How to Get the "Do You Want to Print a Form Letter?" Message Back for OpenOffice Mail Merges

If you've done mail merges before, you've seen this message.

 

What you should do, every time, is to click Yes and leave everything else alone. Then the mail merge will print with the contents of your data source.

What would make sense is to mark the Do Not Show Warning Again checkbox and click Yes, thinking that every time thereafter you'll be able to print the mailmerge correctly, with the contents of your data source, just like you did this time, but without that pesky message popping up.

You'd be logical, but you'd also be wrong because of the wacky design of the program. If you mark the checkmark, then from that day forward you will print, instead of a mail merge, a list of fields like <Firstname> and <Lastname>.

So:
How do you get that dialog box to come back so you can print a mail merge correctly?

Answer: Here's how it's supposed to work. People say this works. I can't find a file with the relevant flag in it on my machine but if it works for you, great. It should work.

<< Reader David Beroff offers some fine suggestions after his successful implementation, which I have updated the instructions with.>>

1. Close OpenOffice.org.

2. Find the Writer.xcu file. It's in one of these locations.

~/.ooo-2.0-pre/user/registry/data/org/openoffice/Office/Writer.xcu

Documents and Settings\[users]\Application Data\OpenOffice.org2\  user\registry\data\org\openoffice\Office\Writer.xcu

3. Make a backup copy of it. Just copy the file in your file manager and paste it somewhere else.

4. Open it with an Ascii editor (i.e Notepad or 1stPage or some such program.)

5. Look for <prop oor:name="AskForMerge">  and set the value to true. To do this, look for "AskForMerge=False"  and type "True" where it says "False."

6. Save the file.

Now you'll get the message popping up again when you print a mail merge. Leave the checkbox alone and click Yes, and you're golden.

 

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Comments

[A chicken passeth by]

Does this work in all modules or only in Writer?

I tried to do this in a from-scratch Form in O.O.Base, printing to a file (which should not affect the output) - the resulting .odt file only had the field names. Clicking yes or no changed nothing, and printing to a plain text file did not help.

[David Beroff]

EXCELLENT!! Thank you! This is now the second time that your blog has saved me! :-)

Might I respectfully suggest that you also recommend: 1. Closing Writer first. 2. Back up the config file before modifying it (especially due to the non-Windows end-of-line method). 3. Show people how to set the value in question. (It was obvious to me, but it may not be for others.)

If you're curious about my recent MailMerge hair-pullings, the above link shows the relevant posts in my blog (though you need to read it "bottom up" to get the chronology right).

[Solveig Haugland]

Hi Dave,

Thanks! I'm glad it helped, and my sympathies for the hairpulling that is mail merge. ;> I shall update with your suggestions.

Solveig

[Rick]

Thanks. Your tip saved me!

[Jonty]

How to Get the "Do You Want to Print a Form Letter?" Message Back for OpenOffice Mail Merges.

I have looked for the tag "askformerge" but can not find it in the file writer.xcu

Any thing else I can try ???

Jonty

[Solveig]

Here it is. This is all I know....maybe the OOOforum.org folks have another answer. Also try searching for the phrase askformerge anywhere else in a file on your computer.
http://openoffice.blogs.com/openoffice/2006/10/how_to_get_the_.html

[Andrew]

This post looks like exactly what i'm looking for but i don't have the file path
Documents and Settings\[users]\Application Data\OpenOffice.org2\ user\registry\data\org\openoffice\Office\Writer.xcu

I tried searching for the file writer.xcu, but it did not contain the prop oor:name="AskForMerge"

I'm using open office 2.3 on windows XP, can someone please point me in the correct direction to solve this problem.
Thank you
Andrew

[Solveig]

Hi Andrew,

2.3 doesn't have that checkmark at all, you don't need it to print a mail merge correctly. If you just click Yes in the dialog box, do you get the print window?

Solveig

[Penny]

I'm using OO.O 3.0 I too could not find the AskForMerge in Registry file. I did get it to work however.
Insert/Envelope: Within the Envelope panel that pops up: Choose database and sheet and click the left arrow to place it within the Addressee section. Then: click on 'New Doc' Then, View/Data Sources. Drag the header from the columns you want to include in the Address section. When File/Print you get the popup box that 'Your document contains database fields. Do you want to print a form letter?' There is no place on the box to choose 'don't show me again'. It then printed ok after selecting the records I wanted.

[Freda Greene]

I AM PULLING MY HAIR OUT!! I am trying to mail merge my spreadsheet to labels.... I have followed ALL instructions. My computer will only print the first name of my customers for ALL of the label sheet (30 labels w/all the same name and address)....I have tried all combinations of print all, range, trying to move the green cursor, etc....it still prints ONLY the first name.....HELP

[Solveig]

Hi Freda,

I'm sorry you're having problems. First, if you're not on OpenOffice 3.1, install it. Then create the labels again http://openoffice.blogs.com/openoffice/2006/02/mail_merge_labe.html and be sure to insert the fields from the database you created, and don't synchronize (the Synchronize floating button).

Good luck,
Solveig

[Freda Greene]

Goodness, I am surprised someone answered....I will try what you have suggested!