Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. 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.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 13, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365
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, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. 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, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Merging Only a Date from Access.
Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!
When you create a mail-merged document, you might want some pages of the document printed on paper from one printer tray ...
Discover MoreWord has a great mail merge capability. Inherent in this capability is the option to send your merged documents via ...
Discover MoreIf you are filtering a mail merge in Excel, and you get blank labels in the printout in Word, chances are good that ...
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.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments