Introduction

When working with long documents, the ability to split up the tasks can be crucial to meeting a deadline. Microsoft Office Word 2003 can do just that. By creating a master document in an Outline format, you can simply select the sections of the master that will be sectioned off as a subdocument. Word creates a number of subdocuments off the master, based on how you decide to group them. Once the subdocuments are created, they become separate files that others can open , develop, save and re-insert into the master.

Using master documents and subdocuments by many individuals could be a formatting nightmare. Word has an automatic formatting tool to help you create an overall format for your long document. In order to help your readers process your document, headers and footers, along with a cross reference, are a great way to keep them focused on the material at hand.

Once your long document is created and will be bound in some fashion, it's important to make sure that you have enough white space around the margins so that text won't get cut off during the binding process. And, as you navigate through the document, be sure to check for any special items that might require your attention. You can use the Go To function to quickly move from object to object, section to section, or page to page, to name a few. The Select Browse Object button is also a way to navigate through your long document. Browse by comments, graphics, tables or footnotes. The availability for Word to seek out these objects and for you to review them is crucial to your long document being a success.

Other documents items, such as a Table of Contents, an Index, or a Document Summary can all be done very easily in Word. When you need to know that final word count, you can find it quickly through the Tools menu.