Inserting pages or sections - document assembly

[stef]

Word 2002 SP3
Win XP Pro SP2

Hi,

I have a complex/long document (Business Plan) for which I need to
create sections for and insert in different places as I compose it.

By sections I am referring to composition section such as:
"Opportunities", etc.; as opposed to the technical meaning of section in
MS Word parlance.

The document is rather long and complex and is somewhat collaborative--I
get feedback from co-workers and amend (or not) accordingly.

Comments can be: Move section "Opportunities" in front of "Market
Analysis" or whatever--which means I need to shift either the 1 page or
the few pages that make up that section in a different spot--a very
unwieldy process.

For the time being, I have dealt with this by creating separate docs for
some of the sections which I am planning on inserting towards the end of
the whole effort--an document assembly process of some kind that I am
not sure is even possible in Word.

I know that worst case scenario, I can print the separate sections to
PDF, and then assemble the PDF as I want, in the desired sequence, etc.

However, this would leave me with a Word doc, that I use for
composing/editing, in several pieces--unassembled, and thus very much
less than ideal--especially if I want to use it later as a "template"
for future documents, etc.

I know some here will say: That's why PowerPoint was created--and that
is what I need to use.

However, I have not found PowerPoint as feature-full as Word and am more
comfortable with Word--would like to stick with it.

Any chance I could get some advice to help me with this document
assembly task or pointers as how to proceed with the document creation
so that I end up with a fully assembled and properly sequenced single
document?

Thanks so much.

 

[Jean-Guy Marcil]

Word 2002 SP3
Win XP Pro SP2

Hi,

I have a complex/long document (Business Plan) for which I need to
create sections for and insert in different places as I compose it.

By sections I am referring to composition section such as:
"Opportunities", etc.; as opposed to the technical meaning of section in
MS Word parlance.

The document is rather long and complex and is somewhat collaborative--I
get feedback from co-workers and amend (or not) accordingly.

Comments can be: Move section "Opportunities" in front of "Market
Analysis" or whatever--which means I need to shift either the 1 page or
the few pages that make up that section in a different spot--a very
unwieldy process.

For the time being, I have dealt with this by creating separate docs for
some of the sections which I am planning on inserting towards the end of
the whole effort--an document assembly process of some kind that I am
not sure is even possible in Word.

I know that worst case scenario, I can print the separate sections to
PDF, and then assemble the PDF as I want, in the desired sequence, etc.

However, this would leave me with a Word doc, that I use for
composing/editing, in several pieces--unassembled, and thus very much
less than ideal--especially if I want to use it later as a "template"
for future documents, etc.

I know some here will say: That's why PowerPoint was created--and that
is what I need to use.

However, I have not found PowerPoint as feature-full as Word and am more
comfortable with Word--would like to stick with it.

Any chance I could get some advice to help me with this document
assembly task or pointers as how to proceed with the document creation
so that I end up with a fully assembled and properly sequenced single
document?

Use a single document.
Format all Section titles with the Heading 1 style.
View > Toolbars > Outlining
Display thge document map (The toolbar button immediatley before the Show
All "¶" button on the standard toolbar).
Collpase all the headings in the the document map pane.
Select a heading you want to move in the document pane.
Use the Blue up/down arrow on the Outlining toolbar to move that section up
or down. All the text between this section title and the next Heading 1
paragraph will move along.

This is why we should always use the built in heading styles, for more on
the topic, see:
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/numbering/UseBuiltInHeadingStyles.html

 

[stef]

jean-Guy:

That is GREAT advice--I believe exactly what I needed.

I don't have a lot of experience using Heading Styles but have
recognized them and the Outlining feature as extremely useful.

Quick question:

a) Is there a command to "collapse all" sections? I have not found it,
so far, have to go through each section and collapse it manually.

b) How do I view the document/pages with the heading styles so that I
can quickly see which section or text is which style and modify
according to need?

Thanks!

 

[stef]

One more question:

c) I thought I read somewhere that modifying the built-in Heading Styles
(or bullets for example) was NOT a good idea.

I don't particularly like the font and size of the Heading1 styles--How
can I modify it to taste without causing major damage in Word or losing
the original built-in style?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

There is absolutely no reason not to modify the heading styles. They're
there for your use. Do with them what you will. This is far superior than
reinventing the wheel by trying to create your own.

 

[stef]

OK no problems. Will do then.
Thanks.