Hi all,
I am trying to create an Access database for use purely as a more efficient way to enter fields into a Mail Merge for a friend who is an attorney.
Currently, I am using Word's mail merge, but the problem with that is that it is time consuming and inefficient because there is no way to set it up to recognize commonly used entries and autofill the field.
The first paragraph of the form letters look something like this (the parts that are filled in using a mail merge field are in bold:
"It has come to my attention that you were recently arrested on the charges of Driving Under the Influence, Third or Subsequent Offense, Refusal to Take Breath or Blood Test, and No Operator's License. The charge of Driving Under the Influence, Third or Subsequent Offense carries a penalty of [yada yada yada...several sentences which we currently cut and paste from another document], Refusal to Take Breath or Blood Test carries [yada yada...], No Operator's License carries [yada yada...]."
Because the form letters need to use correct grammar, and some letters will have more charges listed than others, after merging, we currently have to go through each letter, editing the location of commas, and the word "and" before the final charge.
I have created a form in Access that allows up to 6 charges to be entered, including a field for each charge for entering the number of counts of the charge, i.e. "Two Counts of Driving Under the Influence". I have a table of common charges and their penalties.
What I am struggling to figure out now, is the best way to use the Access fields to create the form letters.
I have considered using an Access Report, but don't know how to allow the first paragraph to be longer or shorter depending on the length of it's content (the letter has to look right, no gaps, overlaps etc.) I also have considered exporting the data to Word and mail merging it from there, but don't know how to automate where it puts commas, the word "and", what to do if there are only two charges, leaving the fields for charges 3 thru 6 blank, etc.
Has anyone done something like this? Any ideas?
I am trying to create an Access database for use purely as a more efficient way to enter fields into a Mail Merge for a friend who is an attorney.
Currently, I am using Word's mail merge, but the problem with that is that it is time consuming and inefficient because there is no way to set it up to recognize commonly used entries and autofill the field.
The first paragraph of the form letters look something like this (the parts that are filled in using a mail merge field are in bold:
"It has come to my attention that you were recently arrested on the charges of Driving Under the Influence, Third or Subsequent Offense, Refusal to Take Breath or Blood Test, and No Operator's License. The charge of Driving Under the Influence, Third or Subsequent Offense carries a penalty of [yada yada yada...several sentences which we currently cut and paste from another document], Refusal to Take Breath or Blood Test carries [yada yada...], No Operator's License carries [yada yada...]."
Because the form letters need to use correct grammar, and some letters will have more charges listed than others, after merging, we currently have to go through each letter, editing the location of commas, and the word "and" before the final charge.
I have created a form in Access that allows up to 6 charges to be entered, including a field for each charge for entering the number of counts of the charge, i.e. "Two Counts of Driving Under the Influence". I have a table of common charges and their penalties.
What I am struggling to figure out now, is the best way to use the Access fields to create the form letters.
I have considered using an Access Report, but don't know how to allow the first paragraph to be longer or shorter depending on the length of it's content (the letter has to look right, no gaps, overlaps etc.) I also have considered exporting the data to Word and mail merging it from there, but don't know how to automate where it puts commas, the word "and", what to do if there are only two charges, leaving the fields for charges 3 thru 6 blank, etc.
Has anyone done something like this? Any ideas?
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