Re. MS Binder

[Kelly Cochrane <kelco -at- MYNA -dot- COM>]

Nancy wrote > I have a question for you:  I am debating whether I should try this "office binder" command in MsWord.

Nancy:

I am neither a technical writer, nor a computer "power-user," and I am unfamiliar with the "office binder command" in MS Word - how am I doing so far at inspiring confidence in the authority of this message? If, however, it is MS Binder to which you are referring, I used this program quite extensively in my previous job as an Acquisitions Editor with a publisher (i.e. project manager), and it was a tremendous tool for my purposes.

The strength of this program is that it enables the user to keep related files together regardless of the application in which they have been produced. This meant that I was able to keep my financial projections and market research results, done in Excel, in the same file as I kept my project planning notes which were in MS Word. I could access any of these files by simply clicking on its icon in the margin of "the binder" rather than opening a different program, opening the file, and then switching back and forth between windows. I also linked my document so that the information from my financial template flowed into my Word document. All of this was not only convenient, but helped to eliminate the inconsistencies between files which were often the result of updating one file, and forgetting to make the appropriate change in another file, stored somewhere else on my computer.

I can't say for sure that it is the most appropriate application for your purposes (I don't have this background), but I can't think that it would be anything but a boon to anyone producing a long document.

Kelly Cochrane
Director of Downsized and Trying to Make a Mid-life Career Change, Inc. :)
Kelco -at- myna -dot- com