Master documents - TOC etc.

[Guest]

I'm using Word 97, and trying to create a table of contents in the master document. It's all fouled up. For example, every subdocument (chapter) has a (customized) heading - the heading isthe chapter title, and is numbered
- ALthough the chapter numbering works fine in the master doc, it's messed up in the TOC- that is, some chapters are numbered and some are not. I turned on paragraph marks and hidden text, but cannot find any difference in formatting between those headings that have numbers in the TOC, and those that only have numbers outside of the TOC

- And, in Format> Bullets and Numbering, why are the Continue from Previous and Restart options greyed out, when I try to re-format my headings or heading styles? This drives me nuts. THis happens whether I am working in the master document, or in the subdocuments

THanks for any help. I have searched this Microsoft support site for documents about TOCs in the master documents, and cannot find anything

 

[Larry Randall]

It is an absolute fact that you *will* have a corruption
if you use Word's "Master Document" feature.

The only way to safely create large documents in Word is
to create them as a group of separate files, then convert
to PDF and join the files into a book. The master TOC
will have to be "hand crafted" by copying each unit TOC,
pasteing (Paste Special) as unformatted text, then
applying the TOC format. (Pasting as unformatted text is
necessary to prevent the copied TOC from becoming
a "universal" TOC.) If you have the unit TOC set up to
use chapter - page, your master TOC will carry this format.

Word attempted to copy the Master Document - Sub-document
feature from WordPerfect, and - like many other MS copies
of WP features - it has never worked. The Word page
numbering is severly limited, and this becomes a problem
in large documents. Also, as you have experienced, the
TOC gets confused.

If you can use it, this task is *much* simpler in
WordPerfect. You have many more document features, full
control of numbering, and can use a Master document with
no problems. (WP also reads Word files, and just about
every other format.) The cost of the extra time required
to do this in Word will easily pay for the WP Suite.

FrameMaker is a high-end publishing tool that is nice to
have, but offers little advantage over WP in most uses.
If you truly need 4 color, color separation, and color
matching, FrameMaker is *the* excellent choice.

Word is a text processor. WordPerfect is a word
processor / Desktop Publishing tool that offers precision
page layout. Word is a useful tool for the purpose for
which it was designed - simple text and non-precision
layout. It is *not* a "universal" tool.

Larry Randall
Certified Word Expert

-----Original Message-----
I'm using Word 97, and trying to create a table of

contents in the master document. It's all fouled up. For
example, every subdocument (chapter) has a (customized)
heading - the heading isthe chapter title, and is numbered.

- ALthough the chapter numbering works fine in the master

doc, it's messed up in the TOC- that is, some chapters are
numbered and some are not. I turned on paragraph marks
and hidden text, but cannot find any difference in
formatting between those headings that have numbers in the
TOC, and those that only have numbers outside of the TOC.

- And, in Format> Bullets and Numbering, why are the

Continue from Previous and Restart options greyed out,
when I try to re-format my headings or heading styles?
This drives me nuts. THis happens whether I am working in
the master document, or in the subdocuments.

THanks for any help. I have searched this Microsoft

support site for documents about TOCs in the master
documents, and cannot find anything.

 

[Graham Mayor]

The Master Document function in Word is broken and will sooner or later
corrupt your document, so stop using it, unless you have lots of backups.

The simplest plan is to combine all the chapters in a single large document,
which will at a stroke avoid all the problems you are experiencing. Word can
handle huge documents. I personally have used it for books up to 600 pages,
and I know of others who have used it with books or thousands of pages.

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

Web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site www.mvps.org/word
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>>< ><<>

 

[Charles Kenyon]

--
"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 sure 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 <URL:
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/General/WhyMasterDocsCorrupt.htm> for more
information on what goes wrong, and <URL:
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/General/RecoverMasterDocs.htm> for ideas on
how to salvage what you can.

--

Charles Kenyon

See the MVP FAQ: <URL: http://www.mvps.org/word/> which is awesome!
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.

I'm using Word 97, and trying to create a table of contents in the master

document. It's all fouled up. For example, every subdocument (chapter) has a
(customized) heading - the heading isthe chapter title, and is numbered.

- ALthough the chapter numbering works fine in the master doc, it's messed

up in the TOC- that is, some chapters are numbered and some are not. I
turned on paragraph marks and hidden text, but cannot find any difference in
formatting between those headings that have numbers in the TOC, and those
that only have numbers outside of the TOC.

- And, in Format> Bullets and Numbering, why are the Continue from

Previous and Restart options greyed out, when I try to re-format my headings
or heading styles? This drives me nuts. THis happens whether I am working in
the master document, or in the subdocuments.

THanks for any help. I have searched this Microsoft support site for

documents about TOCs in the master documents, and cannot find anything.

 

[Guest]

Thank you all, Larry, Graham, and Charles, for your prompt and helpful answers. You have saved me a lot of time
Isn't it wonderful that Microsoft has profited so handsomely off this product
BTW - I was thinking of upgrading to Word 2000 - worth it??

 

[Graham Mayor]

Thank you all, Larry, Graham, and Charles, for your prompt and
helpful answers. You have saved me a lot of time. Isn't it wonderful
that Microsoft has profited so handsomely off this product?
BTW - I was thinking of upgrading to Word 2000 - worth it??

Have you a source for Word 2000? We are up to 2003?
Word 2000 is arguably the easiest of the Word versions to use, but having
said that, with both available here, I still automatically use 2003 - which
does have some additions, some of which are useful, other less so. Whether
the upgrade is *necessary* is another matter entirely. In the right hands,
Word 97 can produce the same range of documents as Word 2003.

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

Web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site www.mvps.org/word
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>>< ><<>

 

[Big Mike]

The Master Document function in Word is broken and will sooner or later
corrupt your document, so stop using it, unless you have lots of backups.

Take a look at

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 237274
"WD97: Error Message: "This Document May Be Corrupt" After Switching
Between Bullet and Number List Format"

Apply the suggested fix and see if it helps.

--Mike