Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
Posted to microsoft.public.word.docmanagement
|
|||
|
|||
Indexes, Fields and Master Documents
I posted about this before but I now have more questions so I'll start with a
fresh post. I'm trying to create a single index for multiple documents. I'm trying to *avoid* creating a Master Document because I have heard such horror stories about them. But it occurred to me that I might wind up creating one without intending to!! So here's the situation and my questions... SITUATION: I have a bunch of Word documents which are chapters in a book. Each chapter document currently has its own index. I've been asked to create a separate "umbrella" index document that will hold a single index for all of these documents. I've also been asked to keep track of which chapter each occurrence of a word comes from, so that "aardvark" will show as (for example) "Ch1-pg4" in the central index. So simply combining all of the chapters into one large document isn't really an option. MY FIRST QUESTION: One option I thought of exploring is to simply copy the existing individual indexes into a separate document and then see if I can play with them there. So I tried it and found that if I copy a chapter's index into another document, the Index field does indeed pull in the index information from the source document. But does that mean I'm now working with a "Master Document" that could cause me problems?? From what I can understand about MDs, which pull in information from other documents, this might mean I'm inadvertently creating a MD and will run into the same problems as if I was deliberately trying to create one. Can anyone definitely confirm or deny if this would be the case? I'm terrified that I'm going to unintentionally create a MD and really have a nightmare of problems, especially if I don't even realise I'm doing that! MY SECOND QUESTION: Regardless of where the index is (in the source document or in a separate document), is there a way to take the results of an Index field (i.e., the Index itself) and create a text version of it instead of it being a field? In other words, this would be something like converting formulas to values in Excel, where instead of copying the formula of "2+3" it would copy the end value of "5". In the central index, instead of copying the field itself {INDEX} it would copy the contents of the index (as in "Aardvark.....4" etc.). Does that make sense? If I can do this, it might solve a lot of problems, since I could just create a macro to extract the text index and then massage it into the format I want. MY THIRD/LAST QUESTION: Is there a way to go through a document (e.g., using a macro) and extract a list of all the words that have {XE} fields attached to them? I haven't tried this but I'm thinking another option might be to collect all the words that the previous author has already marked with XE fields (which are collected into the Index field at the end of the document), and then compile them into a concordance table and create my own separate indexes for each chapter. In other words, start with my own indexes where I might be able to control the output more (?) instead of the existing ones. I guess I'm just trying to figure out the best way to do this and I'm looking for some advice and suggestions. These documents (and therefore the final index) are likely to be changed before the finals are ready for publication, so I need to find a way to create this "umbrella" index so that it doesn't take days of work each time a change is made and so that it doesn't create nightmares when changes are applied. Thanks very much for any help with this!! Jo |
#2
Posted to microsoft.public.word.docmanagement
|
|||
|
|||
Indexes, Fields and Master Documents
When you copy/paste an index into another document, it is still "live." If
you updated the field, Word would tell you there were no index entries found. You can unlink the field with Ctrl+Shift+F9; this converts it to text. You might want to investigate the RD (Referenced Document) field, which allows you to create an index or TOC based on multiple documents. Also see "Creating a Table of Contents Spanning Multiple Documents" at http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/P...cle.asp?ID=148 -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. "Jo" wrote in message ... I posted about this before but I now have more questions so I'll start with a fresh post. I'm trying to create a single index for multiple documents. I'm trying to *avoid* creating a Master Document because I have heard such horror stories about them. But it occurred to me that I might wind up creating one without intending to!! So here's the situation and my questions... SITUATION: I have a bunch of Word documents which are chapters in a book. Each chapter document currently has its own index. I've been asked to create a separate "umbrella" index document that will hold a single index for all of these documents. I've also been asked to keep track of which chapter each occurrence of a word comes from, so that "aardvark" will show as (for example) "Ch1-pg4" in the central index. So simply combining all of the chapters into one large document isn't really an option. MY FIRST QUESTION: One option I thought of exploring is to simply copy the existing individual indexes into a separate document and then see if I can play with them there. So I tried it and found that if I copy a chapter's index into another document, the Index field does indeed pull in the index information from the source document. But does that mean I'm now working with a "Master Document" that could cause me problems?? From what I can understand about MDs, which pull in information from other documents, this might mean I'm inadvertently creating a MD and will run into the same problems as if I was deliberately trying to create one. Can anyone definitely confirm or deny if this would be the case? I'm terrified that I'm going to unintentionally create a MD and really have a nightmare of problems, especially if I don't even realise I'm