Master/Sub Document vs. Insert File as Link

[Ron]

There seems to be a substantial amount of material written about why you
should NOT use Master Documents. The following was provided in response to
an earlier post of mine:

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How wedded are you to using the Master Document feature? I would highly
recommend using other means to achieve your ends. Check out these links
for why master documents are best avoided:

http://www.addbalance.com/word/masterdocuments.htm

http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/General/WhyMasterDocsCorrupt.htm

Just a little quote to spark your interest (from
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/General/RecoverMasterDocs.htm):

Master documents have been fatally buggy since Word 6, and remain so
through Word 2000. If you use them you lose them. They must never be
used for valuable text.

There is no way to successfully and safely use master documents. They
always corrupt eventually.


Thomas Campitelli

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I wish to clarify my understanding of the Master/Sub model. If I am not
using the features associated with
the Outline View toolbar (Expand, Create, Insert, Remove, Split
Sub-document), but instead using the
Insert -> File -> Insert File as Link feature of Word, will this cause
problems in managing a large document?

Is there a limit to the number of links (relative or absolute) that Word can
handle in a single document?

The version of Word that I am using is 2002 with SP3.

Thanks ahead of time for any assistance.

Ron

 

[Charles Kenyon]

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.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/magazine/technical/masterdocs.doc for
Steve Hudson's instructions if you are willing to follow them very
carefully.