MyPostageRateSaver
Question&Answers
Q16 How can I recover a corrupted database?
Q17 My printer won't print in ANY program (Lost LPT1 port)
Q18 Why can't I open my database file directly from a burned CD?
Q19 "Bulk Mail feature is out of date"
Q20 "(Program) caused an invalid page fault in module kernel32.dll"
Q21 How do I configure the E-mail preferences for sending E-mail from the program?
Q22 How do I copy data records from one list file to another?
Q24 How can I do a mail merge with Microsoft Word with my database?
Q26 Can I use this program on the network?
Q27 Can I have the program add data to a field in every record in my database automatically?
Q16 How can I recover a corrupted database?
A16(Answer ID 1084): Various errors can mean that your database file is corrupted and is unreadable by your program. Some of the common errors are:
- MFC Application error. This program has encountered a problem and will now be closed by Windows.
- This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down.
- Mydata has caused an invalid page fault in module mfc42.dll
- An error has occurred while opening the database file. The database may be corrupted or you may be out of disk space. Clear some space and try to open the file.
If you have a corrupted database file that will not open in your program, this usually occurs because your system shut down or "froze" unexpectedly while your list file was open and active in your database program. This can happen if you experience a power outage, a system failure, or a program error from ANY program running on your system while our database program is running at the same time.
Essentially, if our database program is not allowed to save the file and close normally, the active database that was in use at the time can become corrupted.
When the database list file is open, the data is in a "writeable" state and the database is in flux as it sits in your computer memory. If the program cannot close down properly and save the data in your file properly, the integrity of the database can become compromised. When this happens, either the file will not open at all or whenever you try to make a change to the file, the program will crash.
ALWAYS TRY TO RESTORE A BACKUP FILE FIRST. This is the easiest and most complete way to restore a database if you encounter file problems. The file's Administrator should have been periodically making Backups to ensure the data is protected in case of a corruption problem This Backup command is located in the File menu.
To Restore a Backup:
- Open a new blank database file in the program. It does not matter the file name or the file location - you just want to get the program running with a database file active.
- Go to the File menu and choose Restore
- Browse to the folder location on your hard drive or the location on your backup server to where you created your file's Backup. When you see the Backup file you want to restore in the browsing window, double-click on it to open it.
- A Browse for Destination Folder dialog will appear. You want to choose the folder in which you want the newly restored file to be located. Highlight your selection, then click OK.
- A dialog will appear asking if you wish to open the newly restore database. Answer Yes to view the contents of the file.
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A BACKUP FILE TO RESTORE:
You can often recover the names and addresses in your database file by exporting or extracting the data out of it and then re-importing the information into a new, blank database file. This uses your existing list data information in a newly created database structure.
If you are able to open the list file in your database program, but you cannot make a change to it:
(Scroll down the page to read about what to do if you cannot open the list file at all)
If the file opens, but you cannot edit a design, save the file or make other modifications to it, then the database is corrupted, but not so much so that it cannot be read by our program. You do not want to continue using this file, as continued use may cause the database to become more corrupted and eventually fail to open at all. We recommend you do the following to "re-build" your list file:
- Open your list file in your database program. Do this by selecting the Open command in the File menu and then double-clicking on your file in the browsing window.
- Once your file is open, choose Export from the File menu at the top of the screen.
- On the Export dialog, select the option All Records for the "Export Mode" and then click the Add All button to tell the program to export all the fields for each exported record. When you're done, click OK.
- A Save As dialogue will open. Choose a hard drive or disk location to create the file in by selecting it in the Save In drop-down. Then, give the export file a name in the File Name entry (we recommend you use the default ExpFile name if you want). When you're ready to export, click Save. Make note of the name and location of your file for importing later - usually the export is on your Windows Desktop.
- What you have now created is an exported file of just the text data from your database. Open a new file now by choosing the File menu. Do not use "New With Current Design" as this will carry-over the corruption into your new file!
- If your corrupted database was built from scratch with customized data fields, you will have to re-create that database structure again using the New Custom File option. Make the exact same data fields you used originally as the same data types and click OK when you're done.
- If your corrupted database was originally built from a pre-defined template, use the option New With Template. Select the same template you used originally and then click OK when you're done.
