Master Document '02 version

[Blake]

I have been using the Master Document feature on Word
2002 and have experienced horendous problem after
horendous problem with it, including Word crash again and
again. I had read that the 2002 version was supposed to
be less buggy than previous versions (I could not imagine
it being more buggy than it is now); I have since read
advice that applied to 2000 versions and sooner that
recommended NOT using the Master Document feature. Does
this advice still hold for 2002 version (as it seems to
from my experience)? Or, if Master Documents is improved
as has been claimed, does anyone have any general advice
about how to make it work?

Thanks for any help.

 

[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.addbalance.com/word/masterdocuments.htm> for information on the
Master Document feature and workarounds. (This page also has a link to Steve
Hudson's chapter on how he gets Master Documents to work.) 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.

That is, the advice to avoid using them still applies in Word 2002. It is
likely to apply in Word 2003 and following as well. It continues to be
listed as a feature because Word Perfect has a working Master Document
feature. I don't know that anyone at MS intends to actually make it work or
even understands why it is important that people know that it doesn't work.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory:
<URL: http://addbalance.com/word/index.htm>

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

See also the MVP FAQ: <URL: http://www.mvps.org/word/> which is awesome!
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