MailMerge.OpenDataSource Method

Attaches a data source to the specified document, which becomes a main document if it is not one already.

Syntax

expression.OpenDataSource(Name, Format, ConfirmConversions, ReadOnly, LinkToSource, AddToRecentFiles, PasswordDocument, PasswordTemplate, Revert, WritePasswordDocument, WritePasswordTemplate, Connection, SQLStatement, SQLStatement1, OpenExclusive, SubType)

expression   Required. A variable that represents a MailMerge object.

Parameters

Remarks

To determine the ODBC connection and query strings, set query options manually and use the QueryString property to return the connection string. The following table includes some commonly used SQL keywords.

To instruct Word to use the same connection method as in earlier versions of Word (Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) for Microsoft Office Access and Microsoft Office Excel data sources) use SubType:=wdMergeSubTypeWord2000.

How you specify the range depends on how data is retrieved. For example:

• When retrieving data through Open Database Connectivity (ODBC), you specify a connection string.

• When retrieving data from Excel using dynamic data exchange (DDE), you specify a named range.

  Security  Dynamic data exchange (DDE) is an older technology that is not secure. If possible, use a more secure alternative to DDE, such as object linking and embedding (OLE).

• When retrieving data from Access, you specify the word "Table" or "Query" followed by the name of a table or query.

Security  Avoid using the built-in system administrator (sa) logon account. Instead, make system administrators members of the sysadmin fixed server role, and have them use their own accounts to log on. Use sa only when there is no other way to log on. To prevent unauthorized access through the sa logon account, you should assign that account a strong, unique password.

Security  When possible, use Windows Authentication (also referred to as a trusted connection), which uses a Windows user account to connect to SQL Server. When a user connects through a Windows user account, SQL Server uses information in the Windows operating system to validate the account name and password. Before you can use Windows Authentication, a server administrator must configure SQL Server to use this mode of authentication. If Windows Authentication is not available, avoid saving users' logon information. It is more secure for users to enter their logon information each time they log on.

Avoid using hard-coded passwords in your applications. If a password is required in a procedure, request the password from the user, store it in a variable, and then use the variable in your code. For recommended best practices on how to do this, see Security Notes for Microsoft Office Solution Developers.

Example

This example creates a new main document and attaches the Orders table from an Access database named "Northwind.mdb."

  Dim docNew As Document
Set docNew = Documents.Add
With docNew.MailMerge
.MainDocumentType = wdFormLetters
.OpenDataSource _
Name:="C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office" & _
"\Office\Samples\Northwind.mdb", _
LinkToSource:=True, AddToRecentFiles:=False, _
Connection:="TABLE Orders"
End With

This example creates a new main document and attaches the Excel worksheet named “Names.xls.” The Connection argument retrieves data from the range named "Sales."

  Dim docNew As Document
Set docNew = Documents.Add
With docNew.MailMerge
.MainDocumentType = wdCatalog
.OpenDataSource Name:="C:\Documents\Names.xls", _
ReadOnly:=True, _
Connection:="Sales"
End With

This example uses ODBC to attach the Access database named "Northwind.mdb" to the active document. The SQLStatement argument selects the records in the Customers table.

  Dim strConnection As String
With ActiveDocument.MailMerge
.MainDocumentType = wdFormLetters
strConnection = "DSN=MS Access Databases;" _
& "DBQ=C:\Northwind.mdb;" _
& "FIL=RedISAM;"
.OpenDataSource Name:="C:\NorthWind.mdb", _
Connection:=strConnection, _
SQLStatement:="SELECT * FROM Customers"
End With

See Also

• MailMerge Object
• MailMerge Object Members