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asked on
Outlook and Word Macro to insert contact information into a word document or template
I have a bunch of word documents that are templates that I use on a day to day basis in order to send letters to clients. I would like to be able to add a context menu inside of outlook that when I am on a contact, I can click open an existing word document, and have all of that person's contact information automatically be added to that word document in a certain place. Essientially, I am describing a mail merge, but in this case I am only talking about adding that one contact to the word document. I know there are ways to do this from word, but it takes a long time to go through the wizard. You seem to know your way around outlook pretty well, is there a way to accomplish what I am describing. And keep in mind that I have numerous templates I would like to apply this to.
ASKER
Okay, here is some clarification. You pretty much have the right idea.
First, I dont' need it in a context menu, a toobar menu is perfectly fine, infact, that's probably more ideal. So that sounds good.
Second, I would like the ability to be able to add more fields as the need arises. To start, I am expecting most of the normal fields you get during a mailmerge.
Third, it doesn't really matter to me the process by which the fields get inserted, as long as I know how to set up the template.
Lastly, I imagine I will have about 4 or 5 different word templates, and 1 or 2 email (outlook templates). The email templates will be similar to the word documents with the only addition being the person's email address being filled in the to line, and possibly a subject being filled in.
Let me know if you need any more information.
Thanks again,
Matt
First, I dont' need it in a context menu, a toobar menu is perfectly fine, infact, that's probably more ideal. So that sounds good.
Second, I would like the ability to be able to add more fields as the need arises. To start, I am expecting most of the normal fields you get during a mailmerge.
Third, it doesn't really matter to me the process by which the fields get inserted, as long as I know how to set up the template.
Lastly, I imagine I will have about 4 or 5 different word templates, and 1 or 2 email (outlook templates). The email templates will be similar to the word documents with the only addition being the person's email address being filled in the to line, and possibly a subject being filled in.
Let me know if you need any more information.
Thanks again,
Matt
Hi, Matt.
Ok, here it is. You already know how to add the code into Outlook. To use this you'll need to set up a series of toolbar buttons, one for each template you want to use. Each of those buttons will need to call a macro that looks like this:
Sub MergeToTemplate1()
MergeFromContact "C:\SomeFolder\Template1.d
End Sub
In each template you can have as many replaceable fields as you want. The replaceable text has to be in the form <<FIELDNAME>>. The code replaces the text with the data from the selected contact via a search and replace. I've set that process to be case sensitive, so the replaceable text has to be an exact match. I put in replacement operations for what I figure are the most common fields. You can add more as you want. Each replacement operation is controlled by one of these lines:
SearchAndReplace "<<TEXTTOREPLACE>>", .ContactField
You can also throw in replacements that aren't based on a contact field. For example, if you wanted to include a notation at the bottom of a document indicating when it was created you could add a replacement operation that looked like this:
SearchAndReplace "<<CREATED>>", "Created: " & Now()
Now is a VB function that returns the current date and time. Notice that the replacement operations for addresses is slightly different. that's because the address as it comes from Outlook has each line terminated by a carriage-return/line-feed pair. In Word that leaves a symbol in front of the subsequent lines of the address. I used the Replace function to swap that CrLf pair for a carriage-return by itself.
