Database

You can insert fields from any database, for example, address fields, into your document.

To access this command...

Choose Insert - Field - More Fields - Database tab

Type

Lists the available field types. To add a field to your document, click a field type, click a field in the Select list, and then click Insert. The following fields are available:

Field type	Meaning
Any Record	Inserts the contents of the database field that you specify in the Record Number box as a mail merge field if the Condition that you enter is met. Only records selected by a multiple selection in the data source view are considered. You can use this field to insert several records into a document. Simply insert the Any Record field in front of the form letter fields that use a certain record.
Database Name	Inserts the name of the database table selected in the Database selection box. The "Database Name" field is a global field, that is, if you insert a different database name in your document, the contents of all previously inserted "Database Name" fields are updated.
Mail merge field	Inserts the name of a database field as a placeholder, so that you can create a mail merge document. The field content is automatically inserted when you print the form letter.
Next record	Inserts the contents of the next mail merge field in your document, if the condition that you define is met. The records that you want to include must be selected in the data source view. You can use the "Next record" field to insert the contents of consecutive records between the mail merge fields in a document.
Record number	Inserts the number of the selected database record.

The following fields can only be inserted if the corresponding field type is selected in the Type list.

Database Selection

Select the database table or the database query that you want the field to refer to. You can include fields from more than one database or query in a document.

Condition

For fields linked to a condition, enter the criteria here.

If you want, you can assign a condition that must be met before the contents of the "Any Record" and "Next Record" fields are inserted. The default condition is "True", that is, the condition is always true if you do not change the condition text.

Record number

Enter the number of the record that you want to insert when the condition that you specify is met. The record number corresponds to the current selection in the data source view. For example, if you select the last 5 records in a database containing 10 records, the number of the first record will be 1, and not 6.

If you refer to fields in a different database (or in a different table or query within the same database), Collabora Office determines the record number relative to the current selection.

Format

Select the format of the field that you want to insert. This option is available for numerical, boolean, date and time fields.

From database

Uses the format defined in the selected database.

Browse

Opens a file open dialog where you can select a database file (*.odb). The selected file is added to the Databases Selection list.

User defined

Applies the format that you select in the List of user-defined formats.

List of user-defined formats

Lists the available user-defined formats.

Printing a form letter

When you print a document that contains database fields, a dialog asks you if you want to print a form letter. If you answer Yes, the Mail Merge dialog opens where you can select the database records to print.