Managing Long Documents
Managing Long Documents: Methods of Managing Chapters
There are three recommended ways of managing a document split into chapters:

Copy and Paste;

Inserting Text from File and

Master Document.
This handout will take you through the process of recompiling your document using each of these
methods, with step-by-step instructions.
Use example documents
To practise using example documents:
 Go to http://fms-itskills.ncl.ac.uk/pgres/mld/chapters.html.
 Save the Word documents labelled ‘section1’ to ‘6’, the EndNote library ‘mld2.enlx’ and the
Template ‘template.dotx’ (if you don’t have your own) to your Documents folder, in a new
folder. These files will be used for the next three ways of managing a split document.
These six files have been adapted from a paper published in the ALT-N at
http://newsletter.alt.ac.uk/e_article000557461.cfm in April 2006.
Advice for any method…
Please remember the following pieces of advice:

Always keep the original chapters separate and intact.

Only merge the chapters together just before you print.

Proof-read and edit your work before merging.

Unformat citations before merging documents.

Save all sections properly, with back-ups on a separate disk, before merging them.

Save the files onto your H: drive (Documents folder), and avoid working on files stored on a
removable disk or in email.

Save the merged document between each chapter merge.

Format the EndNote bibliography and in-text citations once all chapters have been merged.

Thoroughly check all automatic text including headers and footers, page numbers, numbered
lists, captions, cross-references, lists of figures/tables, table of contents, footnotes and
EndNote in-text citations and bibliography. Update these fields before printing then check
them again.
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Managing Long Documents
Task 1 - Copy and Paste
The copy and paste technique is simple: copy each chapter into one blank document in the order
that they should appear, pasting each chapter at the end of the previous one.
Copy and paste together
 Start a new document from your template by double clicking over the template icon in your
Documents folder. This will open up a new word document.
 Open the file section1.docx.
 Unformat the citations from the EndNote tab > Bibliography group > ‘Convert Citations and
Bibliography’ drop down list > ‘Convert to Unformatted Citations’ option.
 Copy and paste the contents of section1.docx into the blank document created from the
template.
 Insert a Next Page Section Break at the end of the chapter.
 Save your new document after each paste.
 Repeat this process for each chapter, adding them in the correct order.
 Save the document.
All chapters should now be in one document.
Check the document carefully
You must now check that the document runs on properly: page numbering, captions, references
etc, and that everything is up to date and laid out properly.
 Format the EndNote bibliography and in-text references using your preferred style.
 Update the captions, cross-references, lists of figures/tables and the table of contents by
selecting the whole document (Ctrl A) and pressing ‘F9’.
 Check headers, footers, page numbers, captions, cross-references, styles, numbered lists,
EndNote references and general page layout for accuracy and completeness.
 Print Preview the document to check it for errors.
Please remember the advice on page 1.
Review this method
Copy and Paste is a straight-forward method of managing long documents.
 What benefits and problems does this technique have? Note them in the table.
Benefits
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Problems
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Managing Long Documents
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Managing Long Documents
Task 2 - Insert Files
Word lets you insert objects into your document. For example, you can insert Excel worksheets,
images, media clips and so on. You can also insert separate Word documents and combine them
into one file. Use Insert tab > Text group > Object option > Text from File.
 Unformat the citations in all chapters, using the EndNote tab > Bibliography group > ‘Convert
Citations and Bibliography’ drop down list > ‘Convert to Unformatted Citations’ option.
 Save and close the chapters.
 Start a new document from your template by double clicking over the template icon in your
Documents folder.
 From the Insert tab > Text group, select the arrow next to Object and choose Text from
File. In the Insert File dialog box, locate the chapter to insert and double-click it.
 Insert a Next Page Section Break at the end of the chapter.
 Save the document.
 Repeat this process for each chapter, adding them in the correct order.
All chapters should now be in one document.
Check the document carefully
You must now check that the document runs on properly: page numbering, captions, references
etc, and that everything is up to date and properly laid out.
 Format the EndNote bibliography and in-text references using your preferred style.
 Update the captions, cross-references, lists of figures/tables and the table of contents by
selecting the whole document (Ctrl A) and pressing ‘F9’.
 Check headers, footers, page numbers, captions, cross-references, styles, numbered lists,
EndNote references and general page layout for accuracy and completeness.
 Print Preview the document to check it for errors.
Please remember the advice on page 1.
Review this method
This is similar to copy and paste.
 What benefits and problems does this technique have? Note them in the table.
Benefits
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Problems
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Managing Long Documents
Task 3 - Master Document
The Master Document is a control document for a number of subdocuments. Subdocuments are
linked to and controlled by the Master Document. The documents can be viewed in their entirety
within the master document but are simply linked from the master document. The master
document has a low file size as a result. The master document is your entire thesis; the
subdocuments are the separate chapters.

The Master Document should be created once you have finished your thesis.

You should close all individual chapters whilst creating and editing the Master Document.
Get started
 Unformat the citations in all chapters before continuing, using the EndNote tab > Bibliography
group > ‘Convert Citations and Bibliography’ drop down list > ‘Convert to Unformatted
Citations’ option.
 Save and close all chapters.
 Start a new document from your template by double clicking over the template icon in your
Documents folder.
 Turn the show/hide formatting icon on and insert a couple of blank lines using the ‘Enter’
key.
Insert sections
The Navigation Pane is very useful in this method, to guide you when choosing sections to insert.
 Turn the Navigation Pane on, from the View tab > Show group > Navigation Pane tick.
 Change to the Outline view: go to the View tab > Views group and choose Outline.