doing that! MY SECOND QUESTION: Regardless of where the index is (in the source document or in a separate document), is there a way to take the results of an Index field (i.e., the Index itself) and create a text version of it instead of it being a field? In other words, this would be something like converting formulas to values in Excel, where instead of copying the formula of "2+3" it would copy the end value of "5". In the central index, instead of copying the field itself {INDEX} it would copy the contents of the index (as in "Aardvark.....4" etc.). Does that make sense? If I can do this, it might solve a lot of problems, since I could just create a macro to extract the text index and then massage it into the format I want. MY THIRD/LAST QUESTION: Is there a way to go through a document (e.g., using a macro) and extract a list of all the words that have {XE} fields attached to them? I haven't tried this but I'm thinking another option might be to collect all the words that the previous author has already marked with XE fields (which are collected into the Index field at the end of the document), and then compile them into a concordance table and create my own separate indexes for each chapter. In other words, start with my own indexes where I might be able to control the output more (?) instead of the existing ones. I guess I'm just trying to figure out the best way to do this and I'm looking for some advice and suggestions. These documents (and therefore the final index) are likely to be changed before the finals are ready for publication, so I need to find a way to create this "umbrella" index so that it doesn't take days of work each time a change is made and so that it doesn't create nightmares when changes are applied. Thanks very much for any help with this!! Jo |
#3
Posted to microsoft.public.word.docmanagement
|
|||
|
|||
Indexes, Fields and Master Documents
Thanks Susanne! The Ctrl-Shift-F9 is really helpful! Yes, I am aware of
TechTrax's great instructions page and it has really helped me to get this far. I just wasn't sure where to go from here, since I need to do things beyond a straightforward index (like put Section and Chapter numbers with the page numbers). When I did some preliminary testing using RD fields and my own test files, I had used a concordance table which was wonderfully convenient. But the author of this multi-document book has already marked the words to be indexed with XE fields. That's why I wondered if I could use some macro to collect all of these XE'ed words into a central document. ....But I guess if I can import the chapter index and convert it to text, I can get them that way, right? Does that sound to you like it will work? Thanks for your help! Jo "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: When you copy/paste an index into another document, it is still "live." If you updated the field, Word would tell you there were no index entries found. You can unlink the field with Ctrl+Shift+F9; this converts it to text. You might want to investigate the RD (Referenced Document) field, which allows you to create an index or TOC based on multiple documents. Also see "Creating a Table of Contents Spanning Multiple Documents" at http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/P...cle.asp?ID=148 -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. "Jo" wrote in message ... I posted about this before but I now have more questions so I'll start with a fresh post. I'm trying to create a single index for multiple documents. I'm trying to *avoid* creating a Master Document because I have heard such horror stories about them. But it occurred to me that I might wind up creating one without intending to!! So here's the situation and my questions... SITUATION: I have a bunch of Word documents which are chapters in a book. Each chapter document currently has its own index. I've been asked to create a separate "umbrella" index document that will hold a single index for all of these documents. I've also been asked to keep track of which chapter each occurrence of a word comes from, so that "aardvark" will show as (for example) "Ch1-pg4" in the central index. So simply combining all of the chapters into one large document isn't really an option. MY FIRST QUESTION: One option I thought of exploring is to simply copy the existing individual indexes into a separate document and then see if I can play with them there. So I tried it and found that if I copy a chapter's index into another document, the Index field does indeed pull in the index information from the source document. But does that mean I'm now working with a "Master Document" that could cause me problems?? From what I can understand about MDs, which pull in information from other documents, this might mean I'm inadvertently creating a MD and will run into the same problems as if I was deliberately trying to create one. Can anyone definitely confirm or deny if this would be the case? I'm terrified that I'm going to unintentionally create a MD and really have a nightmare of problems, especially if I don't even realise I'm doing that! MY SECOND QUESTION: Regardless of where the index is (in the source document or in a separate document), is there a way to take the results of an Index field (i.e., the Index itself) and create a text version of it instead of it being a field? In other words, this would be something like converting formulas to values in Excel, where instead of copying the formula of "2+3" it would copy the end value of "5". In the central index, instead of copying the field itself {INDEX} it would copy the contents of the index (as in "Aardvark.....4" etc.). Does that make sense? If I can do this, it might solve a lot of problems, since I could just create a macro to extract the text index and then massage it into the format I want. MY THIRD/LAST QUESTION: Is there a way to go through a document (e.g., using a macro) and extract a list of all the words that have {XE} fields attached to them? I haven't tried this but I'm thinking another option might be to collect all the words that the previous author has already marked with XE fields (which are collected into the Index field at the end of the document), and then compile them into a concordance table and create my own separate indexes for each chapter. In other words, start with my own indexes where I might be able to control the output more (?) instead of the existing ones. I guess I'm just trying to figure out the best way to do this and I'm looking for some advice and suggestions. These documents (and therefore the final index) are likely to be changed before the finals are ready for publication, so I need to find a way to create this "umbrella" index so that it doesn't take days of work each time a change is made and so that it doesn't create nightmares when changes are applied. Thanks very much for any help with this!! Jo |
