Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Merging Only a Date from Access.
Tricia is creating a mail-merge document using an Access database as a data source. One of the fields being merged is a date/time field, but when the merge is complete the resulting merged data shows both the time and the date. Tricia wants to only show the date portion of the data.
There are two ways you can approach this issue. One is to format the data in the original Access database and the other is to format what is merged from that database. If you have access to the database, you can look at it in design view (in Access) and change the format of the field. Format it using something like mm/dd/yyyy, and that is the way that the data will be merged into Word.
The other approach is to change the formatting used with the merge field in Word. Display the source of the merge field, and it should look something like the following:
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: 
{ MERGEFELD NameOfDateFieldInAccess \* MERGEFORMAT }
You want to add a formatting code to the field; change it to look like the following:
{ MERGEFELD NameOfDateFieldInAccess \@ "M/d/yyyy" \* MERGEFORMAT }
Now, collapse the field code and again run your merge. The merged data should be shown in the specified format (M/d/yyyy). If you want a different format, all you need to do is change the pattern used in the merge field.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1603) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Merging Only a Date from Access.
The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!
When you use mail merge to create a document that incorporates all your data source records, you end up with a large ...
Discover MoreEver want to expand the mail merge feature to include graphics? Merging graphics into your document is easy but requires ...
Discover MoreMail merge can be used to put together groups of documents that rely on common information. This tip shows how mail merge ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments