Fix Word Mail Merge Leaving Empty Bullet Points After Office Update
Question details
The user is experiencing an issue where Word mail merge documents fail to suppress blank lines, leaving empty bullet points when a MERGEFIELD returns an empty value following an Office update.
- Product
- Microsoft Word
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Executing a mail merge where some data records contain empty values for bulleted fields.
- Observed behavior
- Empty bullet points remain in the document instead of being suppressed. Additionally, other field changes may revert during print preview or after saving the document.
Check your Microsoft Office version to confirm if you are running a 32-bit build, as this issue is frequently reported on specific 32-bit installations.
Update Microsoft Office to the Latest Build
Since this is a known bug in certain 32-bit Office versions, installing the latest patches provided by Microsoft can often resolve the issue.
Microsoft product teams actively monitor regression bugs introduced in routine updates. The issue where blank lines are no longer suppressed in mail merges is widely reported in 32-bit Office installations. Installing the newest update ensures you have the latest bug fixes.
Open Microsoft Word, click on 'File' in the top-left corner, and select 'Account' from the left-hand menu.
Under the 'Product Information' section, click on the 'Update Options' button.
Select 'Update Now' from the dropdown menu to trigger Microsoft Office to check for, download, and install the newest version.
Once the update finishes, restart Microsoft Word and perform the mail merge again to verify if the empty bullet points are now suppressed.
Use Conditionally Formatted Fields
If updating Word does not fix the bug, you can bypass it entirely by using an IF statement field code to manually control when bullet points appear.
Try WPS Office for Stable Mail Merges
If Microsoft Word updates continue to break your mail merge formatting, WPS Office provides a stable, highly compatible, and free alternative. It effortlessly handles standard Word documents and performs mail merges without the blank bullet point glitch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Word stop suppressing blank lines after an update?
Certain routine Office updates, particularly within 32-bit builds, have occasionally introduced bugs that inadvertently alter the default 'suppress blank lines' logic in the mail merge feature. Updating to the latest patched version usually resolves these regressions.
How can I check if I am using a 32-bit version of Word?
Open Microsoft Word, go to File > Account, and click the 'About Word' button. A dialog box will appear displaying the full version number and indicating whether your installation is 32-bit or 64-bit.
Why do my manual field changes revert during print preview?
This happens when Word automatically updates fields before printing. You can stop this by going to File > Options > Display, and unchecking the 'Update fields before printing' option under the Printing options section.
Are there other field code switches to hide blank lines?
Yes, you can use the '\b' (before) or '\f' (following) switch within your MERGEFIELD code. For example, { MERGEFIELD FieldName \b "• " } will only insert the bullet point before the text if the field is not empty.
