Knowledge Base

WD: How to query for ""?"" and ""*"" in Print Merge IF field

Article ID: 110282

Article Last Modified on 1/18/2007

APPLIES TO

This article was previously published under Q110282

SUMMARY

The "?" and the "*" are wildcard characters in a print merge. If you want to query for a "?" or an "*" in a field, use the following syntax:

{IF "?" = {mergefield} "truetext" "falsetext"}

-or-

{IF "*" = {mergefield} "truetext" "falsetext"}

Reversing the query in the IF statement allows Word to view the "?" and the "*" as literal text, rather than as wildcards.

MORE INFORMATION

Here is a sample data file: 
Name    Number
Sue     ?
Dave    4
Ashley  43        3

Question Mark

If the Number field is a "?", print "no number", otherwise print the number.

{IF "?" = {mergefield number} "No number to print" "{mergefield number}"}

Form Letter Example: 
Sue      No Number
Dave     4
Ashley   43
*        3

Asterisks

If the name is an *, print "No name", otherwise print the name.

{IF "*" = {mergefield name} "No name" "{mergefield name}"}

Sue
Dave
Ashley
No Name


Additional query words: winword 7.0 word95 word7 print merge wrong wild card word97

Keywords: kbfield KB110282


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