I've relied on MS Word's mail merge feature for decades, but it's baffling that it still can't handle relative references to a mail merge database instead of absolute ones.
This limitation is especially problematic in Office 365, where file locations vary depending on the user accessing documents stored on SharePoint.
A relative reference would allow seamless movement of documents and their databases to a new folder without reconnecting.
This oversight has frustrated me for over 25 years, and I'm puzzled why Microsoft hasn't implemented this straightforward feature.
There are a few issues with MS Word’s mail merge feature that prevent it from handling relative references to a mail merge database. While it might seem like a straightforward feature, there are some technical reasons why Word behaves this way.
Compatibility and Legacy Features: The mail merge feature has been around for a long time and has had to support various legacy file formats and database types. This influences how it handles data sources and their paths. The code to handle relative references would need significant updates to maintain compatibility with different file formats and databases.
Path Resolution and Uncertainty: Word’s file system handling and path resolution are not designed to handle relative paths in the mail merge feature. When you try to use a relative reference, Word first looks for the file in the specified path, and if it can’t find it, it returns an error. Implementing relative references would require a robust file system handling mechanism to correctly resolve paths and handle path changes.
SharePoint Access and Authentication: When using files stored on SharePoint, there are additional considerations such as identifying and managing the user’s SharePoint login, navigating through folders, and handling various SharePoint-specific errors. Implementing these features securely while maintaining performance would add complexity to the mail merge feature.
Possible Workarounds:
Use Absolute Paths for Local Documents: For documents stored on local computers or file shares, you can use absolute paths to reference your data sources. This ensures direct access without the need for relative references.
Use the Data Connection Wizard: The Data Connection Wizard allows you to connect to different types of data sources, including SharePoint locations. It can help in managing data sources with both absolute and relative paths.
VBA Macros: If you need to manage data sources with relative paths, you can create a VBA macro that dynamically updates the mail merge data source path based on the location of your document. This macro can kick in when the document is opened and adjust the path of the data source accordingly. It requires some VBA knowledge, but it provides the necessary flexibility.
MS Word’s mail merge feature has its limitations when it comes to handling relative references. While there are various workarounds available, implementing a robust mechanism to handle relative paths securely and efficiently is complex and would require significant updates to the feature.