'CODE BEGINS HERE
Dim wrdSelection As Word.Selection
Sub MergeFromContact(strTempla
Dim objTemp As Object, _
olkContact As Outlook.ContactItem, _
strMacroName As String, _
wrdApp As Word.Application, _
wrdDoc As Word.Document, _
wrdRange As Word.Range
'General preparation
strMacroName = "Merge From Contact"
'Check to see that we have a contact selected
Select Case TypeName(Application.Activ
Case "Explorer"
Set objTemp = Application.ActiveExplorer
Case "Inspector"
Set objTemp = Application.ActiveInspecto
Case Else
MsgBox "You must have a contact open or selected to use this macro.", vbCritical + vbOKOnly, strMacroName
bolError = True
End Select
If objTemp.Class = olContact Then
Set olkContact = objTemp
Else
MsgBox "A contact was not selected. Operation aborted.", vbInformation + vbOKOnly, strMacroName
bolError = True
End If
If Not bolError Then
'Prep the Word document
Set wrdApp = CreateObject("Word.Applica
Set wrdDoc = wrdApp.Documents.Open(strT
Set wrdRange = wrdApp.ActiveDocument.Rang
wrdRange.Select
Set wrdSelection = wrdApp.Selection
'Find and replace the replaceable text
With olkContact
SearchAndReplace "<<BUSINESSADDRESS>>", Replace(.BusinessAddress, vbCrLf, vbCr)
SearchAndReplace "<<BUSINESSFAXNUMBER>>", .BusinessFaxNumber
SearchAndReplace "<<BUSINESSTELEPHONENUMBER
SearchAndReplace "<<COMPANYNAME>>", .CompanyName
SearchAndReplace "<<FIRSTNAME>>", .FirstName
SearchAndReplace "<<FULLNAME>>", .FullName
SearchAndReplace "<<HOMEADDRESS>>", Replace(.HomeAddress, vbCrLf, vbCr)
SearchAndReplace "<<HOMEFAXNUMBER>>", .HomeFaxNumber
SearchAndReplace "<<HOMETELEPHONENUMBER>>",
SearchAndReplace "<<JOBTITLE>>", .JobTitle
SearchAndReplace "<<LASTNAME>>", .LastName
SearchAndReplace "<<MAILINGADDRESS>>", Replace(.MailingAddress, vbCrLf, vbCr)
SearchAndReplace "<<MOBILETELEPHONENUMBER>>
SearchAndReplace "<<PRIMARYTELEPHONENUMBER>
SearchAndReplace "<<SPOUSE>>", .Spouse
SearchAndReplace "<<TITLE>>", .Title
End With
'Display the document
wrdApp.Visible = True
End If
'Clean up
Set olkContact = Nothing
Set objTemp = Nothing
Set wrdSelection = Nothing
Set wrdDoc = Nothing
Set wrdApp = Nothing
End Sub
Sub SearchAndReplace(strFind As String, strReplace As String)
With wrdSelection.Find
.Text = strFind
.Replacement.Text = strReplace
.Forward = True
.Wrap = wdFindContinue
.Format = False
.MatchCase = True
.MatchWholeWord = True
.MatchWildcards = False
.MatchSoundsLike = False
.MatchAllWordForms = False
.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
End With
End Sub
Ok, here it is. You already know how to add the code into Outlook. To use this you'll need to set up a series of toolbar buttons, one for each template you want to use. Each of those buttons will need to call a macro that looks like this:
Sub MergeToTemplate1()
MergeFromContact "C:\SomeFolder\Template1.d
End Sub
In each template you can have as many replaceable fields as you want. The replaceable text has to be in the form <<FIELDNAME>>. The code replaces the text with the data from the selected contact via a search and replace. I've set that process to be case sensitive, so the replaceable text has to be an exact match. I put in replacement operations for what I figure are the most common fields. You can add more as you want. Each replacement operation is controlled by one of these lines:
SearchAndReplace "<<TEXTTOREPLACE>>", .ContactField
You can also throw in replacements that aren't based on a contact field. For example, if you wanted to include a notation at the bottom of a document indicating when it was created you could add a replacement operation that looked like this:
SearchAndReplace "<<CREATED>>", "Created: " & Now()
Now is a VB function that returns the current date and time. Notice that the replacement operations for addresses is slightly different. that's because the address as it comes from Outlook has each line terminated by a carriage-return/line-feed pair. In Word that leaves a symbol in front of the subsequent lines of the address. I used the Replace function to swap that CrLf pair for a carriage-return by itself.