This will show the Master Document options.
 From the Outlining tab > Master Document group, switch on the Show Document button
.
 Place your cursor a few lines down in the space you have created.
 Use the Outlining tab > Master Document group > Insert option to insert a subdocument.
 Select the first chapter and insert.
 Repeat this for all chapters, adding them in the correct order.
 Select ‘No to All’ to any pop up messages about styles.
 Save the master document.
You have now inserted a number of subdocuments to this master document. Each subdocument is
separated by a continuous section break.
Collapse and expand subdocuments
The Master Document is a collection of hyperlinks to the other files, plus any other additional
content, such as the table of contents and title page, that you add into it. The master document
will therefore have a very low file size, but you must keep it in the same location relative to the
included files, for it to work.
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You can expand and contract the subdocuments:
 In the Outlining tab, open and collapse the subdocuments
to reveal or hide the
content of the linked files.
 Expand all the sections within the master document, save the file and then change views to
Normal and Print Layout.
Add table of contents, lists of figures/tables and references
You can insert a Table of Contents directly into the master document. It will include content
from all subdocuments.
The subdocuments must be expanded before doing this.
 Expand the subdocuments if they are closed.
 Place your cursor in one of the blank lines above all the subdocuments and insert a Table of
Contents.
 Insert a list of figures and tables under the ToC.
 Format the EndNote bibliography and in-text citations using your preferred style.
 Save the master document.
You should have noticed that the page numbers are calculated automatically in sequence and
that the EndNote bibliography is compiled at the end of the master document.
Edit subdocuments
You should have finished all of your editing before creating a Master Document. Any minor
changes should be made in the Master Document only.
In the example documents:
 Insert a new figure caption anywhere within the document.
 Insert an in-text citation using the Ramsden (2003) reference anywhere within the document.
 Check that the added EndNote reference appears in the bibliography. This should happen
automatically.
 Update the list of figures.
Check the document carefully
You must now check that the document runs on properly: page numbering, captions, references
etc, and that everything is up to date and properly laid out.
 Update the captions, cross-references, lists of figures/tables and the table of contents by
selecting the whole document (Ctrl A) and pressing ‘F9’.
 Check headers, footers, page numbers, captions, cross-references, styles, numbered lists,
EndNote references and general page layout for accuracy and completeness.
 Print Preview the document to check it for errors.
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Managing Long Documents
Other features
There are a number of other possible functions within a master document. You can alter the
order of the sections using the master document. Subdocuments can be added or deleted from
the master document, and subdocuments can become part of the master document.
Header and Footer text should either be entered into the master document or the sub
documents, but preferably not both as any text in subdocument headers or footers will overwrite
the master document header and footer. This is fine if you want a different header and footer for
each section.
It is possible to print all the subdocuments from the master document without opening each
document separately. Expand all the subdocuments then switch to the Print Layout view. Print
preview your document and check for final changes before printing as normal through the Print
option. When sending your thesis to Print Services, you must send all sub documents along with
the master document – you may prefer to send them a pdf version instead.
Points to consider
If you use this technique to manage your thesis, you should remember the following points:

Use the same template in the master document as for the other subdocuments: the template
used in the master document will take preference over other templates.

If you want one header and footer throughout the whole document, put this into the master
document only. Otherwise, add different headers and footers to different sections.

Page numbers will be updated by the master document, so if you insert them into each
subdocument leave the starting number as it is.

Use outline numbered headings in all your documents. The numbers will be updated by the
master document automatically.

Keep the master and subdocuments together. Moving the master document away from the
subdocuments will alter the file path references and the section will disappear. This is why
you must also send all subdocuments to your supervisor or the printers, and not just the
master document.

Insert EndNote references throughout each subdocument but leave them unformatted.

Format the EndNote references within the master document to compile a bibliography at the
end of the master document only.
Please also remember the advice on page 1.
Review this method
This technique is complex and requires a lot of knowledge and skills, plus confidence.
 What benefits and problems does this technique have? Note them in the table.
Benefits
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Problems
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Managing Long Documents
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Managing Long Documents
Conclusion



Choose a method that works best for you.
Make sure your document is well formatted before you start combining the chapters.
Work in a logical manner and save regularly.
Only attempt to use the master document method if you are very familiar with Word and are used
to trouble-shooting your own problems in the program.
University regulations
There are a number of regulations pertaining to the submission of a thesis. Information can be
found on the University website at http://www.ncl.ac.uk/regulations/docs/2002/rswhd.html.
The Library Bindery Service suggests margins should be set at least 3cm on the binding edge (left)
and at least 2cm for the other three edges.
Getting help
EndNote
Refer to the University Library’s EndNote guide at http://libguides.ncl.ac.uk/endnote for further
information and support contact details.
Click on Help in the EndNote program to search or browse for help.
Use the Support pages available through Thomson Reuters at http://endnote.com/ or Adept
Scientific at http://www.adeptscience.co.uk/.
Find EndNote Training videos via YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/EndNoteTraining/.
Word
All IT materials are available online at http://fms-itskills.ncl.ac.uk.
Consult the program’s Help menu. Ask the help facility a question or browse through the help
topics.
Or, contact Sue Vecsey at ITSkills.Support@ncl.ac.uk for Word queries.
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