Word Document - Multiple Access or Excel Lists into a single Word File, in table format

[smiley1978]

I have several lists, that I create in an Access database. I need to mail merge, or in some other way, import them into a Word document, so that the records in the database are displayed in table format, in the word document, and the table should auto size to the number of records in the dynaset.

The records should automatically update when I refresh the data.

When using mail merge, I can only display one record at a time in the document and I can only connect to one list. Are there options out there beyond mail merge for pulling in this data from Access to Word? This document would have to be independent of the data source once updated, as it would have to be sent to several outside people, who will not have a copy of the database.

I am looking for an option that does not require extensive VBA.

 

[Macropod]

You can use Word's Catalogue/Directory Mailmerge facility for this (the terminology depends on the Word version). To see how to do so with any mailmerge data source supported by Word, check out my Microsoft Word Catalogue/Directory Mailmerge Tutorial at:
http://windowssecrets.com/forums/sh...t-Word-Catalogue-Directory-Mailmerge-Tutorial
or:
http://www.gmayor.com/Zips/Catalogue Mailmerge.zip
The tutorial covers everything from list creation to the insertion & calculation of values in multi-record tables in letters. Do read the tutorial before trying to use the mailmerge document included with it.

Depending on what you're trying to achieve, the field coding for this can be complex. However, since the tutorial document includes working field codes for all of its examples, most of the hard work has already been done for you - you should be able to do little more than copy/paste the relevant field codes into your own mailmerge main document, substitute/insert your own field names and adjust the formatting to get the results you desire. For some worked examples, see the attachments to the posts at:
http://www.msofficeforums.com/mail-...ate-names-but-different-dollar.html#post23345
http://www.msofficeforums.com/mail-...creating-list-multiple-records.html#post30327

Another option would be to use a DATABASE field in a normal ‘letter’ mailmerge main document and a macro to drive the process. An outline of this approach can be found at: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...g-tables/8bce1798-fbe8-41f9-a121-1996c14dca5d
Conversely, if your workbook has a separate sheet with just a single instance of each of the grouping criteria, a DATABASE field in a normal ‘letter’ mailmerge main document could be used without the need for a macro. An outline of this approach can be found at:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...gle-page/4edb4654-27e0-47d2-bd5f-8642e46fa103
For a working example, see:
http://www.msofficeforums.com/mail-merge/37844-mail-merge-using-one-excel-file-multiple.html
This particular approach even allows you to access the data from multiple sources.

The DATABASE field can even be used without recourse to a mailmerge. An example of such usage can be found at: http://www.msofficeforums.com/mail-merge/21847-mail-merge-into-different-coloumns.html#post67097

Alternatively, you may want to try one of the Many-to-One Mail Merge add-ins, from:
Graham Mayor at http://www.gmayor.com/ManyToOne.htm; or
Doug Robbins at http://bit.ly/1hduSCB

 

[smiley1978]

Thank you for the information. This is one of the most detailed and thorough responses I have seen.