#4
Posted to microsoft.public.word.docmanagement
|
|||
|
|||
Indexes, Fields and Master Documents
You can put together all the indexes, converted to text, and possibly do
some sort of sorting, but if there are subentries, it might be difficult to make it work. -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. "Jo" wrote in message ... Thanks Susanne! The Ctrl-Shift-F9 is really helpful! Yes, I am aware of TechTrax's great instructions page and it has really helped me to get this far. I just wasn't sure where to go from here, since I need to do things beyond a straightforward index (like put Section and Chapter numbers with the page numbers). When I did some preliminary testing using RD fields and my own test files, I had used a concordance table which was wonderfully convenient. But the author of this multi-document book has already marked the words to be indexed with XE fields. That's why I wondered if I could use some macro to collect all of these XE'ed words into a central document. ...But I guess if I can import the chapter index and convert it to text, I can get them that way, right? Does that sound to you like it will work? Thanks for your help! Jo "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: When you copy/paste an index into another document, it is still "live." If you updated the field, Word would tell you there were no index entries found. You can unlink the field with Ctrl+Shift+F9; this converts it to text. You might want to investigate the RD (Referenced Document) field, which allows you to create an index or TOC based on multiple documents. Also see "Creating a Table of Contents Spanning Multiple Documents" at http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/P...cle.asp?ID=148 -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. "Jo" wrote in message ... I posted about this before but I now have more questions so I'll start with a fresh post. I'm trying to create a single index for multiple documents. I'm trying to *avoid* creating a Master Document because I have heard such horror stories about them. But it occurred to me that I might wind up creating one without intending to!! So here's the situation and my questions... SITUATION: I have a bunch of Word documents which are chapters in a book. Each chapter document currently has its own index. I've been asked to create a separate "umbrella" index document that will hold a single index for all of these documents. I've also been asked to keep track of which chapter each occurrence of a word comes from, so that "aardvark" will show as (for example) "Ch1-pg4" in the central index. So simply combining all of the chapters into one large document isn't really an option. MY FIRST QUESTION: One option I thought of exploring is to simply copy the existing individual indexes into a separate document and then see if I can play with them there. So I tried it and found that if I copy a chapter's index into another document, the Index field does indeed pull in the index information from the source document. But does that mean I'm now working with a "Master Document" that could cause me problems?? From what I can understand about MDs, which pull in information from other documents, this might mean I'm inadvertently creating a MD and will run into the same problems as if I was deliberately trying to create one. Can anyone definitely confirm or deny if this would be the case? I'm terrified that I'm going to unintentionally create a MD and really have a nightmare of problems, especially if I don't even realise I'm doing that! MY SECOND QUESTION: Regardless of where the index is (in the source document or in a separate document), is there a way to take the results of an Index field (i.e., the Index itself) and create a text version of it instead of it being a field? In other words, this would be something like converting formulas to values in Excel, where instead of copying the formula of "2+3" it would copy the end value of "5". In the central index, instead of copying the field itself {INDEX} it would copy the contents of the index (as in "Aardvark.....4" etc.). Does that make sense? If I can do this, it might solve a lot of problems, since I could just create a macro to extract the text index and then massage it into the format I want. MY THIRD/LAST QUESTION: Is there a way to go through a document (e.g., using a macro) and extract a list of all the words that have {XE} fields attached to them? I haven't tried this but I'm thinking another option might be to collect all the words that the previous author has already marked with XE fields (which are collected into the Index field at the end of the document), and then compile them into a concordance table and create my own separate indexes for each chapter. In other words, start with my own indexes where I might be able to control the output more (?) instead of the existing ones. I guess I'm just trying to figure out the best way to do this and I'm looking for some advice and suggestions. These documents (and therefore the final index) are likely to be changed before the finals are ready for publication, so I need to find a way to create this "umbrella" index so that it doesn't take days of work each time a change is made and so that it doesn't create nightmares when changes are applied. Thanks very much for any help with this!! Jo |