- Once you have your new, blank list file open, choose the File menu and select Import
- In the main browsing window of this Import dialog, you should find the file you just exported. When you see it, left-click on it once to highlight it, then click the Open button.
- A dialog Use First Record for Field Names will appear. Click the Yes button on this dialog.
- A window Assign Import Fields will appear next. If the bottom-left dialog box for Fields in Import File is completely empty, then simply click the OK button. If the bottom-left dialog box for Fields in Import File has field name entries in it, you will need to assign those fields to an appropriately-matching field from the bottom-right dialog box for Fields in Current File. Do this by left-clicking to highlight a field entry in Fields in Import File list, then finding its appropriate match and clicking on it in the Fields in Current File listing. When you do this, both entries should disappear from their respective lists and re-appear as a field assignment in the top dialog box (For example, you might need to click on First Name in the Fields in Import File listing and then click on its "match" in the Fields in Current File listing, which is First). Repeat this manual assignment process until you have assigned every field from the Fields in Import File listing (so that it is empty), or it contains the leftover fields you have decided you do not need. Click OK when you're done.
- Now, you should return to the Data Entry tab. Click on the Data Table Tab to view whether or not your data imported correctly. If you have matched up the fields properly in the previous step during the "Assign Import Fields" process, you should have your data back into the program in a file that is not corrupt.
- The data of your file will have transferred, but any customized output forms will have to be re-created as these will have been lost with your previous corrupted file.
- Save your re-built file by choosing the File menu and selecting Save As... Give your rebuilt file a name and save location in the browsing window and click Save when you are ready to save the file.
If you cannot open your list file at all in your database program
If you cannot open your list file at all because our program crashes whenever you try to load the list, then you will need to extract the data from the main database file using Microsoft Excel. If you do not have Microsoft Excel to perform these operations, contact Technical Support for further assistance in recovering your list data.
The data from your list file is in a file with a *.mml extension located in the directory where you save your databases. To understand how you are going to be able to recover your information, you will need to understand how your database program saves and archives your files.
For example, if your database was saved on your computer as a file you called "contacts", then the files that our database program creates to save your data are as follows:
1) A yellow folder called "contacts" (the name of the saved database) containing support files
2) A file called contacts.mml
3) A file called contacts.dbt
This collection works together to act as your complete database. All of these files would be in the same Windows folder you saved your database to. So if you originally made a file in a folder on your server for more than one user to access, you would see a folder called contacts and a file called contacts.mml and a file called contacts.dbt.
The raw text data of this list would be stored in the file contacts.mml. It is this *.mml file that would be used for the steps described below to open and extract with Microsoft Excel.
Here is how you can extract your data using Microsoft Excl:
- Open Microsoft Excel on your computer
- In the File menu choose the option Open
- In the Look In: drop-down box, browse to the folder location where your corrupted database files reside. If you are not sure where your database file was saved, try looking in the default Data folder in the database program's installation directory:
MyDocuments
- Once you have selected the folder with your file in it in the Look In: drop-down box, change the Files of Type drop-down at the bottom of the window to the selection All Files (*.*)
- You should see collections of files with names similar to the ones used as examples above. You want to find the main *.mml file of your corrupted list in this window and Open it. This file will have an icon different than the other files in this window - it will have an icon similar to the icon for your program. If you are not sure if you are identifying the correct file, right-click on the file you think is your *.mml file and then choose Properties from the menu that appears. The Type should say MyPostageRateSaver Document or something very similar. If so, then this is the correct file.
- If you open the correct file, you should rows and columns of data that make up your database file's list data. Go to the File menu here and select Save As...
- The Save As dialog will open. Change the Save In: drop-down dialog to My Documents. Then, change the Save As Type: drop-down selection to "CSV ( Comma delimited) (*.csv)". With these settings, click Save. Close Microsoft Excel.
- You will now want to try and open your database program again. If you cannot open your database program, it is because the program is trying to open the last list file you were working on - which also happens to be the file that is corrupted and you are trying to recover. You will need to move or delete your corrupted list file in Windows so that your database program does not find it and keep trying to open it unsuccessfully when you launch the program. The best way to move the file is to browse to the folder where your list file was saved and then Cutting and Pasting the *.esd file to a completely different folder, like your My Documents folder. As long as the file is moved, your database program will then be able to open with a new, blank database.
