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To address both your questions in one answer, Michael, BE CAREFUL!
RE: Master Reference Document, first find out who is going to use it and
what they're going to use it for. That will guide you more than anything
else. Write these both down. They're your audience and objectives. Check out
the TECHWR-L site for good examples of doc plans you can use. Getting
approval of your doc plan from your client will save you endless agony in
the long run. It will also minimize misunderstandings as far as what you've
contracted to do.
Lots of books exist that tell you how to write reference docs. Look at your
client's competitors' books models of what the industry is doing now. And be
sure to ASK YOUR CLIENT for a clarification of what they want! One client's
"Master Reference Document" is another's "User Guide" and another's
"Cookbook." If you don't do this, YOU'RE cooked!
As for messing around with Word's styles, DON'T do it unless you're already
a Word expert. You've said you're a novice tech writer, which doesn't
necessarily mean you are a novice Word user. In general, I'd suggest living
with the "extraneous" Word styles until you figure out what you really need.
Otherwise, at minimum, you're risking a lot of complications in your
project. If you don't know why a Word style exists, ask. Look at your
client's style guide, if one exists.
You may also find that what your client really wants is a digest version of
some docs that already exist. Cool. That helps. But you won't know until you
ask.
Good luck!
Marguerite
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