Pages 12.1 add merge field almost always greyed out

Hi John,

I think Ali_E1 and ryane77 have both misread your issue.

Their replies are responding to an issue involving merging two adjacent cells in a Table.

BUT your issue is NOT about merging cells.

Your issue involves attempting to place a merge field in a Pages document to get data associated with a specific person or entity from a source document (such as a Contacts record or from a list in a Numbers or Pages Table) and insert it in that merge field, thus merging that information into the document containing the Merge Field, a process sometimes described as mail merge.

Not an issue I can help you with directly, as my current version of Pages does not, to my knowledge, support mail merge or merge fields.

My goal in posting this is to attract the attention of someone who is familiar with mail merge in Pages, and who may be able to provide you with a solution.

Meantime, you might take another look at these three articles in the Pages User Guide for Pages 12.1:

Add, change, or delete a merge field in Pages on Mac

In Pages on your Mac, create custom fields that populate with information from sources like Contacts or a spreadsheet....

https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/pages/add-change-or-delete-a-merge-field-tan1ef722d07/12.1/mac/1.0

Populate and create customized documents in Pages on Mac

In Pages on your Mac, populate merge fields with a Contact card, Contact group, or Numbers spreadsheet.

Populate and create customized documents in Pages on Mac - Apple Support (CA)

Add, change, or delete a source file in Pages on Mac

In Pages on your Mac, use a Numbers spreadsheet as the source information for merge fields.

Add, change, or delete a source file in Pages on Mac - Apple Support (CA)

Regards,

Barry

Hi, johnwmcc.

Great troubleshooting! There are some restrictions on merging cells in Pages on a Mac. Does the first section of this article help explain the fields that won’t merge?

Merge or unmerge table cells in Pages on Mac - Apple Support

Warmest Regards.

Hi johnwmcc,

To double-check one of the points mentioned in the resource above, does this apply? Merge or unmerge table cells in Pages on Mac - Apple Support

Note: If the Merge Cells command is dimmed, you might have selected entire columns or rows, or a header cell and a body cell, which can’t be merged, even if they’re adjacent.

If that doesn't apply, we recommend testing in a newly-created administrator account on your Mac to see if you can replicate the same issue. The results will tell you if the issue might be user account-specific or system-wide. Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac - Apple Support

Add a user

On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Users & Groups .

If the lock at the bottom left is locked , click it to unlock the preference pane.

Click the Add button  below the list of users.

Click the New Account pop-up menu, then choose a type of user.

Administrator: An administrator can add and manage other users, install apps, and change settings. The new user you create when you first set up your Mac is an administrator. Your Mac can have multiple administrators. You can create new ones, and convert standard users to administrators. Don’t set up automatic login for an administrator. If you do, someone could simply restart your Mac and gain access with administrator privileges. To keep your Mac secure, don’t share administrator names and passwords.

Standard: Standard users are set up by an administrator. Standard users can install apps and change their own settings, but can’t add other users or change other users’ settings.

Sharing Only: Sharing-only users can access shared files remotely, but can’t log in to or change settings on the computer. To give the user permission to access your shared files or screen, you may need to change settings in the File Sharing, Screen Sharing, or Remote Management pane of Sharing preferences. See Set up file sharing and Share the screen of another Mac.

For more information about the options for each type of user, click the Help button in the lower-left corner of the dialog.

Enter a full name for the new user. An account name is generated automatically. To use a different account name, enter it now—you can’t change it later.

Enter a password for the user, then enter it again to verify. Enter a password hint to help the user remember their password.

Click Create User.

Let us know the results! Take care.