Trying to merge email from Word to Outlook on Mac not working

Anonymous
2020-07-16T17:33:12+00:00

I have used the Merge to Email feature in Word to merge emails to Outlook hundreds of time.  It isn't currently working.  I use a Mac.

I've restarted my computer.

I've deleted Microsoft Office apps and reinstalled

I've created a new document with no formatting

I've changed fonts (to Calibir Light, to Times New Roman)

Have tried with two different email accounts and two different computers within my organizatoin

and still nothing....

It will either send one email to the first name in my Excel listing of emails or nothing at all.  Always get the same error message.

Please help.  And thanks.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 323.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2020-08-06T06:55:09+00:00

The issue has been fixed in the 16.40 update that will be released on patch Tuesday next week.

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-07-16T21:53:43+00:00

    Hi Lesley,

    I can confirm I meet the same scenario as you described when performing mail merge in the current latest version of Word for Mac 16.39(200713). As there are multiple users reporting this issue in the community, I would like to make a summary on this issue to help other members quickly identify the issue.

    Issue Symptom:

    When using mail merge in Word for Mac, it will prompt you with the following error message:

     

    Issue Environment:

    Word for Mac version 16.39(200713)

    Outlook for Mac version 16.39(200713)

    Workaround:

    Currently, the only workaround for this issue is to use the previous version of Word & Outlook application.

    A quick method to install the previous version of Word and Outlook:

    1.Go to Finder > Applications > Find Word application.

    2.Rename Word & Outlook to Word 16.39 & Outlook 16.39 or something else.

    3.Download the version 16.38 installation package from the link below:

       Office for Mac version 16.38(20061401)

    4.Follow the guideline and finish the installation.

    5.Go back to the Find > Application, you will see 2 new applications named as Microsoft Word & Microsoft Outlook and the version is 16.38, use this version as a temporary workaround.

    Issue status:

    After confirmed with the related resources, this issue will be fixed in the following 16.40 updates on the next Tuesday.

    Appreciate for your understanding.

    Regards,

    Alex Chen

    updated at 3:30 PM 8/6/2020 UTC+8

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-07-18T17:13:56+00:00

    Wow, thank you Mary. I was in meltdown status yesterday trying to send a mail merge and finally gave up. Chat support advised me to roll back the entire office suite this morning. And when the word-only workaround above didn't work, I was on the verge... But thank you thank you thank you for replying with the outlook detail. Much appreciated for my mail merge and my sanity!

    ck

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-07-17T15:29:04+00:00

    Hi Alex,

    Thank you SO MUCH for the fix. 

    Just an additional note that for me, the old version of word alone did not fix the issue but once I installed the former version of both word AND outlook, then it worked!

    Best,

    ML

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  4. Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 437.7K Reputation points
    2020-07-17T11:56:13+00:00

    I appreciate your frustration but pleas here do no good... You are not communicating with the people who have any ability to "fix" anything. This is a peer-to-peer support Community manned predominantly by volunteer users sharing their experience with others. The few Microsoft employees appearing here basically are tier 1 customer service reps, not software engineers.

    Please use the tool provided at the right end of a document window title bar to send a message to those who count. The tool may look like a ☺︎ or may look like this ![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/1a85a23a-2064-4916-88f1-7953d4528e26?platform=QnA depending on your version of the software. The more feedback they receive through that channel the more attention the problem will receive.

    Additionally, in a corporate environment your IT folks should have direct channels for communicating with Microsoft. Make sure they are aware of the issue.

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