issues with inserting linked files into a document

[Gabe]

I'm using Word 2003 and I'm trying to find out if it's
feasible to create a document, with a table of contents,
tables, and figures, which is comprised of several files
inserted as links which total ~600 pages. I've been doing
experiments by inserting small files (~20 pages each) as
chapters into a master document and then generating a
PDF, and have found that at 90 pages, my cross references
don't update correctly and certain styles are broken.
Does anyone know workarounds or fixes for these problems,
or does anyone if this idea simply won't work? Thanks for
your help,

Gabe

 

[Anne Troy]

Helps tremendously to know why you're linking the files in the first place.
Is it the file size? Perhaps you need to cut down on the size of your
graphics instead?
Save to a new name and delete all the graphics out of the file, and see what
size it comes to.
<-*-><-*-><-*-><-*-><-*-><-*-><-*-><-*->
Hope this helps!
Anne Troy (better known as Dreamboat)
Author: Dreamboat on Word
Email: Dreamboat*at*Piersontech.com
Web: www.TheOfficeExperts.com
<-*-><-*-><-*-><-*-><-*-><-*-><-*-><-*->

 

[Ronald Florence]

Helps tremendously to know why you're linking the files in the first place.
[...]

I'm using Word 2003 and I'm trying to find out if it's
feasible to create a document, with a table of contents,
tables, and figures, which is comprised of several files
inserted as links which total ~600 pages.

I suspect he's linking files into a single document for the same
reason many of us do: because the master-file feature in ms-word is
badly broken. With many word-processors (LyX, OpenOffice), it is
simple and reliable to create a long document like a book manuscript
with a master file. That feature does not work reliably in ms-word,
so those of us who must use ms-word for compatiblity reasons need a
workaround for manuscripts.

Trusting an entire book to a single file is slow, inconvenient, and
dangerous. The logical way to prepare a book manuscript is one file
per chapter, and a master file for the title page, dedication,
previous-works, epigrams, table of contents and other front-matter,
and optionally for back-matter. The individual chapters can then be
submitted separately if the publisher demands it that way (many trade
publishers do), or the entire manuscript can be printed from the
master file.

This is only a useful scheme if the individual chapters can be changed
and have the changes appear in the master, which inserting files as
links allows. The problem, apparently, is that this is another area
where ms-word is a bit flaky. So the poster (and I suspect many
others, including me) would like to know how to make inserting files
as links more reliable.

 

[macropod]

Hi Gabe,

If all you need is a means to generate a Table of Contents (TOC) for the
files, you can do this by creating a new (target) document, inserting a TOC
field and using RD fields pointing to the source documents. I've used this
myself to produce a TOC from 70+files accounting for 550 pages. Ordinarily,
this would still mean producing separate files for both the TOC and each of
the chapters, but Acrobat may be able to stitch them together.

Alternatively, you can consolidate the documents by creating a new (target)
document and using INCLUDETEXT fields to import the source documents'
contents into the new document. Cross-reference links etc should still work
correctly in the target document. That would give you one output file and
has the advantage of ensuring that all styles are reproduced the way they
are defined in the target document.

Both techniques have a common potential disadvantage that also affects any
file with links to external objects: namely, if you move any of the external
files to a new folder the links will break. You can remedy that using the
field link updating macro available at:
http://www.wopr.com/cgi-bin/w3t/showthreaded.pl?Number=261488
(url all one line)

Cheers