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Old December 18th, 2014, 04:04 PM
birdablaze birdablaze is offline
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First recorded activity by OfficeFrustration: Dec 2014
Posts: 1
Default Intentional blank spaces being removed during merge

I have an excel spreadsheet with two columns. The first column (A) has names and the second column (B) has a formula [=LEFT(A2&REPT(" ",26),26)] to add spaces after the name to reach a max character count of 26. The reason for this formula is because I have to put this information into a fixed-character-width text document.

Unfortunately, when I attempt to mail merge column B, the intentional blank spaces are removed and this screws up my character count. I want the cell to merge exactly as it appears in excel.

I've tried with no results:
- changing both columns to "text"
- opening the data source as MS Excel Worksheets via DDE

I hope this is possible but I'm scared it is not. If not, perhaps someone can help me figure out a way to achieve my ultimate goal which would require additional explanation.

Thank you!!!