I have created a merge document in word, pulling data from an excell
spreadsheet. When it populates the document the dollar amounts are not
formatted as they are in excell, they have 16 characters after the decimal
point instead of 2. Does anyone know how to correct this?

Hi carter,

In Word, add a numeric picture switch to the mergefield. To do this:
.. select the field;
.. press Shift-F9 to reveal the field coding. It should look something like {MERGEFIELD MyData};
.. edit the field so that you get {MERGEFIELD MyData \# $,0.00} (or whatever other numeric format you prefer - see below);
.. position the cursor anywhere in this field and press F9 to update it;
.. run your mailmerge.

Note: The '\# 0' in the field is referred to as a numeric picture switch. Other possibilities include:
.. \# 0 for rounded whole numbers
.. \# ,0 for rounded whole numbers with a thousands separator
.. \# ,0.00 for numbers accurate to two decimal places, with a thousands separator
.. \# $,0 for rounded whole dollars with a thousands separator
.. \# 0.00% for percentages
.. \# $,0.00;($,0.00);'-' for currency, with brackets around negative numbers and a hyphen for 0 values

The precision of the displayed value is controilled by the '0.00'. You can use anything from '0' to '0.000000000000000'.

If you use a final ';' in the formatting switch with nothing following, (eg \# $,0.00;($,0.00);) zero values will be suppressed.
Note that this suppresses 0s resulting from empty fields and from fields containing 0s.

For mailmerge percentages, you may find that the value appears in Word as a 0 followed by a decimal number (eg 0.12). Adding the '\#
0.00%' switch would return '0.12%' instead of '12%'. To deal with this, you'll need to add both a formula and numeric picture switch
to the mergefield. To do this:
.. select your mergefield, which will look something like «Percent»;
.. press Ctrl-F9 to wrap another field around it, thus - { «Percent» };
.. edit the field so that you get {=«Percent»*100 \# 0%};
.. position the cursor anywhere in this field and press F9 to update it;

To get the date format you want, you can add a formatting picture switch to the mergefield. To do this:
.. select the mergefield;
.. press Shift-F9 to expose the field coding. It should look something like {MERGEFIELD MyDate} where 'MyDate' is your mergefield's
name;
.. delete anything appearing after the mergefield's name and add '\@ "d MMMM yyyy"' to the field, as in {MERGEFIELD MyDate \@ "d MMMM
yyyy"}. With this switch your date will come out as '2 August 2008'. Other possible date formatting switches include:
. \@ "dddd, d MMMM yyyy";
. \@ "ddd, d MMMM yyyy";
. \@ "d MMM yyyy";
. \@ "dd/MMM/yyyy";
. \@ "d-MM-yy";
Note: Note: you can swap the d, M, y expressions around, but you must use uppercase 'M's for months.

--
Cheers
macropod
[Microsoft MVP - Word]


"carter" wrote in message ...
I have created a merge document in word, pulling data from an excell
spreadsheet. When it populates the document the dollar amounts are not
formatted as they are in excell, they have 16 characters after the decimal
point instead of 2. Does anyone know how to correct this?

Thank you very much! I really appreciate the help!

"carter" wrote:

I have created a merge document in word, pulling data from an excell
spreadsheet. When it populates the document the dollar amounts are not
formatted as they are in excell, they have 16 characters after the decimal
point instead of 2. Does anyone know how to correct this?