'CODE BEGINS HERE
Dim wrdSelection As Word.Selection
Sub MergeFromContact(strTempla
Dim objTemp As Object, _
olkContact As Outlook.ContactItem, _
strMacroName As String, _
wrdApp As Word.Application, _
wrdDoc As Word.Document, _
wrdRange As Word.Range
'General preparation
strMacroName = "Merge From Contact"
'Check to see that we have a contact selected
Select Case TypeName(Application.Activ
Case "Explorer"
Set objTemp = Application.ActiveExplorer
Case "Inspector"
Set objTemp = Application.ActiveInspecto
Case Else
MsgBox "You must have a contact open or selected to use this macro.", vbCritical + vbOKOnly, strMacroName
bolError = True
End Select
If objTemp.Class = olContact Then
Set olkContact = objTemp
Else
MsgBox "A contact was not selected. Operation aborted.", vbInformation + vbOKOnly, strMacroName
bolError = True
End If
If Not bolError Then
'Prep the Word document
Set wrdApp = CreateObject("Word.Applica
Set wrdDoc = wrdApp.Documents.Open(strT
Set wrdRange = wrdApp.ActiveDocument.Rang
wrdRange.Select
Set wrdSelection = wrdApp.Selection
'Find and replace the replaceable text
With olkContact
SearchAndReplace "<<BUSINESSADDRESS>>", Replace(.BusinessAddress, vbCrLf, vbCr)
SearchAndReplace "<<BUSINESSFAXNUMBER>>", .BusinessFaxNumber
SearchAndReplace "<<BUSINESSTELEPHONENUMBER
SearchAndReplace "<<COMPANYNAME>>", .CompanyName
SearchAndReplace "<<FIRSTNAME>>", .FirstName
SearchAndReplace "<<FULLNAME>>", .FullName
SearchAndReplace "<<HOMEADDRESS>>", Replace(.HomeAddress, vbCrLf, vbCr)
SearchAndReplace "<<HOMEFAXNUMBER>>", .HomeFaxNumber
SearchAndReplace "<<HOMETELEPHONENUMBER>>",
SearchAndReplace "<<JOBTITLE>>", .JobTitle
SearchAndReplace "<<LASTNAME>>", .LastName
SearchAndReplace "<<MAILINGADDRESS>>", Replace(.MailingAddress, vbCrLf, vbCr)
SearchAndReplace "<<MOBILETELEPHONENUMBER>>
SearchAndReplace "<<PRIMARYTELEPHONENUMBER>
SearchAndReplace "<<SPOUSE>>", .Spouse
SearchAndReplace "<<TITLE>>", .Title
End With
'Display the document
wrdApp.Visible = True
End If
'Clean up
Set olkContact = Nothing
Set objTemp = Nothing
Set wrdSelection = Nothing
Set wrdDoc = Nothing
Set wrdApp = Nothing
End Sub
Sub SearchAndReplace(strFind As String, strReplace As String)
With wrdSelection.Find
.Text = strFind
.Replacement.Text = strReplace
.Forward = True
.Wrap = wdFindContinue
.Format = False
.MatchCase = True
.MatchWholeWord = True
.MatchWildcards = False
.MatchSoundsLike = False
.MatchAllWordForms = False
.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
End With
End Sub
Any progress, Matt?
ASKER
Sorry, I've been extremely busy and haven't had a chance to try this out. Hopefully I will get to this later in the week.
That's okay. I was just checking.
ASKER
Okay, two questions. One, where do I put the code
Dim wrdSelection As Word.Selection
Sub MergeFromContact(strTempla
and
Sub SearchAndReplace(strFind As String, strReplace As String)
Do i put those in their own modules or do i put it in with the Sub MergeToTemplate1()
MergeFromContact "C:\SomeFolder\Template1.d
End Sub
Also, how should i go about making the word document?
Thanks.
Dim wrdSelection As Word.Selection
Sub MergeFromContact(strTempla
and
Sub SearchAndReplace(strFind As String, strReplace As String)
Do i put those in their own modules or do i put it in with the Sub MergeToTemplate1()
MergeFromContact "C:\SomeFolder\Template1.d
End Sub
Also, how should i go about making the word document?
Thanks.