- Once you can open your database program successfully, you want to start a new file. Open a new file now by choosing the File menu.
- If your corrupted database was built from scratch with customized data fields, you will have to re-create that database structure again using the New Custom File option. Make the exact same data fields you used originally as the same data types and click OK when you're done.
- If your corrupted database was originally built from a pre-defined template, use the option New With Template. Select the same template you used originally and then click OK when you're done.
- Once you have your new, blank list file open, choose the File menu and select Import
- In the main browsing window of this Import dialog, change the Look In: drop-down box to My Documents. In there, you should find the file you just made from Excel. When you see it, left-click on it once to highlight it, then click the Open button.
- A dialog Use First Record for Field Names will appear. Click the Yes button on this dialog.
- A window Assign Import Fields will appear next. If the bottom-left dialog box for Fields in Import File is completely empty, then simply click the OK button. If the bottom-left dialog box for Fields in Import File has field name entries in it, you will need to assign those fields to an appropriately-matching field from the bottom-right dialog box for Fields in Current File. Do this by left-clicking to highlight a field entry in Fields in Import File list, then finding its appropriate match and clicking on it in the Fields in Current File listing. When you do this, both entries should disappear from their respective lists and re-appear as a field assignment in the top dialog box (For example, you might need to click on First Name in the Fields in Import File listing and then click on its "match" in the Fields in Current File listing, which is First). Repeat this manual assignment process until you have assigned every field from the Fields in Import File listing (so that it is empty), or it contains the leftover fields you have decided you do not need. Click OK when you're done.
- Now, you should return to the Data Entry tab. Click on the Data Table Tab to view whether or not your data imported correctly. If you have matched up the fields properly in the previous step during the "Assign Import Fields" process, you should have your data back into the program in a file that is not corrupt.
- The data of your file will have transferred, but any customized output forms will have to be re-created as these will have been lost with your previous corrupted file.
- Save your re-built file by choosing the File menu and selecting Save As... Give your rebuilt file a name and save location in the browsing window and click Save when you are ready to save the file.
It may turn out that you cannot recover your data on your own using these methods. If you need to retrieve your data, please contact Technical Support for additional assistance. Technical Support can be reached via email at support@mypostageratesaver.com.
Q17 My printer won't print in ANY program (Lost LPT1 port)
A17(Answer ID 1473): The loss of the LPT1: port can occur on Windows 2000/XP when deleting the "Greatland Driver" printer driver when there were documents still remaining in it. The Greatland Driver was the name of the printer driver for previous versions of the software.
To re-add the LPT1: printer port, please run (or "Open") this patch and then Restart your computer:
http://store.mypostageratesaver.com/downloads/LPT1REG.exe
Q18 Why can't I open my database file directly from a burned CD?
A18(Answer ID 1088): Files from your database program can be copied to CD, but they cannot be opened directly from the CD to use in the program. This is because the CD is read-only and our program needs to be able to access the files and have them available to modify. This need to be able to read and write a data file pertains to many other Windows programs as well.
If you try to open a file directly from a CD, you will get the following message:
The database file cannot be opened in exclusive mode. Either it is already open in another program or it is marked as Read Only
To successfully open a file that you saved to a CD, you will need to Copy and Paste the files from the CD to a folder on your hard drive.
Here's how you can copy your files from your CD to your hard drive:
1) In My Computer or Windows Explorer, click the file or folder you want to copy on your CD.
2) On the Edit menu, click Copy.
3) Open the folder or disk where you want to put the copy.
4) On the Edit menu, click Paste.
5) Repeat for all files on the CD.
To select more than one file or folder to Copy at one time, hold down the CTRL key, and then click the items you want as you hold this key. You will see each file highlight along with others you've clicked. This will also allow you to Paste the files at the same time as well.
After you have made your hard drive copy of your CD contents, you will need to change the Properties for each file so that they are NOT set to Read-only.
To change file or folder properties:
1) In My Computer or Windows Explorer, click the file or folder whose properties you want to change.
2) On the File menu, click Properties.
3) Un-check the "read only" property setting.
