RE: Big Word Docs?

Subject: RE: Big Word Docs?
From: "Jonathan West" <jwest -at- mvps -dot- org>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2002 00:31:57 +0100



>
> A colleague has inherited a 300+-page MS Word document. Unfortunately,
> she doesn't have the option of working in Frame, but she'd like to break
> the document up into smaller, more manageable component files that she
> could then build into the MS Word equivalent of a FrameMaker book file.
> Neither of us is sure what features are available to do this in Word,
> let alone how to use them. Can anyone please tell us what Word feature
> we're looking for here, and better still, refer us to a web site that
> would give us some tips on how to use it?
>

The feature that Microsoft included to cover this is called Master
Documents. The best advice I can give is not to use them. This article
describes why.

Why Master Documents corrupt
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/General/WhyMasterDocsCorrupt.htm

300 pages is not terribly large for a single Word document, even if it is
rich in formatting. I've managed to deal with documents up to 2000 pages in
a single file (though you need to be using Win2K, Word 2K and a
well-specific machine to cope with that size of doc).

The best advice for dealing with large documents in Word is to pretend that
Word is actually Frame, and don't take advantage of any of the "ease-of-use"
features that MS has put in to make it easier to write a one-page letter.

Concentrate on making sure that you have a template defining a coherent set
of styles, and use them religiously.

If you really want to break up the document, but also want to be able to
create a consolidated Toc and index, look up the RD field in Help in Word.
That shows you how to use RD fields to reference other documents in the Toc.

Regards
Jonathan West


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Free copy of ARTS PDF Tools when you register for the PDF
Conference by April 30. Leading-Edge Practices for Enterprise
& Government, June 3-5, Bethesda,MD. www.PDFConference.com

Are you using Doc-to-Help or ForeHelp? Switch to RoboHelp for Word for $249
or to RoboHelp Office for only $499. Get the PC Magazine five-star rated
Help authoring tool for less! Go to http://www.ehelp.com/techwr

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot- Visit
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.



References:
Big Word Docs?: From: Trese, Timothy G.

Previous by Author: RE: Checking links in Word
Next by Author: Re: Question: Scripts for automating file renames and updating links
Previous by Thread: RE: Big Word Docs?
Next by Thread: RE: Big Word Docs?


What this post helpful? Share it with friends and colleagues:


Sponsored Ads