All of this code can go into its own module. Create the Word doc as you would any other Word doc. Insert the replaceable text wherever you want to. You can also apply formatting (font, font size, bold, italics, etc.) to the replaceable text. The replaced text will retain that formatting.
ASKER
Okay, first of all, it doesn't like this line:
Dim wrdSelection As Word.Selection, it says that it can't go outside the sub.
Secondly it doesn't like this line:
strMacroName As String, _
wrdApp As Word.Application
Do I have to make any changes to this script at all, like where the _ is, or should it be good to go?
Lastly, does this line of code go at the top of the module:
Sub MergeToTemplate1()
MergeFromContact "C:\SomeFolder\Template1.d
End Sub.
Dim wrdSelection As Word.Selection, it says that it can't go outside the sub.
Secondly it doesn't like this line:
strMacroName As String, _
wrdApp As Word.Application
Do I have to make any changes to this script at all, like where the _ is, or should it be good to go?
Lastly, does this line of code go at the top of the module:
Sub MergeToTemplate1()
MergeFromContact "C:\SomeFolder\Template1.d
End Sub.
> Okay, first of all, it doesn't like this line:
Yes, it does have to go outside the sub, exactly as I posted it.
> Secondly it doesn't like this line:
Change these three lines
wrdApp As Word.Application, _
wrdDoc As Word.Document, _
wrdRange As Word.Range
to
wrdApp As Object, _
wrdDoc As Object, _
wrdRange As Object
Everything else should be fine.
> Lastly, does this line of code go at the top of the module:
It doesn't matter where in the module it goes. There's no required order that Subs and Functions have to appear in. The only requirement is that thie line
Dim wrdSelection As Word.Selection
be at the top and outside of Subs and Functions.
Yes, it does have to go outside the sub, exactly as I posted it.
> Secondly it doesn't like this line:
Change these three lines
wrdApp As Word.Application, _
wrdDoc As Word.Document, _
wrdRange As Word.Range
to
wrdApp As Object, _
wrdDoc As Object, _
wrdRange As Object
Everything else should be fine.
> Lastly, does this line of code go at the top of the module:
It doesn't matter where in the module it goes. There's no required order that Subs and Functions have to appear in. The only requirement is that thie line
Dim wrdSelection As Word.Selection
be at the top and outside of Subs and Functions.
ASKER
Okay, the error I'm am getting is this:
Compile error:
User defined type not defined
and it's highlight that top line wrdSelection As Word.Selection
Compile error:
User defined type not defined
and it's highlight that top line wrdSelection As Word.Selection
Sorry, I missed that one. Change this
wrdSelection As Word.Selection
to
wrdSelection As Object
wrdSelection As Word.Selection
to
wrdSelection As Object
ASKER
Okay, now that I have changed that I get no errors and it opens up the word document. However it makes no changes in the word document.
For example, I have this in the word document:
Dear <<FIRSTNAME>>,
<<FULLNAME>>
<<BUSINESSADDRESS>>
this is just to test it and it doesn't fill anything in, it just leaves the <<FIRSTNAME>>, <<FULLNAME>>, <<BUSINESSADDRESS>>, ETC...
For example, I have this in the word document:
Dear <<FIRSTNAME>>,
<<FULLNAME>>
<<BUSINESSADDRESS>>
this is just to test it and it doesn't fill anything in, it just leaves the <<FIRSTNAME>>, <<FULLNAME>>, <<BUSINESSADDRESS>>, ETC...
I've tested the macro here reapeatedly, including a couple of runs just now, and it never fails to work. I assume there weren't any error messages. If not, then we need to step through the process and see if we can figure out what's going on. Select a contact, then press ALT+F11 to open the VB Editor. Place the insertion point inside this block of code
Sub MergeToTemplate1()
MergeFromContact "C:\SomeFolder\Template1.d
End Sub
Now, press F8. This will turn the first line of code yellow. Pressing F8 again will execute that line and move the highlight to the next line. Keep pressing F8, some lines will take longer to execute than others. What I need to know is whether all of the code executes.
