TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Holly Deitelhoff asked about Master Documents in Word :
"What is the general feel from people about Master Documents in Word? Are
they mostly functional - where are the common problems - lessons learned
from using them - adjustments that yield higher success rates ... etc? (I'm
using Windows and Word 2007.) I have to build reports in excess of 1000
pages for a customer and upgrading software is not an option.
___________________________________
Holly,
I agree with Dan that you can do it without Master Documents. I've built
large docs from separate section or sub-doc files by completing each sub
doc, then using Insert>File to add the successive sections. I do use
sectional numbering with the section number. Section I is paged from 1-1 to
1-95, section 2 from 2-1 to 2-211, etc., and I use lowercase roman numerals
for the front matter.
The one thing you have to do is keep all the internal numbering consistent.
Either use field codes or make sure that all your numbering selections match
up , i.e.,, the numbered, lettered, and bulleted lists, and the sectional
numbering all use the same panels in the number selection panels. If your
numbered lists use the upper left box in one section, the comparable
numbering in all the other sections should use the same panel, or everything
will come apart and overwrite each other when you combine the sections. Good
luck.
Margaret Cekis, Johns Creek GA
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
New! Doc-to-Help 2013 features the industry's first HTML5 editor for authoring.