4) Click Apply and OK
5) Repeat for each file that make up your list database.
Once you are done you can open the list file from your harddrive.
Q19 "Bulk Mail feature is out of date"
A19(Answer ID 1203): This message indicates that the bulk mail engine of the program is now out of date for proper sorting, reporting and pricing of your mail list data.
The very first thing to check is your system time in Windows. Verify it is current, as having the wrong date will cause the mail list program to report it is out-of-date.
If you are getting this message with an older mail list program:
Our mailing CDs have time-sensitive information regarding current forms, rates and sorting for bulk mail. When the CD expires, you need to get new software to update your bulk mail engine. You can order an updated mailing CD by calling . We have different CDs and applications for different mailing needs, so the customer service agent that you'd speak with will be able to help you find the right program for your situation.
If you are getting this message with a newly purchased mailing CD bought from a retail store:
Boxed versions of our deluxe mail list software may have a bulk mail engine that is now out-of-date compared to when the CD was manufactured. Since the bulk mail forms, rates and sorting are time-sensitive and change often according to the US Postal Service, a CD that was manuafactured in the past and sat on a store shelf for a long time may be out-of-date when a customer actually buys and installs the program. If this is the case, please call MyPostageRateSaver for a new mailing program at 1-408-739-4100.
If you are getting this message with a newly purchased "MyPostageRateSaver" Program:
You may be experiencing this problem if you have multiple installations of different mailing programs over a long period of time installed over each other. This kind of "mish-mash" installation may cause the program to think you're still using old software. Often completely removing your mail list software and all related program folders will let you reinstall with a "fresh" copy of the mail list program and let you run bulk mail correctly. Here's how to do a "clean" installation:
The full process to make a "clean" installation will involve the following:
1) "Backing-up" or archiving your existing MailList data
2) Uninstalling all versions of the software from the system
3) Deleting the old program installation folders
4) Reinstalling with just the current version of the software from your most recent MyPostageRateSaver release.
To start:
1) First, make a back-up of all your existing data. This means making a copy of all your MailList files with your names and addresses to a separate folder on your hard drive. Most of the time users have their saved MML MailList files located in the "Data" folder. If you have your files there on your system as well, COPY this "Data" folder and PASTE to a separate location (such as your "My Documents" folder).
If your saved MML MyMailList files are located in a different folder other than this "Data" folder, then make a COPY of the files in that alternative location and PASTE them to the "My Documents" folder to make your backup.
The goal here is to make sure that you have a copy of all your information in a place on your hard drive, or an external saved copy on a disk or CD, that has all your information, because the following steps will tell your to remove the program completely and you do not want to remove any data in doing this.
2) You then want to UNINSTALL the MyPostageRateSaver program from the Windows Control Panel. Go to your START Menu and click on "Settings", then "Control Panel". Here, double-click on the icon that says "Add/Remove Programs". On this next window, look in the scroll listing of programs installed on your computer and highlight the selection that says MyPostageRateSaver (there may be a version number there also). After you’ve highlighted it, click on the button that says "Add/Remove". This will begin the uninstall process. InstallShield will run and eventually ask you if you want to "Modify, Repair or Remove" the program. Click on the "Remove" option. Follow the instructions on the screens to go ahead and uninstall the program. If you get any prompts for "Remove Read-only file" or "Remove Common File" during the uninstall, click YES every time you are asked. Click "Finish" at the end when you are prompted.
Do this UNINSTALL for any and all entries in the "Add/Remove Programs" listing that say MyPostageRateSaver, or similar names. You want to have no old programs loaded on the system.
3) After uninstalling, you want to browse on your hard drive and DELETE any leftover program installation folder that may still be left on your system. Go to the "My Computer", then double-click on the C: drive. Here, find and DELETE any yellow folders that say " MyPostageRateSaver ". If you do not find any files named like this, then continue searching by double-clicking on your yellow folder that says "Program Files". In here, again look for any yellow folders that say "MyPostageRateSaver" and DELETE them. If you do not find any files named like this, then continue searching by double-clicking on your yellow folder that says " URG ". In here, one last time look for any yellow folders that say " MyPostageRateSaver " and DELETE them. After this, close all open windows and RESTART your system.