Sub MergeToTemplate1()
MergeFromContact "C:\SomeFolder\Template1.d
End Sub
Now, press F8. This will turn the first line of code yellow. Pressing F8 again will execute that line and move the highlight to the next line. Keep pressing F8, some lines will take longer to execute than others. What I need to know is whether all of the code executes.
ASKER
Okay, I did that. It appears as if all the lines executed just fine. It even opens up the word document at the end, but it doesn't replace any of the fields. What do you think I can try next? I will paste all of my code in here so that you can read it exactly the way i have it now:
Dim wrdSelection As Object
Sub MergeToTemplate1()
MergeFromContact "C:\Documents and Settings\mgregory\My Documents\Word Templates\Template1.doc"
End Sub
Sub MergeFromContact(strTempla
Dim objTemp As Object, _
olkContact As Outlook.ContactItem, _
strMacroName As String, _
wrdApp As Object, _
wrdDoc As Object, _
wrdRange As Object
'General preparation
strMacroName = "Merge From Contact"
'Check to see that we have a contact selected
Select Case TypeName(Application.Activ
Case "Explorer"
Set objTemp = Application.ActiveExplorer
Case "Inspector"
Set objTemp = Application.ActiveInspecto
Case Else
MsgBox "You must have a contact open or selected to use this macro.", vbCritical + vbOKOnly, strMacroName
bolError = True
End Select
If objTemp.Class = olContact Then
Set olkContact = objTemp
Else
MsgBox "A contact was not selected. Operation aborted.", vbInformation + vbOKOnly, strMacroName
bolError = True
End If
If Not bolError Then
'Prep the Word document
Set wrdApp = CreateObject("Word.Applica
Set wrdDoc = wrdApp.Documents.Open(strT
Set wrdRange = wrdApp.ActiveDocument.Rang
wrdRange.Select
Set wrdSelection = wrdApp.Selection
'Find and replace the replaceable text
With olkContact
SearchAndReplace "<<BUSINESSADDRESS>>", Replace(.BusinessAddress, vbCrLf, vbCr)
SearchAndReplace "<<BUSINESSFAXNUMBER>>", .BusinessFaxNumber
SearchAndReplace "<<BUSINESSTELEPHONENUMBER
SearchAndReplace "<<COMPANYNAME>>", .CompanyName
SearchAndReplace "<<FIRSTNAME>>", .FirstName
SearchAndReplace "<<FULLNAME>>", .FullName
SearchAndReplace "<<HOMEADDRESS>>", Replace(.HomeAddress, vbCrLf, vbCr)
SearchAndReplace "<<HOMEFAXNUMBER>>", .HomeFaxNumber
SearchAndReplace "<<HOMETELEPHONENUMBER>>",
SearchAndReplace "<<JOBTITLE>>", .JobTitle
SearchAndReplace "<<LASTNAME>>", .LastName
SearchAndReplace "<<MAILINGADDRESS>>", Replace(.MailingAddress, vbCrLf, vbCr)
SearchAndReplace "<<MOBILETELEPHONENUMBER>>
SearchAndReplace "<<PRIMARYTELEPHONENUMBER>
SearchAndReplace "<<SPOUSE>>", .Spouse
SearchAndReplace "<<TITLE>>", .Title
End With
'Display the document
wrdApp.Visible = True
End If
'Clean up
Set olkContact = Nothing
Set objTemp = Nothing
Set wrdSelection = Nothing
Set wrdDoc = Nothing
Set wrdApp = Nothing
End Sub
Sub SearchAndReplace(strFind As String, strReplace As String)
With wrdSelection.Find
.Text = strFind
.Replacement.Text = strReplace
.Forward = True
.Wrap = wdFindContinue
.Format = False
.MatchCase = True
.MatchWholeWord = True
.MatchWildcards = False
.MatchSoundsLike = False
