WD98: How to Use Quotation Marks in a Conditional Merge Result

Last reviewed: December 22, 1998
Article ID: Q197843

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition

SUMMARY

This article describes how to define a conditional mergefield for a result that includes quotation marks. Normally, a conditional {IF} field takes the following syntax:

   {IF {MERGEFIELD name} = "John Doe" "true condition" "false condition"}

Note that quotation marks are used to denote the parameters of the conditional statements and are not included in the printed result of the merge. If you want to include quotation marks in your result, you must include a backslash (\) before each quotation mark that you want to include.

For example, if you want to print "Now is the time...," (with the quotation marks) in your document when the true condition is met, you must place a backslash before each quotation mark. The conditional statement should look similar to the following:

   {IF {MERGEFIELD name} = "John Doe" "\"Now is the time...\"" "false
   condition"}

MORE INFORMATION

The comma also has a special use inside the {IF} field. Therefore, use the backslash before a comma as well as before the quotation mark.

In addition, the backslash has a special use inside the {IF} field. Therefore, use a backslash before a backslash. In other words, use two backslashes if you want one to appear in the merged document.

For example, to have the result "John said, "The file is in <Macintosh Hard Disk>:Microsoft Office 98"", the {IF} field must have a format similar to this:

   {IF {MERGEFIELD name} = "John Doe" "John said, \"The file is in
   <Macintosh Hard Disk>:Microsoft Office 98\"" "false condition"}

For additional information about this issue, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    ARTICLE-ID: Q197841
    TITLE     : WD98: Certain Characters Do Not Display in Field Result

Keywords          : kbfield macword98 kbdta
Version           : MACINTOSH:98
Platform          : MACINTOSH
Issue type        : kbhowto

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