4) After restarting, reinstall your most current MyPostageRateSaver program. Start the installer for the program. Let the program install again using the "Typical" installation and follow the on-screen prompts to install. When you're done, RESTART your system again.
5) When you have done this, open up your saved MyPostageRateSaver file from the folder you used to archive/backup your lists ("My Documents" is the example we've used here) and then try to run your bulk mailing. It should now work properly.
Q20 "(Program) caused an invalid page fault in module kernel32.dll"
A20(Answer ID 1255): When the user first installs and tries to open the MyPostageRateSaver program, the program may fail immediately and report the following error message:
"This program has performed and illegal operation and will be shut down"
Upon clicking the Details button, the error is as follows:
"(program) has caused an invalid page fault in module kernel32.dll @ (number)"
The error is not specific to any file failure or program error of ours, but rather a result of a conflict between some files that are shared between our program and MS Word and/or MS Office (97, 2000 or XP versions). This will happen every time you try to open your newly installed program. Fixing this error involves uninstalling Microsoft Word (or Office), then reinstalling Word or Office. This repairs and updates the shared system files that our program needs to run properly with your Windows installation.
A simple way of reinstalling Word/Office is to run the "Detect and Repair" option from your Word/Office installer disk. For more information about performing this operation, please refer to the "Resolution" Heading of the Microsoft Knowledgebase article at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;217440
(Scroll to the middle of the page under "Resolution")
If these instructions do not help you, try uninstalling your Word/Office installation, and then reinstalling by choosing the Custom Installation option. When you choose "Custom," there will be checkbox options for you to specify what you want to install. Make sure to check the boxes for Program Files and Converting Files. The other options in addition to Program Files and Converting Files are not necessary for this to succeed, but you would probably want to go ahead and install every option (i.e., go ahead and check all options). After it has reloaded, Re-Start your system and then try to open our program again.
Q21 How do I configure the E-mail preferences for sending E-mail from the program?
A21(Answer ID 1105): The program requires that you use it in conjunction with an email account from an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that allows you to have access to an SMTP server and uses the POP3 protocol to manage your E-mail mailbox. Not all ISPs will allow SMTP access, nor use POP3 accounts.
Because of the technology this program requires, the Email feature will not work with the following Email providers:
- America Online (AOL)
- Hotmail
- Yahoo! (Free Version)
- ANY Web-based email service
However, if you have the right kind of account and access but you do not set the "Email Preferences" settings properly to match the settings for your particular ISP, the program will report failed send attempts for your list.
How to configure the Email Preferences:
From Name: this is the name you want to appear on the email for who the email is "From"
From Email Address: this the email you want to appear on the email for who the recipient can reply to. It must be the primary email address for the ISP account you are using to send emails from, and it must have the same user ID and password that you put in the User ID and password fields.
Primary Email Address: this tells the program which Field in your mail list to "pull" the recipients' email addresses to whom you are going to send.
Last Sent Date: this is an optional setting that will let you select a field in your mail list for the program to automatically put the date of the last time an email was successfully sent to each record.
SMTP Mail Server: this is the name of the SMTP mail server your ISP would let you access to send emails. This is a name usually in the form smtp.mail.ispname or something similar. Please contact your ISP's Technical Support for this setting.
POP3 Mail Server: this is the name of the POP3 mail server your ISP uses to receive emails for your account. This is a name usually in the form pop3.mail.ispname or something similar. Please contact your ISP's Technical Support for this setting.
Domain Name: this is the name of your ISP's internet domain, like "mailhouse.com" or "ispname.com". Often this is the ending of your email address, after the "@" symbol. If you are unsure about this setting, please contact your ISP's Technical support. < p User ID: this is the User ID for your email account. Often this is the beginning of your email address, before the "@" symbol. If you are unsure about this setting, please contact your ISP's Technical support.
Password: this is the password for your email account or your ISP's access password for your connectivity settings. If you are unsure about this setting, please contact your ISP's Technical support.
