Hi Charles,
I agree completely with what you and others have said about Master
Documents. I have become very frustrated with using them in previous
versions, and I don't intend to use them again. However, I have many lengthy
files from the past which have used master documents. Most of these have
since been opened and converted to PDF files, but I still have a few that I
would like to convert from Word. If Microsoft Word and Publisher can't cope
satisfactorily with these large files, I will need to look elsewhere -
probably, to one of the DTP software packages. I've hesitated from doing this
in the past, as I wanted to maintain maximum compatibility with Microsoft
files.
:
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.
--
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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from my ignorance and your wisdom.
I have a number of book-length documents in Word 2003 doc format, each
chapter using a separate Master Document. How do I open or display Master
Document pages in Word 2007? I want to view and edit the entire document -
not just individual chapters.