Re: Word vs. Frame

[Dave Venzke <dven -at- CLEO -dot- COM>]

>Katie Schuler <klschulr -at- UNITY -dot- NCSU -dot- EDU> asks:
>I am currently using Word to produce some lengthy manuals.  They are
>nothing fancy, printed in-house, etc...However, because of their length, I
>have run into many problems with Word.  I am saving each chapter as a
>separate file, which leads to many problems in pagination, printing, etc.

I, too, use Word exclusively as my text editor, DTP/layout tool, TOC and
Index generator for producing lengthy manuals (250+ pages). Here's how
I've solved some of the problems you're facing:

1. Each chapter is saved as a separate file (sometimes 2 or 3 files,
   especially those 150+ language reference chapters).

2. My numbering scheme is the familiar chapter-page (e.g., 3-4), so each
   chapter begins at page 1.

3. For those chapters that carry across multiple files, I manually set the
   starting page number in each subsequent file just after I've completed
   the final formatting and am ready to print.

4. I have two home-grown macros that build an editable TOC and Index file.
   Each macro processes one file at a time, I don't even try to use the
   merging or chaining functions.

If you have some specific problems or shortcomings that I haven't addressed
here, send me e-mail (E-mail? :->) or give me a call.

Dave Venzke                   | All opinions expressed here are solely my
CLEO Communications           | own. Any resemblance to opinions held by
3796 Plaza Drive              | my employer is purely coincidental.
Ann Arbor MI 48108            |
(313) 662-2002, ext. 132      | Address: dven -at- cleo -dot- com