How to change date format in mail merge word document

To change the date format in a Mail Merge Word document, you can follow these steps:

Method 1: Using the "Format" button

  1. Open your Mail Merge Word document.
  2. Go to the "Mailings" tab in the ribbon.
  3. Click on "Finish & Merge" and then select "Edit Individual Documents" to open the merged document.
  4. Select the date field you want to format (e.g. "Date of Birth").
  5. Right-click on the date field and select "Format Cells" (or press Ctrl+1).
  6. In the "Format Cells" dialog box, click on the "Date" tab.
  7. Select the desired date format from the "Short date" or "Long date" dropdown menus.
  8. Click "OK" to apply the changes.

Method 2: Using the "Merge Field" button

  1. Open your Mail Merge Word document.
  2. Go to the "Mailings" tab in the ribbon.
  3. Click on "Insert Merge Field" to insert the date field you want to format (e.g. "Date of Birth").
  4. Right-click on the inserted field and select "Format Field" (or press Ctrl+Shift+F).
  5. In the "Format Field" dialog box, click on the "Date" tab.
  6. Select the desired date format from the "Short date" or "Long date" dropdown menus.
  7. Click "OK" to apply the changes.

Method 3: Using VBA code

  1. Open your Mail Merge Word document.
  2. Press Alt+F11 to open the Visual Basic Editor.
  3. In the Editor, insert a new module by clicking "Insert" > "Module".
  4. Paste the following code:
    Sub FormatDate()
 Dim doc As Document
 Set doc = ActiveDocument
 Dim dateField As MergeField
 Set dateField = doc.Fields("Date of Birth")
 dateField.Format = "yyyy-mm-dd" ' or any other desired format
End Sub
  5. Replace "Date of Birth" with the actual name of your date field.
  6. Click "Run" > "Run Sub/User Form" to execute the code.
  7. The date format will be updated in the merged document.

Note: The date format may not be updated immediately in the merged document. You may need to re-run the merge process to see the changes take effect.