#5
Posted to microsoft.public.word.docmanagement
|
|||
|
|||
Indexes, Fields and Master Documents
Okay. I assume by "subentries" you mean where there's a general category and
then instances of things in that category (like Mercury, Venus, Mars would be under Planets)? Thanks for your help. :-) Jo "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: You can put together all the indexes, converted to text, and possibly do some sort of sorting, but if there are subentries, it might be difficult to make it work. -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. "Jo" wrote in message ... Thanks Susanne! The Ctrl-Shift-F9 is really helpful! Yes, I am aware of TechTrax's great instructions page and it has really helped me to get this far. I just wasn't sure where to go from here, since I need to do things beyond a straightforward index (like put Section and Chapter numbers with the page numbers). When I did some preliminary testing using RD fields and my own test files, I had used a concordance table which was wonderfully convenient. But the author of this multi-document book has already marked the words to be indexed with XE fields. That's why I wondered if I could use some macro to collect all of these XE'ed words into a central document. ...But I guess if I can import the chapter index and convert it to text, I can get them that way, right? Does that sound to you like it will work? Thanks for your help! Jo "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: When you copy/paste an index into another document, it is still "live." If you updated the field, Word would tell you there were no index entries found. You can unlink the field with Ctrl+Shift+F9; this converts it to text. You might want to investigate the RD (Referenced Document) field, which allows you to create an index or TOC based on multiple documents. Also see "Creating a Table of Contents Spanning Multiple Documents" at http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/P...cle.asp?ID=148 -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. "Jo" wrote in message ... I posted about this before but I now have more questions so I'll start with a fresh post. I'm trying to create a single index for multiple documents. I'm trying to *avoid* creating a Master Document because I have heard such horror stories about them. But it occurred to me that I might wind up creating one without intending to!! So here's the situation and my questions... SITUATION: I have a bunch of Word documents which are chapters in a book. Each chapter document currently has its own index. I've been asked to create a separate "umbrella" index document that will hold a single index for all of these documents. I've also been asked to keep track of which chapter each occurrence of a word comes from, so that "aardvark" will show as (for example) "Ch1-pg4" in the central index. So simply combining all of the chapters into one large document isn't really an option. MY FIRST QUESTION: One option I thought of exploring is to simply copy the existing individual indexes into a separate document and then see if I can play with them there. So I tried it and found that if I copy a chapter's index into another document, the Index field does indeed pull in the index information from the source document. But does that mean I'm now working with a "Master Document" that could cause me problems?? From what I can understand about MDs, which pull in information from other documents, this might mean I'm inadvertently creating a MD and will run into the same problems as if I was deliberately trying to create one. Can anyone definitely confirm or deny if this would be the case? I'm terrified that I'm going to unintentionally create a MD and really have a nightmare of problems, especially if I don't even realise I'm doing that! MY SECOND QUESTION: Regardless of where the index is (in the source document or in a separate document), is there a way to take the results of an Index field (i.e., the Index itself) and create a text version of it instead of it being a field? In other words, this would be something like converting formulas to values in Excel, where instead of copying the formula of "2+3" it would copy the end value of "5". In the central index, instead of copying the field itself {INDEX} it would copy the contents of the index (as in "Aardvark.....4" etc.). Does that make sense? If I can do this, it might solve a lot of problems, since I could just create a macro to extract the text index and then massage it into the format I want. MY THIRD/LAST QUESTION: Is there a way to go through a document (e.g., using a macro) and extract a list of all the words that have {XE} fields attached to them? I haven't tried this but I'm thinking another option might be to collect all the words that the previous author has already marked with XE fields (which are collected into the Index field at the end of the document), and then compile them into a concordance table and create my own separate indexes for each chapter. In other words, start with my own indexes where I might be able to control the output more (?) instead of the existing ones. I guess I'm just trying to figure out the best way to do this and I'm looking for some advice and suggestions. These documents (and therefore the final index) are likely to be changed before the finals are ready for publication, so I need to find a way to create this "umbrella" index so that it doesn't take days of work each time a change is made and so that it doesn't create nightmares when changes are applied. Thanks very much for any help with this!! Jo |
Reply |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Viewing Master Documents | Microsoft Word Help | |||
What is good alternative to using Master Documents? | Mailmerge | |||
Master documents and field codes | Microsoft Word Help | |||
Master documents and IncludeText in Word 2003 | Microsoft Word Help | |||
How do I create & merge specific data base & master documents? | New Users |