Handling Double Quotes and Rich Text in Word Mail Merge Exports

Published Date: April 6, 2026
Audience: Everyone
Products and Versions Covered:

Jama Connect® version(s): 9.28.x and later
Cloud/CVC
Self-hosted
MySQL 8.0
Ubuntu 22.04.03 LTS
Export (Office Templates / Word Mail Merge)

Summary

When exporting Office Templates using Word Mail Merge in Jama Connect®, conditional { IF } statements may fail when applied to rich text fields that contain both double quotes (") and multiple paragraphs.

This issue can result in truncated or incorrect output, where portions of the text are removed during document generation. For example, a phrase such as "point machine" may render only as point in the exported document.

This behavior occurs due to a limitation of the Mail Merge engine in Microsoft Word, which Jama Connect® uses via the Aspose library. The engine cannot reliably process conditional logic when rich text formatting and double quotes are combined.

This is a known limitation, not a product defect.

Resolution

Recommended Approach: Use Velocity Templates

For advanced document generation needs, use Velocity-based Word templates.

Benefits:

Handles rich text formatting reliably
Supports conditional logic without Mail Merge limitations
Provides greater flexibility for formatting and content control

Alternative Option: Custom Script-Based Solution

If requirements cannot be met using standard approaches:

Engage Jama Professional Services
Develop a custom export or transformation script tailored to your use case

Option 1: Replace Double Quotes with Single Quotes

Update field values in Jama Connect® to replace double quotes (") with single quotes (').

Example:

"point machine" → 'point machine'

Prevention:

Use filters in Jama Connect® to identify items containing double quotes
Standardize content formatting practices across projects

Option 2: Avoid Conditional Logic on Rich Text Fields

Do not apply { IF } statements to fields containing rich text or multiple paragraphs
Use plain text fields for conditional logic where possible

Option 3: Simplify Mail Merge Templates

Reduce or eliminate nested { IF } statements
Avoid applying conditions to complex formatted fields

Additional Resources

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