2-Sided Mail Merge with a blank 2nd page

Sorry to create two threads on Mail Merge, but they are unrelated issues, so I hope that's okay.

I have a 2 page Mail Merge doc that is set to print as 2-sided. The second page only has only has a single merge field on it and occasionally there are records in the data that have no value in that field. This causes an issue when printing as it seems Word must see the page as blank during the merge for these records and it then causes the first page to be printed on the wrong side of the paper.

As the current solution I have just put a . on the second page with a 1pt font size, so it isn't visibly printed but it seems be enough for Word to recognise that there is content on the page and to print it as 2-sided.

Is that the best solution though, or is there a better/easier way to ensure Word always prints all records as 2-sided regardless of if the merge field is populated or blank?

Your current solution of inserting a small character on the second page with a 1pt font size to ensure that Word recognizes there is content on the page is a creative workaround. However, there is a better way to ensure that Word always prints all records as 2-sided, regardless of whether the merge field is populated or blank.

One solution is to use section breaks to separate the two pages into different sections. Then, set the section break on the first page to start on an odd-numbered page, and set the section break on the second page to start on an even-numbered page. This will ensure that the first page always prints on the front of a sheet of paper, and the second page always prints on the back.

Here's how you can do it:

1-Place your cursor at the end of the first page.
2-Go to the Page Layout tab and click on the Breaks button.
3-Under Section Breaks, select "Next Page" under "Section Breaks."
4-Place your cursor on the second page.
5-Go to the Page Layout tab and click on the Breaks button.
6-Under Section Breaks, select "Continuous" under "Section Breaks."
7-Click on the Page Setup dialog box launcher at the bottom right corner of the Page Setup group.
8-Under the Layout tab, select "Different odd and even" under "Headers and footers."
9-Click OK.

Now, your document should have two sections, with the first section containing the first page and the second section containing the second page. The first section will always start on an odd-numbered page, and the second section will always start on an even-numbered page, ensuring that both pages print on the correct side of the paper, regardless of whether the merge field is populated or blank.

Originally Posted by Luciamartyn

Your current solution of inserting a small character on the second page with a 1pt font size to ensure that Word recognizes there is content on the page is a creative workaround. However, there is a better way to ensure that Word always prints all records as 2-sided, regardless of whether the merge field is populated or blank.

One solution is to use section breaks to separate the two pages into different sections. Then, set the section break on the first page to start on an odd-numbered page, and set the section break on the second page to start on an even-numbered page. This will ensure that the first page always prints on the front of a sheet of paper, and the second page always prints on the back.

Here's how you can do it:

1-Place your cursor at the end of the first page.
2-Go to the Page Layout tab and click on the Breaks button.
3-Under Section Breaks, select "Next Page" under "Section Breaks."
4-Place your cursor on the second page.
5-Go to the Page Layout tab and click on the Breaks button.
6-Under Section Breaks, select "Continuous" under "Section Breaks."
7-Click on the Page Setup dialog box launcher at the bottom right corner of the Page Setup group.
8-Under the Layout tab, select "Different odd and even" under "Headers and footers."
9-Click OK.

Now, your document should have two sections, with the first section containing the first page and the second section containing the second page. The first section will always start on an odd-numbered page, and the second section will always start on an even-numbered page, ensuring that both pages print on the correct side of the paper, regardless of whether the merge field is populated or blank.

Thank you for sharing this solution. Using section breaks to separate the two pages into different sections is a great way to ensure that both pages always print on the correct side of the paper, regardless of the content in the merge field. This is a more reliable solution than inserting a small character on the second page, as it eliminates the need for a workaround and ensures that the document is formatted correctly. I appreciate your contribution!

Originally Posted by Luciamartyn

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Thanks for the reply. I will implement this when I can. Certainly seems preferable to my workaround.