Put Humptey Back Together For the First Time?
October 24, 2005 9:24 AM Subscribe
So, say you have a lot, maybe 100, MS Word and Excel documents that are part of a manual which needs to be updated on a quasi-regular basis.
All of the pages are formatted roughly the same, but the headers change from section to section, and there are tables of varying sizes with differing types of information. Now, say would like to consolidate it into far fewer documents. How does one accomplish this? (I know I can make the finished product into an Acrobat file, but I'm less concerned with that than I am the mammoth editing process.) Or am I stuck with editing a blue million word docs and excel files?
All of the pages are formatted roughly the same, but the headers change from section to section, and there are tables of varying sizes with differing types of information. Now, say would like to consolidate it into far fewer documents. How does one accomplish this? (I know I can make the finished product into an Acrobat file, but I'm less concerned with that than I am the mammoth editing process.) Or am I stuck with editing a blue million word docs and excel files?
The best way to work with a large number of Word documents would be to create a "master document" with individual "subdocuments" . Word is well set up to do this, but note that the whole system is based on files staying in the same location.
Check out the Word help file for more info on working with master documents - it has a pretty extensive explanation/guide. The master document would contain the basic outline of the manual, with links to each separate part/subdocument.
I don't think you can add excel files as easily as you do Word "subdocuments", but pasting "as link" into the proper place in the master document would probably work just as well.
posted by gemmy at 10:26 AM on October 24, 2005
Check out the Word help file for more info on working with master documents - it has a pretty extensive explanation/guide. The master document would contain the basic outline of the manual, with links to each separate part/subdocument.
I don't think you can add excel files as easily as you do Word "subdocuments", but pasting "as link" into the proper place in the master document would probably work just as well.
posted by gemmy at 10:26 AM on October 24, 2005
A lot of people will recommend breaking word files up into tiny little pieces, like you have right now, but I have had good experiences with much larger documents - my thesis is over 100 pages, and I have several manuals in the 40+ page range. I find the issue is more about file size, once you get over 20mb or so, stuff happens...
I don't think you can beat copy and paste for combining the documents. If you don't already do it, create styles for your different kinds of text (headings, body text, captions, etc. etc.).
If the styles are all in chaos find/replace works just as well on formatting and style as it does on content. Also, word 2003 can generate a styles and formatting toolbar which is very useful (Format --> Styles and Formatting). It displays every single text format used in the document, you can then hover over the entry and click the down arrow to see how many incidences of that format exist, select them all, or modify them. This can help to change over the styles in a messy file quickly.
posted by Chuckles at 10:36 AM on October 24, 2005
I don't think you can beat copy and paste for combining the documents. If you don't already do it, create styles for your different kinds of text (headings, body text, captions, etc. etc.).
If the styles are all in chaos find/replace works just as well on formatting and style as it does on content. Also, word 2003 can generate a styles and formatting toolbar which is very useful (Format --> Styles and Formatting). It displays every single text format used in the document, you can then hover over the entry and click the down arrow to see how many incidences of that format exist, select them all, or modify them. This can help to change over the styles in a messy file quickly.
posted by Chuckles at 10:36 AM on October 24, 2005
The best way to deal with this is, frankly, to abandon Word.
You're doing some serious publication work. Use a serious publication application. Adobe Framemaker and Corel Ventura are the best available for structured long documents. Adobe Indesign may be at the point where it's useful for such documents. Avoid Quark at all costs. Scribus may be okay; it may still be crash-prone.
And if you want to avoid all the hassles of proprietary document formats, I've developed a nice little system that uses Docutils (a python application), XSL:FO, and RenderX's XEP (or the open FOP) to render to PDF.
posted by five fresh fish at 11:00 AM on October 24, 2005
You're doing some serious publication work. Use a serious publication application. Adobe Framemaker and Corel Ventura are the best available for structured long documents. Adobe Indesign may be at the point where it's useful for such documents. Avoid Quark at all costs. Scribus may be okay; it may still be crash-prone.
