mail merge not working with office 2013

Thanks a lot Doug. I did manage to save the document in the right location, but can't see the merge-tool ribbon in any new word document which I open. I tried using the downloaded document itself (sort of like a template) because it does contain the ribbon, but ended up with the following message "attach the data source and re-run this macro". Thanks a lot for your help.

The file that you need to download and SAVE IN the Word Startup folder is the one that is selected in the following screen shot:

The MergeTools – 20140218.dotm file needs to be saved in the Word Startup folder.  In Windows XP the default location for that folder is

C:\Documents and Settings[User Name]\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\STARTUP

In Windows Vista and Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 it is

C:\Users[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\STARTUP

If you do not see the AppData folder: -

In Windows 7, - In Windows Explorer, click on the Organize drop down and then on Folder and search options and in the Folder Options dialog, go to the View tab and select the item "Show hidden files, folders, and drives".  While there, it is a good idea to uncheck the box of "Hide extensions for known file types".

In Windows 8 and 8.1, in the File Explorer, click on Options on the View tab of the ribbon and then on the View tab in the dialog that appears and select the item "Show hidden files, folders, and drives".  While there, it is a good idea to uncheck the box of "Hide extensions for known file types".

When that has been done and Word is started\re-started, the tab shown below will be added to the Ribbon:

The requirements for using the system are:

1. The mail merge main document must be of the Letter type, though that does not mean that the output cannot be sent as an e-mail message.
2. The data source must be in the form of an Excel worksheet and that worksheet must be the first sheet in the Excel workbook. If the data is on some other sheet, you can easily move that sheet so that it is the first sheet in the workbook by clicking on the sheet tab and dragging it to the left.
3. The field names must be in the first row of the worksheet and there must be a field name in all of the cells in that row that are within the range of columns that contain the data.
4. The field names must contain only alphanumeric characters (No @,#,$,%,&,(,), etc) and the field names must not start with a numeric character (0-9).
5. The data must start in the second row of the worksheet and there should be no empty rows within the range of data that is to be processed.

You may also want to download:

1. the Merging with Attachments document that is also on that page which explains how the system is used.  It is not actually necessary to have separate attachments as the facility can be used to send just the documents created by the merge itself as attachments, either as the body of the message itself or in the form of Word files or .pdf files.
2. the Mail Merging with Charts document that is also on that page.  That document explains how you must set up the Excel Data Source and the Mail Merge Main document to be able to execute a merge with a Chart that is unique to each record in the data source.
3. the Using the Many to One Facility document that describes how to use that facility.

Hi everyone,

I have the same problem as Robert 2175. I see the folders which Doug is referring to, but not the actual tools. The link provided only shows word files that explain how the tools work, but not the tools themselves. Any help appreciated! Thank you!

What type of data source are you using?

I am a teacher.  I send parent letters home to my students each week.  I have always used mail merge to put the students' names in at the top.  Everything worked fine until last week!  I have Word 2013.  I selected recipients, it showed my students' names, then when I went to merge them, I got this message "Word could not open 3DB6D390 because it didn't contain a valid database."  I have a word document which I have since resaved in 2013 thinking that might be the problem with the students' first and last names.  I have done nothing differently since I first started doing this with Win98!  Please help.  I don't have time to write their names on each parent letter nor the time to fuss with this problem.

Thank you in advance.