How to Create a Master Document in Word From Multiple Subdocuments

As a document expands, managing it can become more challenging, and it is practical to divide it into smaller sections.

Consider how a book is organized into chapters or parts. Similarly, in Word, you can establish a master document that serves as a repository for all the associated sub-documents.

This has several advantages:

• Microsoft Word runs much faster (compared to processing a single large document).
• Different people can work on different subdocuments concurrently.
• Making a change to a subdocument is much quicker than making a change on a large document.
• Restructuring a master document is much quicker than making a change on a large document
• Subdocuments can be used in other master documents.

1.? Accessing the master and subdocument tools

The best approach to utilizing master and sub documents is to create all your subdocuments first, at least in draft form. Once in place, create a master document that brings all the subdocuments together.

To make use of master & sub documents, you must be in Outline view.

To switch to Outline View:

1. ?Select the View tab.

2. ?Click the Outline icon in the Views group. ?The Outlining ribbon will be displayed. You can only see this ribbon when you are in Outline view

3. Click the Show Document icon in the Master Document group.■? ? ?This expands the Master Document group and displays the tools you need.■? ? ?Apart from Create and Insert, all other options are initially greyed out

2. Inserting or creating a subdocument

To insert an existing document as a sub-document:

1. ?On the Outlining ribbon click Show Documents, if necessary.

2. ?Position the cursor.

3. ?Click the?Insert?icon in the Master Document group.

4. ?Locate and select the sub-document. Click the Open?button.

To create a new subdocument:

1. ?On the Outlining ribbon click Show Documents, if necessary.

2. ?Select the content that will become the new subdocument. The content must include at least one heading style.

3. ?Click the?Create?icon in the Master Document group.

A sub-document is inserted into the main document.

• The sub-document has a grey border and a small document symbol in the top-left corner.
• A continuous section break is added automatically at the end of the sub document.
• You can view or hide the section breaks by clicking the Show Documents icon or the pilcrow icon (looks like a backward P) on the Home ribbon.

3. Editing a subdocument

There are several ways to edit a subdocument:

• Open the sub-document normally and start editing, or
• Double-click the small document symbol in the top-left corner to open the sub-document in a new window.

When the sub-document is open, a padlock symbol appears on the master document in the top-left corner of the subdocument box. This symbol prevents simultaneous changes to the subdocument from two different locations. The padlock also shows up if the sub-document is read-only or password-protected.

You can edit the sub-document directly within the master document, and any changes will be automatically saved to the sub-document.

If you edit the sub-document in a separate window, the changes will update in the master document once the sub-document is saved.

4. Expanding or collapsing subdocuments

When a subdocument is expanded, the full text is displayed. When it is collapsed, only the file's pathname is shown. To toggle between these two states,

Click on 'Expand Subdocuments' or 'Collapse Subdocuments'.

5. Expanding or collapsing document sections

The document structure is clearly laid out.

Next to each heading (that uses Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3 etc.), there is a?+ symbol.

• Double-click the + symbol to collapse or expand the section.
• You can also position the cursor then click the +?symbol on the Outlining ribbon to expand a section or click the - symbol to collapse a section.

6. Showing just the main headings

To collapse all the detail in a large document in one hit, you can use the Show Level tool in the Outline Tools group.

• Choose Show Level | Level 1 to collapse everything except Level 1 headings.
• Choose?Show Level | Level 2, to collapse everything except?Level 1 and Level 2 headings.?
• And so on.

7. Merging or splitting documents

To merge multiple subdocuments into one:

1. Select the entirety of the text in the subdocuments you want to merge.

2. Click the 'Merge' icon in the Master Document group.

To divide a subdocument into two distinct subdocuments:

1. Highlight the text you want to separate into a new subdocument.

2. Click the 'Split' icon in the Master Document group.

If the text was previously a standalone subdocument that was merged, it will retain its original filename.

If the text is being split for the first time, a new subdocument will be created in the same directory as the master document, using the first line of the selected text as the default filename.

8. Unlinking or locking subdocuments

Click Unlink to retain the subdocument text in the master document but disconnect the link.

• No future changes to the subdocument will flow through to the master document.
• The subdocument must be inserted again to reestablish the link.

Click Lock Document to lock the subdocument link and prevent changes made in the master document from flowing back into the subdocument. Click again to reestablish the flow.

9. Caution! Things you should know about subdocuments

• A subdocument should never be renamed. If it is, the master document will be unable to locate it.
• Master document settings (e.g. footers, styles etc.) override any identically named styles in the subdocument. New styles created separately within the subdocument will be pulled into the master document automatically.

10. Key Takeaways

1. A master document pulls together the contents of several subdocuments. This setup enhances collaboration by allowing multiple documents to be worked on concurrently and the smaller file sizes mean faster processing.
2. Master and subdocument tools are only available in Outline view. Click the Show Documents icon to reveal the Documents toolset.
3. An existing document can be inserted into the master document or a new sub-document can be created.
4. If somebody else has a sub document open, a padlock symbol is displayed on the master document to prevent changes being made.
5. A subdocument can be edited within the master document if it is not locked.
6. A subdocument can be locked within the master document by clicking the Lock Document icon. This prevents anybody else making changes to the subdocument until it is unlocked.
7. A subdocument can be opened by clicking the icon in the top-left of the subdocument.Sub-documents can be expanded or collapsed. For collapsed subdocuments, a hyperlink is displayed.Two or more subdocuments may be merged.A subdocument may be split into two subdocuments.
8. A subdocument can be opened by clicking the icon in the top-left of the subdocument.
9. Sub-documents can be expanded or collapsed. For collapsed subdocuments, a hyperlink is displayed.
10. Two or more subdocuments may be merged.
11. One subdocument may be split into two subdocuments.