.MatchAllWordForms = False
.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
End With
End Sub
Dim wrdSelection As Object
Sub MergeToTemplate1()
MergeFromContact "C:\Documents and Settings\mgregory\My Documents\Word Templates\Template1.doc"
End Sub
Sub MergeFromContact(strTempla
Dim objTemp As Object, _
olkContact As Outlook.ContactItem, _
strMacroName As String, _
wrdApp As Object, _
wrdDoc As Object, _
wrdRange As Object
'General preparation
strMacroName = "Merge From Contact"
'Check to see that we have a contact selected
Select Case TypeName(Application.Activ
Case "Explorer"
Set objTemp = Application.ActiveExplorer
Case "Inspector"
Set objTemp = Application.ActiveInspecto
Case Else
MsgBox "You must have a contact open or selected to use this macro.", vbCritical + vbOKOnly, strMacroName
bolError = True
End Select
If objTemp.Class = olContact Then
Set olkContact = objTemp
Else
MsgBox "A contact was not selected. Operation aborted.", vbInformation + vbOKOnly, strMacroName
bolError = True
End If
If Not bolError Then
'Prep the Word document
Set wrdApp = CreateObject("Word.Applica
Set wrdDoc = wrdApp.Documents.Open(strT
Set wrdRange = wrdApp.ActiveDocument.Rang
wrdRange.Select
Set wrdSelection = wrdApp.Selection
'Find and replace the replaceable text
With olkContact
SearchAndReplace "<<BUSINESSADDRESS>>", Replace(.BusinessAddress, vbCrLf, vbCr)
SearchAndReplace "<<BUSINESSFAXNUMBER>>", .BusinessFaxNumber
SearchAndReplace "<<BUSINESSTELEPHONENUMBER
SearchAndReplace "<<COMPANYNAME>>", .CompanyName
SearchAndReplace "<<FIRSTNAME>>", .FirstName
SearchAndReplace "<<FULLNAME>>", .FullName
SearchAndReplace "<<HOMEADDRESS>>", Replace(.HomeAddress, vbCrLf, vbCr)
SearchAndReplace "<<HOMEFAXNUMBER>>", .HomeFaxNumber
SearchAndReplace "<<HOMETELEPHONENUMBER>>",
SearchAndReplace "<<JOBTITLE>>", .JobTitle
SearchAndReplace "<<LASTNAME>>", .LastName
SearchAndReplace "<<MAILINGADDRESS>>", Replace(.MailingAddress, vbCrLf, vbCr)
SearchAndReplace "<<MOBILETELEPHONENUMBER>>
SearchAndReplace "<<PRIMARYTELEPHONENUMBER>
SearchAndReplace "<<SPOUSE>>", .Spouse
SearchAndReplace "<<TITLE>>", .Title
End With
'Display the document
wrdApp.Visible = True
End If
'Clean up
Set olkContact = Nothing
Set objTemp = Nothing
Set wrdSelection = Nothing
Set wrdDoc = Nothing
Set wrdApp = Nothing
End Sub
Sub SearchAndReplace(strFind As String, strReplace As String)
With wrdSelection.Find
.Text = strFind
.Replacement.Text = strReplace
.Forward = True
.Wrap = wdFindContinue
.Format = False
.MatchCase = True
.MatchWholeWord = True
.MatchWildcards = False
.MatchSoundsLike = False
.MatchAllWordForms = False
.Execute Replace:=wdReplaceAll
End With
End Sub
Hmmm. Try adding these lines of code (below) at the top of the module immediately above
Dim wrdSelection As Object
CONST wdFindContinue = 1
CONST wdReplaceAll = 2
Dim wrdSelection As Object
CONST wdFindContinue = 1
CONST wdReplaceAll = 2
ASKER
Okay, great. That works perfectly. Thank you very much. Last question.
If I want to add an additional outlook field to my script and template, how will I know what the command is that I need to add. Is there a complete list of these anywhere?