To verify what these server settings and domain info are for your email account that you are using to send FROM, please contact the technical support for your ISP and ask about the kind of connectivity privileges you have as an email subscriber, and whether or not you have the access ability to use a third party mailing program to send mass emails from your account. Not all ISP's will let you do this, so you will want to double-check. If you do, have them tell you the exact SMTP server name, POP3 server name, and domain name for their network. You will also want to verify that your username and password are correct as well. If they cannot assist you, or they indicate that you cannot perform this kind of function as one of their subscribers, then you would not be able to use this program for emailing.
One way you can try to specify server settings that will work for you is, if you have set up MS Outlook or Outlook Express to access and read your email from this same email account you are trying to use for your database program, copy and paste the SMTP and POP3 settings for the preferences in that program and try to use them in the email preferences. Sometimes this will work.
Q22 How do I copy data records from one list file to another?
A22(Answer ID 1085): To transfer records from one database to another database, you will need to perform the following:
1) Export the records you want to transfer from the initial database
2) Import the records into another existing database or into a new, blank database
Steps to perform these operations are outlined as follows:
Step 1: Exporting selected records from an initial database:
- Open your program by double-clicking on the program's icon in the Start Menu or on your Desktop
- Open your initial database file that contains the records you want to transfer. If that list is already opened, continue on. Otherwise, choose the File Menu and select Open. On the window that appears, browse to the folder containing your initial database in the Look In drop-down, and then highlight the file name in the window underneath by left-clicking on it. Once the file is highlighted, click the Open button.
- You should see your database open in the program. Click on the Data Table Tab in the upper-left of your program to view the rows and columns of data records in your list.
- Hold down on the CTRL (Control) key on the keyboard. As you hold this key, do a single left-click on the row number preceding each record that you wish to transfer out of this list. As you do this, each record row that you click should highlight. If you only can get one row to highlight at a time, it is because you are not holding down the CTRL (Control) key on the keyboard. When you have highlighted your chosen records, let go of the CTRL key.
- Choose the File menu and select Export.
- On the Export dialog, select the option Selected Records in Data Table for the "Export Mode" and then click the Add All button to tell the program to export all the fields for each exported record. If you wish to instead export only specific fields of your selected records, then click on a field name in the Fields in Current File listing and then click the Add>> button. This will send that field name to the Fields to Export listing. Repeat selecting fields and adding them to the Fields to Export listing until you have chosen all your fields to export. When you're done, click OK.
- A Save As dialogue will open. Choose a hard drive or disk location to create the file in by selecting it in the Save In drop-down. Then, give the export file a name in the File Name entry (you can use the default ExpFile name if you want). When you're ready to export, click Save. Make note of the name and location of your file for importing later.
Step 2: Imported the exported records back into a new or existing database file.
- You can either open a separate, existing database file to which to import your records, or you can start a new database that's blank to import only the exported records. It's up to you.... however you must be logged in as the Administrator for whatever database you use to accept the import.
- To open an existing database file: Choose the File Menu and select Open. On the window that appears, browse to the folder containing your initial file in the Look In drop-down, and then highlight the file name in the window underneath by left-clicking on it. Once the database is highlighted, click the Open button.
- To open a new database: Choose the File menu and select New Custom File or New with Template.
- Once you have your new or existing database file open, choose the File menu and select Import
- In the main window of this Import dialog, you should find the file you just exported. When you see it, left-click on it once to highlight it, then click the Open button.
- A dialog Use First Record for Field Names will appear. Click the Yes button on this dialog.
- A window Assign Import Fields will appear next. If the bottom-left dialog box for Fields in Import File is completely empty, then simply click the OK button. If the bottom-left dialog box for Fields in Import File has field name entries in it, you will need to assign those fields to an appropriately-matching field from the bottom-right dialog box for Fields in Current File. Do this by left-clicking to highlight a field entry in Fields in Import File list, then finding its appropriate match and clicking on it in the Fields in Current File listing. When you do this, both entries should disappear from their respective lists and re-appear as a field assignment in the top dialog box (For example, you might need to click on First Name in the Fields in Import File listing and then click on its "match" in the Fields in Current File listing, which is First). Repeat this manual assignment process until you have assigned every field from the Fields in Import File listing (so that it is empty), or it contains the leftover fields you have decided you do not need. Click OK when you're done.
