>Hello everyone,
>
>We have a Microsoft Word correspondence engine that processes a data file - which is just a Word file with special markers. It extracts the records from the data file one record at a time. For each record, the engine
>- creates a mail merge data source file (a Word document)
>- opens a mail merge main document (may be different for each record)
>- associates the mail merge data file with the mail merge main document
>- replaces the mail merge fields with the data
>- prints the results using PrintOut Background:=False
>- closes the mail merge main document.
>
>The process generates several letters per second. We are certain the records are processed in the correct sequence and the letters are generated in the correct sequence.
>
>Our problem is the documents are not always in the correct sequence when we pick them off the printer. We cannot identify a pattern that will help us predict when the documents will come out in a wrong sequence. Using the same exact data may yield a different printing order. We resolved the problem by selecting the Start printing after last page is spooled option but we don't understand exactly what is going on. Is the order the documents will be printed dependent on both the PrintOut's Background setting and the printer spool setting? If not, how can we force the documents to always print in the correct sequence?

Hmm... there are lots of variables at play here. Without knowing the details of your environment, a few ideas:

- If the printer is a networked printer on a queue, set your local workstation's printer driver to "print directly to the printer". You don't need the extra buffer of a local spooler pushing data to a network spooler.

- If the target printer is a GDI printer, try substituting one that is not. I don't know if jobs sent to such a printer are rendered then spooled locally, or spooled, then rendered on-the-fly as they are despooled, but in either case it's another complication.

Unfortunately, both of the above are environment-specific and not general. One other thing you could try is getting Word to print to a file, then dump the file directly to the target printer so it's received all at once rather than a page at a time.