Insert or Copy and Paste into larger document?

P

Patti Barden

Hi,
I am writing a book and have done several separate chapters (using same
Template) and now want to combine them all into one document.

Is it wiser to use the "Insert from file" or "select all" "copy" then
"paste" into the one document?

I ask because I read long ago it was easy to corrupt a document using the
insert method?
Suggestions please.
Patti
 
T

TF

Patti

It is 6 of 1 and half a dozen of another. As all the formatting should be
identical (because they are based on the same template) you should be able
to use either method easily.

What you have to be careful about is if you are using Headers and Footers?
With a modern mid-range PC, you should be able to create your book as one
document. Keep the structure simple, avoid direct formatting (use Styles)
and avoid using Section Breaks if possible. If you just want Chapter
Headings and Page Numbers in Headers and Footers, you can use the StyleRef
field to change the H&Fs without the need to use Sections. This will keep
the document structure really simple.

Just remember to press the SAVE button regularly and make a separate,
off-computer backup at least daily.

--
Terry Farrell - Word MVP
http://www.mvps.org/word/

Hi,
I am writing a book and have done several separate chapters (using same
Template) and now want to combine them all into one document.

Is it wiser to use the "Insert from file" or "select all" "copy" then
"paste" into the one document?

I ask because I read long ago it was easy to corrupt a document using the
insert method?
Suggestions please.
Patti
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

Insert | File should be okay provided the chapter itself is not corrupt. If
there are no section breaks in the chapter file, then it will not bring
along any of its document formatting; if there are section breaks, then they
could be harboring corruption or at least unexpected formatting. But you
would have the same problem with copying and pasting unless you copied and
pasted a single section at a time (without the section break).

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.
 
P

Patti Barden

Thank you Suzanne. I thought the formatting was in the last paragraph mark
so when you insert or copy, you are bringing the formatting with you (if the
template is the same)?
Patti
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

No, Insert | File omits the last paragraph mark in every situation but one:
if you insert a file into a completely empty document, then, against all
logic, Word does bring along the document formatting. To work around this,
press Enter a couple of times before inserting the first file. If all the
documents are based on the same template, though, and you're inserting them
into another document based on the same template, this would not be an
issue.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.
 
J

JG

Patti, I don't know what version of Office/Word you have, but if you
have a version before 2000 around, you can try installing Binder and
using it. You can 'move' each of your chapeters to the Binder and treat
them as one all as one document without losing your formating. I prefer
doing this rather than inserting files into one doc.
 

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