Report Template and Merge Fields

You need a template document before you can generate a report. A template is a Microsoft Word document with placeholders defining where to insert external data. It does not have to be a Microsoft Word template (.dot or .dotx) file. A regular .doc or .docx document will work.

1. Select Field from the Quick Parts menu to open the Field dialog.
2. From the Field names list, select MergeField.
3. In the Field name text box, enter a name for the merge field and click OK.

Creating a merge field

Now you have a new merge field placed in your document. Microsoft Word shows it like this: 

A merge field in a document

Of course, since a merge field is a regular Microsoft Word field, you can switch between displaying field codes and results in your document in Microsoft Word using the keyboard shortcut Alt+F9. Field codes appear between curly braces: 

The field code exposed

You can edit merge field name and format switches if needed.

1. To open the Field dialog in Microsoft Word 2003, you need to open the Insert menu and select Field. Opening the Field dialog

An example of a tabular template with multiple field codes