- The records will be imported and added to the bottom of your file. You will see them on the Data Table or Data Entry tabs in the program. Click on one of these tabs to verify that your information imported successfully. You may wish to Save your changes at this point.
Q24 How can I do a mail merge with Microsoft Word with my database?
A24(Answer ID 1081): There are two main components to doing a mail merge with data from one of our database programs.
1) You must have a mail merge document set up in Microsoft Word ( consult Microsoft Word's Help Menu for help setting up your merge document )
2) You must have a database that contains the information that you wish to merge into the Word document. This is what our software can export from a database file. In order create a data file for Word from your database program, you will need to create an export file.
How to Create an Export file:
- Open the database file that contains the data you wish to merge with your Word form letter. Do this by choosing the File menu and then selecting Open. Here, select the file you want to use in the Open File dialog by double-clicking on it.
- Once the database file is open and is displaying in your program, go to the File menu and select Export. The Export dialog appears. Set the Export Mode to All Records (to add all the records from your list file) and then click the Add>> to add different data fields to the exported file. This will let you add specific data fields to your export by clicking on a data field you wish to add to your export from the left-hand box to highlight it and then clicking the Add>> button to add that single field to the export. Repeat this for any other data fields you want to add. If you wish to simply add all the fields at once, click the Add All>> button and all the fields will be exported automatically. When you are done choosing fields to export, click OK.
- The Save As dialog will appear. Choose Desktop for the folder location to save to in the top drop-down listing and leave the file name as the default ExpFile.csv. Click Save. This will export the data file to your Windows Desktop as the icon ExpFile.
- Now open Microsoft Word and then open your Word Document for your mail merge. You have your data exported into a file called ExpFile.csv which you will use to import your mail data. In Word, go to the Tools menu, select Mail Merge, then Get Data, and then Open Data Source. In the box that says Look In, browse to your Windows Desktop. Set the Files of Type drop-down to All files and you should see ExpFile.csv as an icon to select in the main window. Double-click ExpFile.csv, then click Merge.
These instructions for Word were specifically written for Microsoft Word 2000. Other versions of Microsoft Word may have different commands to accomplish a mail merge. For help with making a mail merge document, or performing the actual mail merge from the ExpFile.csv generated from our database program, consult the Microsoft Word Help, the Microsoft Office Assistant, or the Microsoft Support Knowledgebase on the web.
General information about MyPostageRateSaver SILVER and MyPostageRateSaver GOLD can be found at:
http://www.mypostageratesaver.com
Q26 Can I use this program on the network?
A26(Answer ID 1514): This program does not support the multi-user environment and you will not be able to install it on a network. You will have to install and use the program on the local computers. You can share the information between computers by transferring the files/backup files from one computer to another manually.
Q27 Can I have the program add data to a field in every record in my database automatically?
A27(Answer ID 1079): If you want to quickly fill data cells by repeating the same text for each record, you can use the program's Replace command from the Edit menu to accomplish this. This will allow you to have each cell of a data field repeat with the same text for each record all the way through your list. Common uses of this function would be to place the same State in the "ST" field of your list records, or place the text "Current Resident" in the "Name" field for every record.
To do this, choose Replace from the Edit Menu and then click on the Advanced tab. Now, you are going to construct a sequence of conditions that will tell the program to automatically "fill in" fields when a record or records meet those conditions.
For example, if your "Country" field is blank for all your records, and you want to make every record in your list add the text "USA" in the "Country" field, you would make the first drop-down box say "Country", then the second drop-box will highlight. Make the second drop-down box say "is blank". Then, go to the bottom section of the window and make the first "Replace" drop-down say "Country" and then make the corresponding "replace with" directly to the right of it say "USA" (because that is the text you want to enter in your database in this example).
Basically, what you are doing is making a conditional statement to the program to add/replace text in a field when conditions are met for a record, and the drop-down boxes in the top let you construct these conditions. In our example, we've basically told the program, "Find records when the 'Country' field is blank, and when you do, replace the contents of the 'Country' field with the text 'USA'."
The advanced "Replace" window can perform some very advanced, very powerful and very accurate replacements in your list of names, thereby saving you the time you would need to manually enter or change your data by hand. For more information, see the sub-heading for "Replacing Data" in your program User's Guide, accessible in your Windows START Menu.