Integer, xchar As String
Dim qot As String, size As Long
Dim curlbon As Boolean
On Error GoTo MailMerge_Err
yxpara = inpara
V.text = inpara
V.status = True
qot = Chr$(34)
strValidate 'run validation check
If V.status Then
MailMerge = yxpara
Exit Function
End If
'scan for Merged Fields
'ignore if embedded within built-in Function
xpara = V.text
i = 0
For j = 1 To Len(xpara)
xchar = Mid(xpara, j, 1)
If xchar = "{" Then
curlbon = True
End If
If xchar = "[" And curlbon = False Then
i = i + 1
ElseIf xchar = "}" And curlbon = True Then
curlbon = False
End If
Next
If i > 0 Then
i = i + 1
ReDim DatF2(1 To i)
Else
GoTo chkFunction
End If
'Parse embedded fields
L = 1: curlbon = False
For j = 1 To Len(xpara)
If j = 1 Then
DatF2(L).LsStart = 1
End If
xchar = Mid(xpara, j, 1)
If xchar = "{" Then
curlbon = True
End If
If xchar = "[" And curlbon = False Then
DatF2(L).Lsend = j - 1
size = DatF2(L).Lsend - DatF2(L).LsStart + 1
DatF2(L).Str = Mid(xpara, DatF2(L).LsStart, size)
DatF2(L).LfStart = j
End If
If xchar = "]" And curlbon = False Then
DatF2(L).Lfend = j
size = DatF2(L).Lfend - DatF2(L).LfStart + 1
DatF2(L).fun = Mid(xpara, DatF2(L).LfStart, size)
L = L + 1
DatF2(L).LsStart = j + 1
End If
If xchar = "}" And curlbon = True Then
curlbon = False
End If
Next
DatF2(L).Str = Mid(xpara, DatF2(L).LsStart)
DatF2(L).fun = ""
'create output from parsed string
ypara = ""
For j = 1 To L - 1
If j = 1 Then
ypara = DatF2(j).Str & qot & " & " & DatF2(j).fun
Else
ypara = ypara & " & " & qot & DatF2(j).Str & qot & " & " & DatF2(j).fun
End If
Next
ypara = ypara & " & " & qot & DatF2(j).Str
If Len(DatF2(j).fun) > 0 Then
ypara = ypara & qot & " & " & DatF2(j).fun
End If
xpara = ypara
chkFunction:
'scan for embedded built-in functions
i2 = 0
For j = 1 To Len(xpara)
If Mid(xpara, j, 1) = "{" Then
i2 = i2 + 1
End If
Next
If i2 > 0 Then
i2 = i2 + 1
ReDim DatF(1 To i2)
Else
GoTo Finish
End If
'parse built-in functions
L = 1
For j = 1 To Len(xpara)
If j = 1 Then
DatF(L).LsStart = 1
End If
If Mid(xpara, j, 1) = "{" Then
DatF(L).Lsend = j - 1
size = DatF(L).Lsend - DatF(L).LsStart + 1
DatF(L).Str = Mid(xpara, DatF(L).LsStart, size)
DatF(L).LfStart = j + 1
End If
If Mid(xpara, j, 1) = "}" Then
DatF(L).Lfend = j - 1
size = DatF(L).Lfend - DatF(L).LfStart + 1
DatF(L).fun = Mid(xpara, DatF(L).LfStart, size)
L = L + 1
DatF(L).LsStart = j + 1
End If
Next
DatF(L).Str = Mid(xpara, DatF(L).LsStart)
DatF(L).fun = ""
'format the paragraph
ypara = ""
For j = 1 To L - 1
If j = 1 Then
ypara = DatF(j).Str & qot & " & " & DatF(j).fun
Else
ypara = ypara & " & " & qot & DatF(j).Str & qot & " & " & DatF(j).fun
End If
Next
ypara = ypara & " & " & qot & DatF(j).StrIf
Len(DatF(j).fun) > 0 Then
ypara = ypara & qot & " & " & DatF(j).fun
End If
Finish:
'if there is no value for merging then
If i2 = 0 And i = 0 Then
ypara = yxpara
End If
xpara = "=" & qot & ypara & qot
MailMerge = xpara
MailMerge_Exit:
Exit Function
MailMerge_Err:
MsgBox Err.Description, , "MailMerge()"
MailMerge = ""
Resume MailMerge_Exit
End FunctionPublic Function strValidate()
'------------------------------------------------------
'Author : a.p.r. pillai
'Date : 01-10-2007
'Remarks: Pre-parsing validation check
'Returned Valule = False, if no errors in Expressions
'------------------------------------------------------
Dim xpara, j As Long, xchar As String
Dim msg As String, flag As Boolean
Dim SBopen As Integer, SBCIose As Integer
Dim CBopen As Integer, CBclose As Integer
Dim str1 As String, str2 As String
On Error GoTo strValidate_Err
xpara = V.text
xpara = Trim(xpara)
SBopen = 0: SBCIose = 0
CBopen = 0: CBclose = 0
str1 = "missing for built-in Function(s)."
str2 = "missing for Fieldname(s)."
For j = 1 To Len(xpara)
xchar = Mid(xpara, j, 1)
Select Case xchar
Case "["
SBopen = SBopen + 1
Case "]"
SBCIose = SBCIose + 1
Case "{"
CBopen = CBopen + 1
Case "}"
CBclose = CBclose + 1
End Select
Next
msg = ""
If SBopen = SBCIose Then
GoTo nextstep
Else
If SBopen > SBCIose Then
msg = "1. Closing ] " & str2
flag = True
Else
msg = "1. Opening [ " & str2
flag = True
End If
End If
nextstep:
If CBopen = CBclose Then
GoTo FinalStep
Else
If CBopen > CBclose Then
If flag Then
msg = msg & vbCr & "2. Closing } " & str1
Else
msg = "1. Closing } " & str1
flag = True
End If
Else
If flag Then
msg = msg & vbCr & "2. Opening { " & str1
Else
msg = "1. Opening { " & str1
flag = True
End If
End If
End If
FinalStep:
If flag Then
msg = "Errors found in field/function definitions." & vbCr & vbCr & msg & vbCr & vbCr & "Program Aborted. " & vbCr & "Correct the errors and re-try."
MsgBox msg
V.status = True
Exit Function
End If
V.status = False
strValidate_Exit:
Exit Function
strValidate_Err:
MsgBox Err.Description, , "strValidateQ"
strValidate = True
Resume strValidate_Exit
End FunctionIn Case of Errors
If you end up with errors when you Compile/Run the Programs for the first time, try linking the essential Library Files to your Project and try again. Visit the Page Command Button Animation for a list of Library Files and for help linking those files to your Project.
The Validation Program performs a simple validation check on the input data and gives out warnings if something is found not in order.
Open the Text editing screen: Letter and try out the examples explained above by inserting Field Names, Built-in Functions, and Functions that use Field Values as parameters and click the Preview Command Button to open the Report with merged values and check whether the output is coming correctly as expected.
Even though the program is very simple in its implementation it is very effective within the controlled environment, User friendly, and will be a Powerful Tool in your Projects.
Any suggestions for improvement of the program are welcome.
Download Mailmerge.zip
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