SearchAndReplace "<<BUSINESSADDRESS>>", Replace(.BusinessAddress, vbCrLf, vbCr)
SearchAndReplace "<<BUSINESSFAXNUMBER>>", .BusinessFaxNumber
SearchAndReplace "<<BUSINESSTELEPHONENUMBER
SearchAndReplace "<<COMPANYNAME>>", .CompanyName
SearchAndReplace "<<FIRSTNAME>>", .FirstName
SearchAndReplace "<<FULLNAME>>", .FullName
SearchAndReplace "<<HOMEADDRESS>>", Replace(.HomeAddress, vbCrLf, vbCr)
SearchAndReplace "<<HOMEFAXNUMBER>>", .HomeFaxNumber
SearchAndReplace "<<HOMETELEPHONENUMBER>>",
SearchAndReplace "<<JOBTITLE>>", .JobTitle
SearchAndReplace "<<LASTNAME>>", .LastName
SearchAndReplace "<<MAILINGADDRESS>>", Replace(.MailingAddress, vbCrLf, vbCr)
SearchAndReplace "<<MOBILETELEPHONENUMBER>>
SearchAndReplace "<<PRIMARYTELEPHONENUMBER>
SearchAndReplace "<<SPOUSE>>", .Spouse
SearchAndReplace "<<TITLE>>", .Title
Thanks for all your help.
If I want to add an additional outlook field to my script and template, how will I know what the command is that I need to add. Is there a complete list of these anywhere?
SearchAndReplace "<<BUSINESSADDRESS>>", Replace(.BusinessAddress, vbCrLf, vbCr)
SearchAndReplace "<<BUSINESSFAXNUMBER>>", .BusinessFaxNumber
SearchAndReplace "<<BUSINESSTELEPHONENUMBER
SearchAndReplace "<<COMPANYNAME>>", .CompanyName
SearchAndReplace "<<FIRSTNAME>>", .FirstName
SearchAndReplace "<<FULLNAME>>", .FullName
SearchAndReplace "<<HOMEADDRESS>>", Replace(.HomeAddress, vbCrLf, vbCr)
SearchAndReplace "<<HOMEFAXNUMBER>>", .HomeFaxNumber
SearchAndReplace "<<HOMETELEPHONENUMBER>>",
SearchAndReplace "<<JOBTITLE>>", .JobTitle
SearchAndReplace "<<LASTNAME>>", .LastName
SearchAndReplace "<<MAILINGADDRESS>>", Replace(.MailingAddress, vbCrLf, vbCr)
SearchAndReplace "<<MOBILETELEPHONENUMBER>>
SearchAndReplace "<<PRIMARYTELEPHONENUMBER>
SearchAndReplace "<<SPOUSE>>", .Spouse
SearchAndReplace "<<TITLE>>", .Title
Thanks for all your help.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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ASKER
Okay, I see what your talking about, but I might not have asked the right question. Say I need to insert another field in the script, such as searchandreplace for <<EMAILADDRESS>> or <<WEBADDRESS>> or something like that. How can I find out what the .outlookfield is? I tried looking in the help but i couldn't find it.
I will award your well deserved points now. Thanks!
I will award your well deserved points now. Thanks!
Everything between << and >> is a name I made up. You can call those things anything you want. You can even make them nonsensical if you want. The key is what comes after that. For example in this line
SearchAndReplace "<<COMPANYNAME>>", .CompanyName
<<COMPANYNAME>> is a text string I decided to use. I could just as easily have chosen <<BUSINESS>>, <<CMPNY>>, or even something pointless like <<DOG>>. The Outlook value is the part of the line that comes after the comma. In this case ".CompanyName". CompanyName is the name of an Outlook property. Of course that's the same name that appears inside the angle brackets, but it didn't have to be. I simply mirrored the name for simplicities sake. The format of that command line is
SearchAndReplace "Text to Find", "Replacement Text"
In this case we're using the contents of an Outlook contact property as the replacement text. We don't have to though. You can use anything you want. For example, the following command
SearchAndReplace "<<TODAY>>", Date
This would replace all instances of the text string <<TODAY>> with the current date. There's also no requirement that the replaceable text in the form "<<TEXT>>". I chose that format because it's unlikely that such a text string would normally occur in a document. This avoids unwanted replacements. To illustrate what I mean, assume that instead of
SearchAndRepalce "<<TITLE>>", .Title
I used
SearchAndReplace "title", .Title
If the title in the contact was "Vice President, Marketing", the a sentence like this
"The title to you car is in the mail."
would be transformed to
"The Vice President, Marketing to your car is in the mail."