And if you want to avoid all the hassles of proprietary document formats, I've developed a nice little system that uses Docutils (a python application), XSL:FO, and RenderX's XEP (or the open FOP) to render to PDF.
posted by five fresh fish at 11:00 AM on October 24, 2005
Best answer: To preserve header/footers you need separate sections, so Insert, Break, Continuous.
Then choose Insert, File and browse to the other document - this will copy the text, formatting, styles, headers and footers.
The thing you can expect to go wrong is page numbering, it's fixable but often involves tinkering with the field codes.
When working on big documents in Word, make sure you have plenty of free memory.
posted by Lanark at 11:50 AM on October 24, 2005
Then choose Insert, File and browse to the other document - this will copy the text, formatting, styles, headers and footers.
The thing you can expect to go wrong is page numbering, it's fixable but often involves tinkering with the field codes.
When working on big documents in Word, make sure you have plenty of free memory.
posted by Lanark at 11:50 AM on October 24, 2005
Response by poster: Basically, I'm working with a ton of documents where the tables are all page-size or better, and they've all got header information that's totally different from one another. I don't have professional access to Framemaker (although it may or may not be on the creative suite I have at home; must check) or anything else that would make this a more palatable flavor of hell, just a bunch of people who want the document but not the pieces.
I'd be interested in anything you could suggest, fff, as long as I can run it on a PC/Win XP machine.
posted by Medieval Maven at 11:50 AM on October 24, 2005
I'd be interested in anything you could suggest, fff, as long as I can run it on a PC/Win XP machine.
posted by Medieval Maven at 11:50 AM on October 24, 2005
See Related question
and the Knowledge Base article WD2000: How to Create a Long Document in Word (might not display correctly under Firefox)
posted by Sharcho at 12:34 PM on October 24, 2005
and the Knowledge Base article WD2000: How to Create a Long Document in Word (might not display correctly under Firefox)
posted by Sharcho at 12:34 PM on October 24, 2005
they've all got header information that's totally different from one another.
That sounds like a writting style problem anyway, why do you want to maintain it that way?
posted by Chuckles at 12:38 PM on October 24, 2005
That sounds like a writting style problem anyway, why do you want to maintain it that way?
posted by Chuckles at 12:38 PM on October 24, 2005
Response by poster: The headers have to do with the different sections. It's Just The Way It Is (ie, I inherited it this way, and people are used to it). Lanark's suggestion is frankly saving my tail but I will definetly be looking at FrameMaker at home (assuming I have it).
posted by Medieval Maven at 12:47 PM on October 24, 2005
posted by Medieval Maven at 12:47 PM on October 24, 2005
When working on big documents in Word, make sure you have plenty of free memory.
And plenty of Xanax, for the ulcer you'll be developing. Word will do inexplicable, sometimes irrevocable, and frequently wrong things, all seemingly at random.
MM, I'll provide some amount of free consultation and help. You can email me.
posted by five fresh fish at 12:54 PM on October 24, 2005
And plenty of Xanax, for the ulcer you'll be developing. Word will do inexplicable, sometimes irrevocable, and frequently wrong things, all seemingly at random.
MM, I'll provide some amount of free consultation and help. You can email me.
posted by five fresh fish at 12:54 PM on October 24, 2005
OTOH, if you're using pirate software for things that are for business ("Framemaker at home"), please don't contact me. Software that is used to make money -- and this includes software that's going to save your time at work -- should be paid for.
posted by five fresh fish at 12:57 PM on October 24, 2005
posted by five fresh fish at 12:57 PM on October 24, 2005
Response by poster: Heh . . it's not pirated. It's just not for my paying job -- I write for an online magazine, and we use Adobe Creative for some stuff on that end. So it's licensed, just not to the people I'm trying to sort this out for.
posted by Medieval Maven at 1:24 PM on October 24, 2005
posted by Medieval Maven at 1:24 PM on October 24, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by mullacc at 9:59 AM on October 24, 2005