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RE: Copying Word files into one huge honkin' Word doc?
Subject:RE: Copying Word files into one huge honkin' Word doc? From:"Jessica N. Lange" <jlange -at- oee -dot- com> To:"TechWR-L" <TECHWR-L -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 26 May 2000 10:06:52 -0400
Geoff Hart wrote:
> Nancy McDonald is <<...putting many Word files together into a
> "wholedoc" w/ some 220 pages to date. <snip>
> <<I'm beginning to think that the crash is happening with the
> huge doc which just cannot handle any more data??>>
>
> Possibly, but not in the way you're thinking. Several techwhirlers claim
to
> produce manuals up to 500 pages in Word with no difficulty.
Ah, Geoff, you sound like you don't believe us! <vbg>
I'm one of those who use Word for very large manuals, BUT
I don't create one very large document. Instead:
-- each chapter is a separate document
-- graphics are linked not embedded (keeps file size down)
-- a separate file for TOC uses REF field codes to build the TOC
-- ditto for the Index file
This method has two problems:
1. It is that it is impossible to use field codes for page number
cross-references across chapters (files). To get around that,
I use a text cross-reference (e.g., "See *Printing Documents*
in Chapter 2." * indicates italics.)
2. The starting page number in each chapter file must be manually
entered, if using simple page numbers (1,2,3). However in large
manuals, I usually use compound page numbers:
ChapterNumber-PageNumber (e.g. 2-21, 2-22, 2-23, etc), so
the first page of each chapter begins with "1". I use the SEQ field
code to ensure that TOC and Index use the correct compound
page number.
If Nancy absolutely must create a single huge Word document,
Geoff's suggestions about using Insert->File and turning off
Fast Save are good. I would also suggest linking graphics not
embedding them.
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Jessica N. Lange jlange -at- daetwyler -dot- com
Technical Communicator, MDC - Dayton