If the replaceable text isn't unique, then you're asking for problems.
SearchAndReplace "<<COMPANYNAME>>", .CompanyName
<<COMPANYNAME>> is a text string I decided to use. I could just as easily have chosen <<BUSINESS>>, <<CMPNY>>, or even something pointless like <<DOG>>. The Outlook value is the part of the line that comes after the comma. In this case ".CompanyName". CompanyName is the name of an Outlook property. Of course that's the same name that appears inside the angle brackets, but it didn't have to be. I simply mirrored the name for simplicities sake. The format of that command line is
SearchAndReplace "Text to Find", "Replacement Text"
In this case we're using the contents of an Outlook contact property as the replacement text. We don't have to though. You can use anything you want. For example, the following command
SearchAndReplace "<<TODAY>>", Date
This would replace all instances of the text string <<TODAY>> with the current date. There's also no requirement that the replaceable text in the form "<<TEXT>>". I chose that format because it's unlikely that such a text string would normally occur in a document. This avoids unwanted replacements. To illustrate what I mean, assume that instead of
SearchAndRepalce "<<TITLE>>", .Title
I used
SearchAndReplace "title", .Title
If the title in the contact was "Vice President, Marketing", the a sentence like this
"The title to you car is in the mail."
would be transformed to
"The Vice President, Marketing to your car is in the mail."
If the replaceable text isn't unique, then you're asking for problems.
ASKER
Yeah, I understand that. That makes sense. What my question is, is where is there a list of outlook's fields. The examples you used were .CompanyName, and .Title, and throughout your code you wrote about 15 more. I'm assuming there is about 100 more possible fields that I could use, one being the email address field. Do you know where I could find a list of all the rest of outlook's contact fields, or did you just know them. Thanks.
Are you saying that when you follow the steps in my post from 08/09/2006 05:26AM EDT, that you don't see the property names? What do you see when you get to this step, "When the help window appears, click Properties at the top to see a list of the fields that make up a mail item object."?
ASKER
Correct, when I follow those steps I can't find the list of fields.
What happens when you click Properties on that page?
ASKER
Okay, when I click on properties, i get a drop down of a ton of items starting with actions property. i don't know which one to click on.
Those are the field names. Each one of them is a property of the contact item. You could pick almost any of them (not actions though as those are actions to take, not fields). I can't tell you which ones to pick, because I don't know which ones you want or need. If yoou click on one of them you'll get another page that describes the item. When you find one you want, write its name down and create a replace statement using it.
ASKER
I was trying to find the field for emailaddress and i can't find that one?
I just noticed that the link I sent, assuming that's how you're getting to properties, is to the MailItem (i.e. an email message) object and not a ContactItem object which is what you want. Sorry about that. Here's the correct link: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/vbaol11/html/olobjContactItem_HV05247818.asp?frame=true
ASKER
Got it. Thank you very much!
I want to make sure I understand what you're looking for. You start by selecting a contact in Outlook. You then open a context menu and select a Word document (a template). The Word document opens and is automatically filled in with certain information from the contact. Do I have it right? If so, does this have to work from a context menu or would a toolbar button be okay? Second, how many different Word templates are we talking about? Third, what contact fields need to be merged in? Fourth, does this need to be extensible (i.e. do you need the ability to add fields as the need arrises)? Fifith, are you expecting to use the mailmerge fields you typically set up in a Word document, or can we use a different means of inserting the replaceable text?
I can definitely do this, it's a question of how to approach it. Your answers will help me figure that out. One point, I'm not certain about adding a context menu. If it's not possible is that a show stopper?
Cheers!