Mergeseq disappears in my mail merge code

Question

I'm new to mail merge documents. I'm trying to do a simple thing, as explained in this source:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/294686/en-us

just trying out a basic code:

{IF {MERGESEQ} = "1" "true" "false"}

but if I switch "preview results" on and then off, the code suddenly becomes

{IF = "1" "true" "false"}

What's going on? From all I can tell my syntax should have been correct. Why did word kick the MERGESEQ away?

Answer 1

{ MERGESEQ } only generates the sequence number when you actually merge. When you're previewing, it doesn't generate a result (or if you prefer, generates an empty result). Alt-F9 once or twice should reveal the field code again.

So the behaviour is in fact "expected", even if it is rather confusing, particularly since { MERGEREC } behaves differently.

(As an aside, Preview is only a guide to what will happen when you merge. It's best to test that the actual merge does what you need).