Yes, you need an IF field for this. Although Word makes it relatively easy
to insert IF fields in merge documents (using the Insert Word Field button),
it makes it quite difficult to actually insert merge fields in them, so it's
usually easier to create them from scratch.

1. Press Ctrl+F9 to insert a field, which will be represented by two braces
around two spaces, with the insertion point in the center.

2. Between the braces type IF, then use the keyboard and the Insert Merge
Field button to create the following field:

{ IF { MERGEFIELD BdayA1 } = "" "" "{ MERGEFIELD BdayA1 }" }

Alternatively, you can use:

{ IF { MERGEFIELD BdayA1 } "" "{ MERGEFIELD BdayA1 }" }

The first tells Word, if the data field is blank, to insert nothing,
otherwise to insert the merge data. The second tells Word to insert the
merge data if the data field is not blank.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

"Wiersma7" wrote in message
...
Yay! It makes sense now. Thanks so much!

Also, is there way to have a conditional rule (?) to only print the text:
'Birthday:' if there is a date in the date field?
Below is the simple table (obviously I'm making a directory - for my
church):

«Adult1»
Birthday:
«BdayA1»

Cell:
«CellA1»

Email:
«EmailA1»

Anniversary:
«Anniversary»






Thanks so much for all of your help!
wiersma7


"Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote in message
...
You press Alt+F9 to display the field code of your merge field (such as
«BdayA1», which will show { MERGEFIELD BdayA1 }) and add the switch to
that field.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

"Wiersma7" wrote in message
...
The table has merge fields from an Excel spreadsheet. I understand the
premise of what the [below address: http:
//www.gmayor.com/formatting_word_fields.htm] is about - but I'm not sure
how to incorporate that into my table. Do I add the switch as a field to
the spreadsheet? To the table? That doesn't seem to work. I guess I'm
asking if you can simplify it for me. I would like to change the format
of 01/01/09 to January 1. (btw - I do know how to do it in Excel )

Also, is there way to have a conditional rule (?) to only print the
text: 'Birthday:' if there is a date in the date field?
Below is the simple table (obviously I'm making a directory - for my
church):

«Adult1»
Birthday:
«BdayA1»

Cell:
«CellA1»

Email:
«EmailA1»

Anniversary:
«Anniversary»





Thanks very much for your help so far,
wiersma7


"Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote in message
...
If the table was created via a mail merge, you can add a numeric
picture switch to the merge field to constrain the display (see
http://www.gmayor.com/formatting_word_fields.htm). Alternatively, you
can link to Excel using DDE instead of OLE DB, which will preserve the
native Excel formatting.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

"Wiersma7" wrote in message
...
I have a table that has birthday dates. The info in the table was
imported from Excel with the dates formatted as 'mmmm dd'. However,
they imported as I entered them: mm/dd/yy. I don't want the years to
show. How can I format these dates in my table to reflect only the
Birth Date? (rather than going through each record)
Thanks,
wiersma7