Inserting Data from the Data Source View into a Writer Document

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This article is part of the To Base and Back Again tutorial series.

Contents

Inserting Fields from the Data Source


Adding Fields in the flow of your document

  1. In a new or exisitng Writer document, open the Data Source View (from the View menu, choose Data Sources)
  2. Select the data source and table or query you want to work with
  3. Filter and/or Sort the information as desired.
  4. Drag the field name from the column headers in the table area of the Data Source View to the location in your document where you want it to appear. A field name encased in < > will appear in you document.
    • If you have FIeld Names checked in the View Menu you will not see < or >, instead you will see a field name like BirdDatabase.FieldTrips.Location where the pattern is DatabaseFileName.TableOrQueryName.FieldName.
    • If you have Field Shadings turned on the the View menu, the field names will appear with grey highlighting.
  5. Repeat as often as needed until you have the fields you need in your document.
  6. To see a sample of data in your document:
    1. Make sure that a row of data is selected in the data table of the Data Source View. Do this by clicking in the grey box to the left of the desired row of data.
    2. Click on the Data To Fields button on the Table Data Toolbar.
      Image:TableDataBar.jpg
      • If the Data To Fields button is greyed out, make sure you have selected a row of data.
      • If the Table Data toolbar (shown above) is not visible, try hiding and then showing the Data Sources View. (View menu, Data Sources, then repeat). If it is still not visible, you probably have some corrupt preferences. see the note here for more directions for restoring the Table Data toolbar.
  7. To print or preview, go to the File menu and choose Print (or press Command-P.
  8. A box will appear asking if you want to print form letter. Click on Yes.
    Do not, under any circumstances, check the "Do not show warning again" box. If you do, you will only be able to print documents with field names any time you try to print a document with fields in it. The only way to undo this is to move or rename your preferences file.
  9. In the Mail Merge window that opens, choose your desired settings. Options include:
    • You can filter or sort using the Table Data Bar in in Mail Merge window.
    • You can specify which records you want to print by selecting the desired records. The Selected records radio button will be automatically selected. Or, you can specify a range of records by number.
    • You can send the resulting files to the printer or to a new File.
      • If you choose File you can also specify the folder you want to save the file to by clickin on the ... button next to the Path field. You have file name autogenerated based on a field, or click on Manual Setting and type the name you want. (Note, however, that you will still see the usual Mac Save dialog when you click OK button, and you will need to respecify the path and the name).
      • If you choose to send the results to the printer, you can specify Single print jobs, where each record will generate a separate print job.

Note That this method creates one copy of the document for each record. If you want all the records to appear in one document, you need to use the Next Record field or create a table.

Using the Next Record Field


Quickly Creating a Writer Table


Issues with Image Fields

Creating Forms in Writer Documents

Forms are not limited to those stored within an odb file. You can also create a form in an "independent" or "external" Writer document. When working with forms, you do not use the Data Source View.

  1. Make Sure that the Form Controls and Form Design toolbars are visible. If they are not, go to the View menu, choose Toolbars and select the needed toolbars.
  2. Click on the Form button. The Form Properties window should appear.
    You can also reach the Form Properties window by clicking on the Form Navigator button, control-clicking on the name of the form (most likely Standard), and choosiing Properties.
  3. Click on the Data tab.
  4. Click on the ... next to Data Sources and browse to locate the desired data source
  5. Set the Content type for Table or Query, depending on your source. Those familiar with SQL can also choose SQL Command
  6. Select the desired Query or Table from the Content drop-down
  7. Adjust other settings as desired, and close the Form Properties window.

From this point on, editing forms in an independent Writer document should work the same way editing forms stored in he odb file do.


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