BUG: "Word Has Detected a Field Name..." in Word 2.0

ID: Q115288

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, version 2.6

SYMPTOMS

If the Mail Merge Wizard is used to produce a mail merge in Microsoft Word version 2.0 for Windows, the following error message occurs when Word is invoked:

   Word has detected a field name in the header record which
   is not valid. This error must eventually be corrected in
   order to complete a successful Print Merge.

   Cannot start Microsoft Word.

CAUSE

The data for the mail merge contains an extra comma after the last field. When Word reads this data, it assumes there should be another field, yet there is no corresponding field in the header record.

RESOLUTION

To resolve the problem, do one of the following:

• Choose OK to accept the FoxPro error message. Choose the Fix Error Now button in the window produced by the Word error message. Add an extra header field to the list of header fields in Word.

  -or-

• Use the SELECT command (or the Query Wizard) to produce a table that does not contain memo fields or general fields. Then use that table for the mail merge.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.