This issue occurs because Word’s merge engine still processes the line containing the IF statement, even when the related record set is empty. Without an ELSE clause, this leaves behind blank paragraphs or spaces in the merged document.
Replacing hard returns with soft returns can further disrupt the merge syntax, causing the output file to become corrupted.
Resolution:
Reformat the merge logic to include a complete IF–ELSE–ENDIF structure. This ensures that when no data exists for a record set, the merge inserts placeholder text (such as “N/A”) instead of leaving blank lines.
Example:
«IF Books:Count > 0»Books:
«TableStart:Books»
«BooksSortDate»
«BooksFormattedOutput»
«TableEnd»
«ELSE»N/A
«ENDIF»