When to split a long document into separate files?

[MartinTosas]

Hi there,

I have some doubts about whether to split a long document that I'm
writing at the moment into separate files.

From what size, and maybe, for what type of content, is it worth to
separate a word document into separate files? for example: one file for
each chapter.

The type of document I'm writing will be about 300 pages; with lots of
figures, which I insert inline and linked to .tiff files; and quite many
equations, which, I think, they are embedded objects from equation
editor; I don't use textboxes, and I don't use sections, because I've
read they could lead to corruptions???

What do you recommend for this type/size of document?

Cheers
Martin.

 

[Jezebel]

The short answer is, break it up when it becomes more convenient to work
with: if you find that it's becoming tedious to scroll or slow to load, then
break it up. But you probably won't need to. 300 pages is no big deal.

Sections and textboxes are not common causes of corruption. Perhaps you've
read about the problems with masterdocuments: these are notoriously prone to
corruption, to which sections are relevant. But in ordinary documents
sections are not an issue.

 

[MartinTosas]

Thanks Jezebel,

You know, I started this document in only one file, and it got
corrupted, I couldn't save it, each time I try to save it word would
crash. At that moment, the document only had about 50 pages! but no
template, no styles, lots of figures, which I use to insert (not linked)
inside textboxes, in order to be able to move them around.

So then I read lots of tips about how to work with word without
corrupting the document, and I radically changed the whole document. One
file for each chapter, linked inline figures, no text boxes (I use
tables instead if I need to put text in a box), no bullet or numbered
lists, I use templates, styles... however it's a bit of a pain to have
to deal with many files, mainly for cross-referencing to an item that is
in another file.

So now, I was thinking to put the chapters again in a single file...
with some doubts about whether it would be alright.


Martin.

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

Hi Martin:

I think Jezebel's right: Word will be fine up to about 5,500 pages in a
single file.

It will start to slow down at 1,000 pages, and may be too slow to work
conveniently by 2,500 pages.

Really, the size of the file on disk is your biggest problem. Anything over
32 MB is pushing the friendship, anything over 100 MB will take forever to
save

The changes you have made are part of good document housekeeping. Bulleted
and numbered lists are fine if you set up styles to apply them and apply the
bullets and numbering by applying the styles -- stay OUT of the
Format>Bullets and Numbering dialog in a long document or it will corrupt.

Tables are fine provided you do not allow them to span more than about 20
pages, and turn off the "Automatically resize to fit the contents" option in
the table. Also: Set your tables Inline with Text, NOT floating.

Generally, "floating" anything is bad it uses a lot of CPU and memory
and contributes to problems.

Hope this helps

Thanks Jezebel,

You know, I started this document in only one file, and it got
corrupted, I couldn't save it, each time I try to save it word would
crash. At that moment, the document only had about 50 pages! but no
template, no styles, lots of figures, which I use to insert (not linked)
inside textboxes, in order to be able to move them around.

So then I read lots of tips about how to work with word without
corrupting the document, and I radically changed the whole document. One
file for each chapter, linked inline figures, no text boxes (I use
tables instead if I need to put text in a box), no bullet or numbered
lists, I use templates, styles... however it's a bit of a pain to have
to deal with many files, mainly for cross-referencing to an item that is
in another file.

So now, I was thinking to put the chapters again in a single file...
with some doubts about whether it would be alright.


Martin.

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 (0) 4 1209 1410

 

[MartinTosas]

Thanks John, very helpful.

Martin.

Hi Martin:

I think Jezebel's right: Word will be fine up to about 5,500 pages in a
single file.

It will start to slow down at 1,000 pages, and may be too slow to work
conveniently by 2,500 pages.

Really, the size of the file on disk is your biggest problem. Anything over
32 MB is pushing the friendship, anything over 100 MB will take forever to
save

The changes you have made are part of good document housekeeping. Bulleted
and numbered lists are fine if you set up styles to apply them and apply the
bullets and numbering by applying the styles -- stay OUT of the
Format>Bullets and Numbering dialog in a long document or it will corrupt.

Tables are fine provided you do not allow them to span more than about 20
pages, and turn off the "Automatically resize to fit the contents" option in
the table. Also: Set your tables Inline with Text, NOT floating.

Generally, "floating" anything is bad it uses a lot of CPU and memory
and contributes to problems.

Hope this helps

 

[Paul]

Hi,

The changes you have made are part of good document housekeeping.
Bulleted
and numbered lists are fine if you set up styles to apply them and apply
the
bullets and numbering by applying the styles

I'm afraid I've had a lot of problems with bullets and numbering in long
documents (100 pages plus, 10Mb plus in Word 2003) even where *all*
instances of bullets and numbering are set up and applied via Styles. The
only solutions I've found are to repeatedly delete and recreate the styles
and to delete and recreate the text in some instances.

Paul

 

[Robert M. Franz (RMF)]

Hello Paul

I'm afraid I've had a lot of problems with bullets and numbering in long
documents (100 pages plus, 10Mb plus in Word 2003) even where *all*
instances of bullets and numbering are set up and applied via Styles. The
only solutions I've found are to repeatedly delete and recreate the styles
and to delete and recreate the text in some instances.

The following articles might be of interest to you:

Ins and outs of bullets and numbering in Word
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011376791033.aspx

See the section on "Numbering, bullets, Headings, Outlines" (by Shauna
Kelly)
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/
How to restart style-based numbering (by Margaret Aldis)
http://word.mvps.org/faqs/numbering/ListRestartMethods.htm
Word's numbering explained (by John McGhie)
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Numbering/WordsNumberingExplained.htm
http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.word.formatting.longdocs/msg/6bbef235ea616aec?hl=en&

HTH
Robert

 

[Charles Kenyon]

It isn't enough to set them up through styles. You have to follow specific
steps, and only those steps. See: How to create numbered headings or outline
numbering in your Word document
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/numbering/OutlineNumbering.html. (For
bullets see http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/bullets/controlbullets.html, the
subject is related.)

This is based on ...

Word's Numbering Explained
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Numbering/WordsNumberingExplained.htm

Additional information you may find useful or need is at:

How to Create a Template, Part II
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Customization/CreateATemplatePart2.htm


--
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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