I have a large (200 pages, tables, columns, references, ToC, Index, pictures etc) word document that I am working on. Recently it has become very slow to edit and some cases actually hangs




How can I best work on this while retaining the need for cross-references, indexes coveriung the whole doicument


TFAI

1. Use Styles for almost all formatting The Importance of Styles in Microsoft Word
2. Avoid manual page breaks, use Page Break before paragraph formatting in your styles. Moving/Reorganizing Pages in Microsoft Word
3. If at all possible keep tables to less than five pages
4. To the extent possible have images in-line-with text and use Tables instead of Text Boxes
5. Do not use the Master Documents "Feature" in Microsoft Word, instead, if you split into separate parts use RD fields

I would also recommend you avoid tracking revisions because lots of revisions makes for slower files. Make copies of the file if you need to compare versions after making your edits.

200 pages is not excessively large and shouldn't cause significant slowdowns.

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Andrew Lockton
Chrysalis Design, Melbourne Australia

I agree its not that large but it does cause slowdowns
Track changes not on.

1. Styles - used for headings. Occasional bold and font change used in the body
2. Manual page breaks - a few of those. Will try your suggestion but not hopeful!
3. Tables - largest is 6 pages - another is 3 pages. Rest are <1 page. The one 12 page table is in 2 columns (= 6 pages) causes the whole thing to freak out. Shoud I split to single page tables? Editing then not practical as it is a sorted list.
4. No text boxes. All images in line
5. Master Docs - I read a lot about them not working. What are RD fields?

Using RD and Other Fields to Construct Multi-File Documents in Word

Thanks all#
I gave up and went back to 2019 which did not seem to have the same problem