MS Word mail merge automation

[mensanator at aol.com]

Steve M wrote:
> I'm trying to do invoke the mail merge functionality of MS Word from a
> Python script. The situation is that I have a template Word document,
> and a record that I've generated in Python, and I want to output a new
> Word .doc file with the template filled in with the record I've
> generated.
>
> (To refresh your memory, in Word a mailmerge is achieved by a) under
> Tools -> Letters and Mailings, check off Show Mail Merge Toolbar; b)
> open a document with template-style variables in the form of
> <<FIELD_NAME>>; c) on Toolbar select Open Data Source and select
> appropriate Access or Excel or CSV file (with column headers
> corresponding to the FIELD_NAME's in your template variables); and then
> d) on Toolbar select Merge To New Document to create a new document
> with the template variables replaced with the value from the
> corresponding column in the data source - here, you can make one
> document per row of data source, or just one document for a given row.
> Don't forget to save the new document.)
>
> Using various online sources*, I have been able to piece together all
> but (what I hope is) the final missing piece, viz., the name of the
> method that corresponds to "Merge to New Document" command from within
> the Word interface.
>
> Here is the basic code, if anyone can provide the missing piece I (and
> others, I suspect) would appreciate it:
>
>
> import os, win32com.client
> doc_template_name = os.path.abspath('template.doc')
> data_source_name = os.path.abspath('record23.csv')
> doc_final_name = os.path.abspath('record23.doc')
>
> app = win32com.client.Dispatch("Word.Application")
> doc = app.Documents.Open(doc_template_name)
>
> #attach data source to template
> doc.MailMerge.OpenDataSource(data_source_name)
>
> #merge to new document - THIS RAISES ATTRIBUTE ERROR, HOW TO FIX?
> new_doc = doc.MailMerge.MergeToNewDocument()

In VBA, it would be .Execute.

>From the VBA Help file:

This example executes a mail merge if the active document is a main
document
with an attached data source.

Set myMerge = ActiveDocument.MailMerge
If myMerge.State = wdMainAndDataSource Then MyMerge.Execute



>
> #save out result
> new_doc.SaveAs(doc_final_name)
>
> #cleanup
> doc.Close()
> new_doc.Close()
> app.Quit()
>
>
>
>
> *I found some information here:
> http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:V-xpWKigqVQJ:coderforums.com/archive/topic/1514-1.html+win32com+merge+to+new+document&hl=en
>
> and here:
> http://www.brunningonline.net/simon/blog/archives/001299.html
>
> as well as here:
> http://www.win32com.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=7&id=86&Itemid=192
>
> I also have the Hammond and Robinson book on Python on Win32 but it
> hasn't helped me to discover the method name.