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Mail Merge Issue - Extra space in a cell causing issues on the merge end

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    Mail Merge Issue - Extra space in a cell causing issues on the merge end

    I am trying to do a mail merge using Adobe InDesign on a Mac and an Excel file for my source data.
    When I view the merge in InDesign, the name is on one line, then the street, and where the city/state/zip line should be there's just a comma. Then on the next label it shows the city/state/zip on the top line, blank middle line and just a comma on the last line.
    In troubleshooting the problem, I discovered there is some sort of extra space/tab/return (something) in the cell with the street at the end. It actually creates a second line in the cell. I click in the cell at the end of the address, arrow over to the right and then backspace and it takes it right out.
    I went back to my InDesign document, updated my source data and everything comes out as it should.
    So I've figured out how to solve the problem. However, this is going to be a monthly project with a list of over 200 names that may or may not change every time. I can't spend the time each month going through and manually fixing the problem.
    I would like to figure out how to prevent the problem in the first place. I received the Excel file from my customer but don't know whether he has typed in all the info himself or gotten it from somewhere.
    I'm not well versed enough in Excel to tell him what to do or not to do to get me a good file each month.
    I've attached an Excel file with some sample data. Rows 2, 3, 5, & 6 are problems. Row 4 works as it should.
    I've also included a screen shot below of two merged labels showing how the problem data shows.

    I'll be glad to answer any questions or upload other files/examples. Thanks in advance for any advice/help.

    Screenshots 2023-11-02 at 11.23.45 AM.png
    Attached Files Attached Files

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    Re: Mail Merge Issue - Extra space in a cell causing issues on the merge end

    You seem to have a character with the code 10 (Line Feed) at the end of each address, so you can use Find & Replace to get rid of them all in one operation, as follows.

    First, select all the cells in column B by clicking on the column identifier (B) at the top of the column. Then CTRL-H to bring up the Find & Replace dialogue box, and in the Find what box do CTRL-J, then click on Replace All.

    Save your file, then you should be good to go with your mail merge.

    Hope this helps.

    Pete

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    Re: Mail Merge Issue - Extra space in a cell causing issues on the merge end

    Hey Pete,
    I just gave you a star on another post I had made about 11 years ago. I should have come back sooner to let you know that helped me so much. It was exactly what I needed.
    And I didn't realize you answered this question as well until just now. Much appreciated, my friend!!

    This solution gave me a start, but didn't quite go as you explained. I haven't been able to explore it further, figure out what I'm doing wrong, as I have multiple irons in the fire right now. Hope to get back to this new problem today.
    Thanks again!

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    Re: Mail Merge Issue - Extra space in a cell causing issues on the merge end

    I am not having any luck. When I do CTRL-J nothing seems to be in the box and when I go ahead and click Replace All, it tells me nothing was found to change. (I ran this solution on a Mac and on a PC with the same results).

    I've tried opening the file on a PC and saving my CSV file from there, but I still get the same results.
    I tried opening the file in Numbers (Apple spreadsheet program), same results.

    I'm running out of ideas to try. Any other suggestions?
    Thanks,
    Kara

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