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Subject:RE: Large Documents in Word From:Dan Goldstein <DGoldstein -at- nuot -dot- com> To:TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Mon, 24 Nov 2014 11:53:38 -0500
Lynne and Lin:
Here are some initial tips for very large documents (VLDs) in Word, inherited from various wizards:
Disable Autosave, background saves, and fast saves.
Accept and reject all current changes and save with a new file name.
Minimize change tracking.
Insert graphics from a file, don't paste them in from the clipboard.
Use anchored graphics, not floating.
Link graphics when you can.
Avoid embedded objects when you can.
Use anchored tables, not floating.
Disable "Keep of Track of Formatting."
Disable HTML spacing.
Disable automatic style and template updates.
Always use paragraph styles and character styles; never use manual formatting.
Use table styles when you can.
Delete unused styles (there are macros for this).
Don't use empty paragraphs to create spaces between paragraphs.
Don't use tab stops or spaces to indent.
Find and delete temporary files created by Word crashes (*.tmp).
Never use Master Documents.
If the document causes trouble, Maggie it.
Minimize section breaks.
Minimize the use of page columns.
Please let me know if you need details about any of these.
-- Dan Goldstein
-----Original Message-----
From: Lynne Wright
Sent: Monday, November 24, 2014 11:35 AM
To: Lin Sims; TECHWR-L
Subject: RE: Large Documents in Word
I sometimes have to produce documentation in Word, and aside from the irritation with the apparently nonsensical whims of auto-formatting, the frequent crashes are a NIGHTMARE.
Inserting a graphic often causes the whole program to freeze up; and the only solution is to reboot my computer.
So yes, if anybody has tips on how to avoid crashes, please share.
-----Original Message-----
From: Lin Sims
Sent: November-24-14 11:21 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Large Documents in Word
Because of various changes at my company, I may be moving from FrameMaker to Word.
The documents I handle run into the hundreds of pages. I've never handled a Word doc over 80 pages that didn't regularly crash or corrupt.
I'm looking for people who have successfully handled very large documents in Word. I need to pick your brains to find out how you do it. I'm a moderately experienced user of Word, but I'm by no means a power user. If this move is made, I'm going to need a lot more information.
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