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You cannot find your data source when you open a mail merge main document in Word 2002 on a Windows Server 2003-based computer

Article ID: 834699 - View products that this article applies to.

SUMMARY

This article describes a problem where you are prompted to find the data source in Microsoft Word 2002 when you try to open a mail merge main document on a Microsoft Windows Server 2003-based computer. After you locate the data source, and then click OK, you are prompted again to find the data source. To work around this problem, either trust the location in Microsoft Internet Explorer that contains your data source, move the data source locally, or perform your mail merge on a different version of Microsoft Windows.

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SYMPTOMS

When you try to open your mail merge main document in Word 2002 that is running on a Windows Server 2003-based computer, you receive the following error message:

filename.doc is a mail merge main document. Word cannot find its data source, path\filename.

If you click Find Data Source, select your data source in the Select Data Source dialog box, and then click Open, you receive the error message again and you cannot open your mail merge main document.

If you click Close (the X in the upper-right corner of the error message dialog box), you receive the following error message:

The document name or path is not valid. Try these suggestions.
* Check the file permissions for the document or drive.
* Use the File Open dialog box to locate the document.
(path\filename.doc)

Note You may also receive the following message when you first try to open your mail merge main document:

Opening this document will run the following SQL command:

SELECT * FROM <network path\<datasource.txt>>.

Data from your database will be placed in the document. Do you want to continue?

If you click Yes, you immediately receive the first error message that is listed.

If you click No, your mail merge main document opens with no data source attached.

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CAUSE

This problem may occur if all the following conditions are true:

Your data source is not located on your computer--for example, the data source is located on a network drive.
Your data source is a text-based file, such as *.txt.
Your local intranet security settings in Microsoft Internet Explorer do not trust the location that contains your mail merge data source.

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WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Trust the location in Internet Explorer

To trust the location where your data source is located on your intranet, follow these steps:

Start Internet Explorer.
On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
On the Security tab, click Local intranet, and then click Sites.
In the Local intranet dialog box, click to select each of the three following check boxes as appropriate, and then click OK:
- Include all local (intranet) sites not listed in other zones.
- Include all sites that bypass the proxy server.
- Include all network paths (UNCs).
Note If your data source is in a location that is not covered by any one of these three check boxes, click Advanced, and then add the Web site that contains your data source.
Click OK to close the Local intranet dialog box.
Click OK to close the Internet Options dialog box.

Method 2: Move the data source locally

Move your data source to a local folder on your hard disk drive on your Windows Server 2003-based computer, and then attach your local data source to your mail merge main document.

Method 3: Use a different Microsoft Windows operating system for your mail merge

Install Microsoft Office XP on a Microsoft Windows 2000-based or a Microsoft Windows XP-based computer, and then run your mail merge on that computer.

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