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A master document is just like any other Word document with one exception. It contains subdocuments, which are other files within the master document. Besides, the real power is actually in subdocuments.
Each subdocument is separated by section breaks in the normal "Outline" view of Word. You can insert a subdocument from an existing file or create a new one from scratch. In addition, you can lock subdocuments so that they cannot be edited.
It is very easy to create a master document. All you have to do is just switch to "Outline" view in any document and start adding subdocuments to it.
Moreover, you can start a new master document with a blank document or with an existing document that already has other contents.
To create a master document from a new, blank document, follow the following steps:
- Choose "New" from the "File" menu
- Switch to "Outline" view. Then Word will display the Outlining toolbar, which includes several buttons for master documents, such as "Master Document View", "Collapse subdocuments", "Create subdocument", "Remove subdocument", "Insert subdocument", "Merge subdocument", "Split subdocument" and "Lock document" (from left to right).
- Enter a title or introductory text into the document, and then move the insertion point to the place where you want a subdocument to appear. As subdocuments are inserted after a section break, please ensure the insertion point is placed at the beginning of a blank line. In addition, leave at least one blank line between the point and the top of the document or between the point and any subdocument above it when you create or insert a new subdocument. The extra space will make it a lot easier to rearrange subdocuments later.
To create a new subdocument, follow the following steps:
- Move the insertion point to an empty line below which you want the subdocument to appear.
- Apply the "Heading 1" style to the line.
- Click the "Create Subdocument" button on the Outlining toolbar.
- Enter the title and text for the new document. Moreover, you can create other headings inside the subdocument, insert objects, or do anything else that you would do in "Outline" view.
- Save the master document when you are finished inserting text or objects into the subdocument. Word then automatically saves the subdocument as a separate file in the same folder. The Heading 1 heading at the top of the subdocument will also be used as the new filename.
If some parts of your master document already exist as separate files, you can follow these steps to insert them as subdocuments:
- Open the master document.
- Move the insertion point to the line below which you want the new subdocument to appear.
- Click the "Insert Subdocument" button and the "Insert Document" dialog box, which looks like the "Open" dialog box from the "File" menu, will appear.
- Locate the subdocument file in the "Open" dialog box, select it, and click the "Open" button.
In the next issue, I will introduce what we can do with subdocuments.
"Sharing IT as it applies to your daily life"
(Email address: "Daniel_KC_To@police. gov.hk")
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