'GetMergeTimeStamp' error when running Merge Fields and Tables

Problem

The following error message text occurs when running Merge Fields and Tables in Word: ‘Error encountered at GetMergeTimeStamp procedure.’

Typical Cause

There are three potential causes:

Cause 1: Special characters in the worksheet names of the prepped Excel file. Quotation marks are known to cause this issue. Quotation marks in Report Writer fields can also cause the same symptoms.

Cause 2: If the error is not immediate, but occurs partway through the merge process, the culprit is probably corrupt fields or tables in Word.

Cause 3: Report Writer was installed on a local admin account, then switched to a local non-admin account. Report Writer will still look at the registry values entered on the admin account. This cause is the least likely of the three listed.

Solution

Solution for Cause 1: Make sure that no sheet names in the Excel file being merged have special characters, like quotation marks. If they do, rename the sheets to remove these, and re-prep the Excel file. If the problem is a particular Report Writer named range field, the error should occur on that specific field during the merge attempt, so that can be used to pin down the problem field.

Solution for Cause 2: Please contact Report Writer technical support for assistance. Please include the Word and Excel file with which the problem is occurring if possible.

Solution for Cause 3: Having your Windows account set temporarily to Administrator status and reinstalling Report Writer will generally correct this.