Hi,

Fairly new to word and I am making a document for work which has linked files in. We are currently embedding the documents within it (about 100 files) so the document is getting quite large (20mb when blank).



I was hoping to create linked files in a folder with the document. The linked files would be hidden from the user so it would work the same but reduce the file size (20mb over our network gets a bit laggy!).

Two things I want to do are when saving the file create a new hidden folder with the new document that links to these newly created documents (ie not using the original links in the template file).

I would also like the links to be in the same folder so I could effectivly move the folder (with the document and linked files) and it will still work.

Is this possible and am I barking up the right tree?

Cheers,

Elmobram22

You can link multiple files together via INCLUDETEXT fields. See Insert|Quick Parts|Field>INCLUDETEXT for details.

Ordinarily, you can create INCLUDETEXT fields via Insert|Object>Text from File>Insert As Link. When you do this, the link paths are absolute, which makes it difficult to move them as a set to a different folder; moving the destination file, though, is usually not a problem (provided it remains on the same system). To see how to convert the absolute paths in the INCLUDTETEXT fields to relative paths, check out the field code solution I've posted at:
http://windowssecrets.com/forums/sho...External-Files

Even so, if the various source files are incorporated into the destination file via INCLUDTEXT fields, I suspect you'll have the same performance issues. If, however, all you really need is a common table of Contents, you can create that in the target file using a standard TOC field coupled with RD fields pointing to each of the source files. the same applies to Indicies, etc. See Insert|Quick Parts|Field>RD for details.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

OK. What about the creating new documents when saving a file from a template. This is my main concern at the moment. I could live with the not moving the file part. What I want to be able to do is make a template file with links to all the blank documents in it. Then when you are forced to save as a document rather than the original template I would want that file structure to be copied as well. If that makes sense? I think what I am trying to do is make a package file like you would find for an iphoto library or something. Where you have a package file which is large but you are running a small document to access those files in one location. And when you start a new document it builds that package library?!

Maybe I'm missing something here. Why would you want a template to contain links to a set of empty documents? That seems to imply that every new document based on the template needs to link to the same set of documents. Is that correct? If not, you'll at least need to have the source documents sharing common names so that, when the new file is saved into their folder with the INCLUDETEXT fields and relative paths, it'll be able to find the files it's supposed to link to - and they'll all need to be there for the links to work.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

I think I am just not to good at explaining myself to be fair. It is a main document currently with embedded documents in. Each main document would need to be duplicated for each of our clients. The main document has things like assessment sheets and information sheets. These are all blank ready to be filled in by us. When we get a new client I would then want to copy and paste that main template again if you will so they have a set of blank documents for us to fill in.

Imagine it as being used as a filing system. If you made a bunch of folders in side a main folder for one client and that was the way you wanted it to be for each client you would keep a template folder somewhere and when you get a new client you would take that set of template folders and copy them accross so it was set up for your new client.

I just want to avoid having people save information over the original template documents and have it all in one place for easy access for the staff.

Has that made it any clearer or have I just made it harder to understand?

Cheers,

Elmobram22

Sometimes separate files are needed, but not as often as many people think. Look into using AutoText (building blocks) for your parts. This is stored in your template. So long as a document is linked to the template, it can use all of those parts.

You can also use AutoText and AutoTextList fields to pull parts into a document.
Automated Boilerplate Using Microsoft Word

That suggests to me you're not using what Word calls templates at all, but documents you're using as templates. The fundamental difference from a user perspective is that, when you create a document from a Word template, a new document is created and the template is left alone. Word handles this automatically. The new document will, like any other new document such as when you open Word, will start off with a name like 'Document1', and you'll need to save that to wherever you want it. Without some fairly deliberate effort, you won't be able to save that over the actual template.

To turn a document into a Word template, choose File|Save As and choose 'Word Template' from the 'Save as type' dropdown. Note that, from then on, if you select the template file and double click on it in Windows Explorer, what will open is a new document based on the template, not the template itself (you'd need to use File|Open from within Word to edit the template). If you've saved the template to Word's templates folder, you'll be able to create a new file from it quite easily from within Word via File|New.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]