Master Document Won't Close, Won't Make Subdocuments

[Jonathan]

I'm using Word 2003 on XP and have a long document I'm tying to chop up
into several subdocuments.

When I do this, the master document appears to mark the sections I
choose as subdocuments OK, but does not write out the subdocument files.
When I try to close the master document, I get a dialogue asking me if I
want to save my changes. If I choose "yes" it appears to save, but still
does not produce the subdocuments. If I then try to close the document
again it asks me if I want to save. The only way I can close the
document is to give up and cancel.

What's the problem? Why can't I create the subdocuments?

Thanks for any help.

Jonathan

 

[Graham Mayor]

Don't do this! leave it as a single document. The Master document function
is notoriously bug ridden and sooner or later it will corrupt your
documents. Word can handle documents of hundreds, even thousands, of pages.

--
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Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

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[Jonathan]

Don't do this! leave it as a single document. The Master document function
is notoriously bug ridden and sooner or later it will corrupt your
documents. Word can handle documents of hundreds, even thousands, of pages.

Oh OK, thanks for the warning!

The trouble is that I need to split the document up so that several
people can work on it (it's already about 900 pages long).

Would I be able to use the INCLUDETEXT field for this?

 

[Graham Mayor]

Oh OK, thanks for the warning!

The trouble is that I need to split the document up so that several
people can work on it (it's already about 900 pages long).

Would I be able to use the INCLUDETEXT field for this?

That would be a better plan

For want of a better word the new 'master document' would have to be updated
to reflect the changes in the other documents, but it should be a more
reliable document. I would also ensure that you make regular backups

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Charles Kenyon]

Sorry, I don't have an answer because I don't use Master Documents. However,
you may need the reason I don't more than you need an answer. "Master
Document" is a term of art in Word referring to a "feature" that not only
doesn't work but also destroys documents. The consensus (with the limited
exception of Steve Hudson) among those offering advice on these newsgroups
is that using the Master Document feature is a good way to destroy your
document. It can destroy parts of your document that you are not even
working on! I think John McGhie said it succinctly when he said that there
are two kinds of Master Documents: Those that are corrupt and those that
will be corrupt soon. See
http://www.addbalance.com/word/masterdocuments.htm for information on the
Master Document feature and workarounds. See
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/General/WhyMasterDocsCorrupt.htm for more
information on what goes wrong, and
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/General/RecoverMasterDocs.htm for ideas on how
to salvage what you can. See
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/magazine/technical/masterdocs.doc for
Steve Hudson's instructions if you are willing to follow them very
carefully.

Word handles very long documents quite well so long as they are formatted
using styles, don't contain manual page breaks and other unnecessary direct
formatting.
--

Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


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