Although theoretically Word could be designed along the lines you described,
it wasn't. Word doesn't have any kind of partial document locking mechanism
like a database -- it's the whole document or nothing.

You can use separate documents for the sections, and bring them together
into a single document by using IncludeText fields (and RD fields for
constructing a table of contents and index). To date the Master Document
feature is broken and frequently damages documents, so don't use it
(http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/General/RecoverMasterDocs.htm).

Alternatively, you might be able to use a SharePoint server or a version
control system to manage the checkouts.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

Boiler98 wrote:
Hello all.

Does anyone know of any Word plugins that would allow multiple
individuals to modify a single document at the same time?

The application could (as I see it) define multiple sections to a
single document. These sections could then be checked out by
individuals to modify, instead of the entire document. This would
allow me to work on Section 1 while someone else works on Section 3.

Thanks!