[Solved] Need to Merge Current Base Record into Writer doc

[Hagar Delest]

My Dad has always used Act as his database. We had forms like purchase order, letter, quote form built in MS Word. The browsers like Chrome stopped working with Windows Vista on his office PC. I put Windows 10 and Act no longer works. I have been able to recreate in Base the same look as his old Act database. I created templates in Writer for the PO, letter, quote form, fax form etc.,

I would like to be able to take the current customer that appears in the database form, and merge just that one customer into the Writer merge odt templates I created. I can't figure out how to do it.

In Act my Dad was able to go to a particular contact in his database and merge that contact into a doc template and print it out or create a pdf.

Is there any way I can get similar functionality out of base?

[Villeroy]

Open a Writer document.
Hit F4 for the data source window.
In the left pane navigate [Your Database] > [Tables] or [Queries] > [Your table or query]
If you don't see your database, just play with the existing "Bibliography" database or right-click left pane > [Registered Databases...] and add your Base file to the list.
From your data in the right pane drag grey column headers into your Writer document.

Such a document with database place holders can be stored as a template. When you are going to print it, you will be prompted if you are going to print a serial letter (aka form letter, mail merge) with one instance per list entry to printer or to file.

In order to merge one particular record into the place holders, highlight the current record by clicking the empty grey row selector in front of the record and click the "Data to fields" button on top of the data source window.
You can also print a serial letter and then select only one record in the next dialog.

[Villeroy]

My Dad has always used Act as his database.

I don't know what "Act" means in this context. My above instructions assume that "Act" conforms to some standard, namely ODBC or JDBC, so you can connect a Base document to "Act" via File>New>Database... "Connect to existing database"...
Proprietary software prefers to be incompatible with any standards so your data are linked to one particular product.

[JTW]

Thank you. It works.

I have one question. Is there a way prevent a blank field from creating a blank line on a letter?

For example is my letter template:

<CONTACT>
<COMPANY>
<ADDRESS 1>
<ADDRESS 2>
<CITY>, <ST> <ZIP>

For a customer with two address lines it would look like this when it prints:

Joe Smith
ABC Company
123 Main Street
Mail drop: 235/8/4
New York, NY 10013

For a customer with only <ADDRESS 1> it prints like this because the <ADDRESS 2> is a blank line:

Joe Smith
ABC Company
123 Main Street

New York, NY 10013

Is there a way to suppress a blank line on a template?


BTW Act was/is database software that my Dad used from 1995 until recently. He print letters, PO's, quotes, envelopes, and he keep track of appointments and last sale. It's all he really needs. Unfortunately, Act software (that works with Windows 10) has gone way up in price and it isn't work the cost for what my Dad needs. He's used the same Act version since 2001.

[Villeroy]

http://openoffice.blogs.com/openoffice/ ... g_bla.html