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Error : 5852 “Requested object is not available.” or “The object invoked has disconnected from its clients” when performing a fax merge

Immediately after performing a FaxTalk Fax merge, you may see the following error message appear: Error 5852 Requested Object is not available or Automation Error: The object invoked has been disconnected by its client. This error message can occur when your database source (Mail Merge Source) contains more than 10,000 recipients.

There is an (undocumented) limit with Microsoft Word (confirmed Word 2003, Word 2007 and Word 2010) where selecting specific recipients from the recipient list of over 10,000 records will fail. The Recipient list will only display a maximum of 10,000 records in the list. This will cause the Fax Merge to fail regardless of how many recipients you select.  If the database contains more than 10,000 records the merge process cannot be completed.

This can be duplicated in Microsoft Word by clicking on the Mailing Tab, Edit Recipient List (with your mail merge document open). The maximum amount of records displayed in this dialog box is 10,000. If you attempt to select specific recipients, they are not saved by Microsoft Word. You can confirm this by selecting a few recipients, then click OK. Then click Edit Recipient List again to review your selections, all the selected recipients you previously selected are lost.

If you repeat these steps with a database that contains 10,000 or less records, this problem does not occur.

Workaround: 

There are two possible workarounds for this problem. The first is to use a refined list, so the Recipient list will display fewer than 10,000 recipients.  The second is to modify your database(s) so you use less than 10,000 records per database.  

Refining your recipient list (Recommended Workaround):

Prior to starting the Fax Merge you must refine the recipient list by use of the FILTER option, this will reduce the selected recipient list that appears in this dialog box so it is 10,000 or fewer contacts. When you select the option “Select Recipients” or when the Recipient list appears, click on the FILTER option under Refine recipient list. Here you can refine your list, so fewer than 10,000 recipients are displayed.

Some Possible filters include,

Field: Fax Number Comparison : Is not blank
Field: Last Name Comparison : Is Less Than Compare to: M (will display all records with last names A-N)

You may only require a single filter such as Fax Number is not blank, however, if this isn’t sufficient, you will need to apply additional filters based on the data you want to appear in the list.

Splitting your database source into two (or more) separate databases (Alternative Workaround)

Since Microsoft Word cannot handle more than 10,000 records at a time, you can create a new database source that contains less than 10,000 recipients. For example, if you have 15,000 recipients in your database, you can split it to two separate databases of 7,500 records each.  Of course by doing this you would have to perform 2 or more separate fax merges and handle update accordingly.  We recommend using a refined list whenever possible when dealing with large databases.

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