How do I Manage a manual using Word?

Greetings;

I have read several of the posts here already, but I need more information.
Here is the parameters of the document I am creating:

It is a Process Manual, meaning it is a Large document designed to show
users how to do specific procedures within the program we are using.

For my document, I am using the following features:
Auto Table of Contents
Heading Styles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6)
Hyperlinks to outside documents
Hyperlinks to same document
Bookmarks (300 so far)
Cross-References
Insert Picture (mostly Screen shots copied into MSPaint and saved)
"Dragged" images from Visio
Figure Captions
Field Codes in Header
Field Codes in Footer
Auto Table of Figures
Sections
Page numbers restart at the beginning of each Section

Manual Design:
Being this is my second manual, and I'm self taught, I know this is not a
standard format, hence why i'm asking for help:
Title Page
ToC
Introduction
Part I Section
Chapter 1
....
....
Part VI Section
Chapter 23
Appendixes
Glossary
Screenshots

So far, I have 214 pages and i'm only on Chapter "2" of 23. File size is
already 10,048 kb.

Here's one my Issues:

Every time I insert a "copied" item, something that is being repeated that
is hyperlinked and cannot be placed in the header or footer, Word seems to
"Time Out", no cursor visible, no typing available, for about 15 to 30
seconds. If i scroll the screen up or down a few times, then attempt to type
again, it seems to respond again.

Is this where "Building blocks" or "Quick Parts" would be of better use?

Thank you for any responses. Any suggestions would be wonderful on how to
make this a quicker/effiecient process.

Hello James

JamesDart wrote:
[..]
It is a Process Manual, meaning it is a Large document designed to show
users how to do specific procedures within the program we are using.

For my document, I am using the following features:
Auto Table of Contents
Heading Styles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6)

I would take a step back he *6* heading levels for anything under the
volume of, say, the Bible, is too much IMHO.


Hyperlinks to outside documents
Hyperlinks to same document
Bookmarks (300 so far)
Cross-References
Insert Picture (mostly Screen shots copied into MSPaint and saved)
"Dragged" images from Visio

I would investigate a bit if exporting from Visio (WMF/EMF format?)
might get better results in terms of file size and overhead for Word.


Figure Captions
Field Codes in Header
Field Codes in Footer

Could you elaborate a bit he PAGE and STYLEREF fields, and/or
something more?


Auto Table of Figures
Sections
Page numbers restart at the beginning of each Section

Again, this is something I would critically review: it's basically an
outdated practice from the ages of printed manuals and delivered
page-wise corrections. If you intend to do that (instead of, say,
delivering PDF or HTML files), then Word might not be the best tool at
hand for you because it's definitely not page-oriented in its setup.


Manual Design:
Being this is my second manual, and I'm self taught, I know this is not a
standard format, hence why i'm asking for help:
Title Page
ToC
Introduction
Part I Section
Chapter 1
...
...
Part VI Section
Chapter 23
Appendixes
Glossary
Screenshots

So far, I have 214 pages and i'm only on Chapter "2" of 23. File size is
already 10,048 kb.

I don't know the scope of your application. But by extrapolating, it
looks like you'll be somewhere in the vicinity of 2500 pages in the end.
That is a monster manual. Is it intended to be read?


Here's one my Issues:

Every time I insert a "copied" item, something that is being repeated that
is hyperlinked and cannot be placed in the header or footer, Word seems to
"Time Out", no cursor visible, no typing available, for about 15 to 30
seconds. If i scroll the screen up or down a few times, then attempt to type
again, it seems to respond again.

Is this where "Building blocks" or "Quick Parts" would be of better use?

Are you talking about an external object to be repeated here (picture,
Visio object, etc.)? You could bookmark the first occurrence and insert
a REF field, technically.

In a very large document, saving all the pictures externally and linking
them into the document will reduce the file size. Though frankly, you
have the burden to make sure that the pictures are all stable relative
to the document (in the same folder or subfolder, preferably), have to
deal with relative vs. absolute links, and of course Word needs to bring
all stuff together at run time, so I'm not sure this helps a lot in your
situation.

In any case, the machine you're working on should be state of the art
and have lots and lots of RAM.

HTH
Robert
--
/"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign | MSFT |
\ / | MVP | Scientific Reports
X Against HTML | for | with Word?
/ \ in e-mail & news | Word | http://www.masteringword.eu/

Robert;

Thank you for responding, been struggling terribly.

JamesDart wrote:
[..]
It is a Process Manual, meaning it is a Large document designed to show
users how to do specific procedures within the program we are using.

For my document, I am using the following features:
Auto Table of Contents
Heading Styles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6)

I would take a step back he *6* heading levels for anything under the
volume of, say, the Bible, is too much IMHO.

I did take a step back and reduced to "4" Heading levels, so that's good to
know that i'm on the right track.

Hyperlinks to outside documents
Hyperlinks to same document
Bookmarks (300 so far)
Cross-References
Insert Picture (mostly Screen shots copied into MSPaint and saved)
"Dragged" images from Visio

I would investigate a bit if exporting from Visio (WMF/EMF format?)
might get better results in terms of file size and overhead for Word.

nods I will do some investigating on this. Any ideas on where I can get
this kind of information, or will it just be trial and error? grins
Getting used to the Trial and Error, frustrating, but I do learn from my
mistakes.

Figure Captions
Field Codes in Header
Field Codes in Footer

Could you elaborate a bit he PAGE and STYLEREF fields, and/or
something more?

Header: For Sections 1-4, there is no Header. For Sections 4-32, I have 3
PAGE fields: "Chapter" (Heading 1), "Module" (Heading 2), and "Section"
(Heading 3). I felt that the 4th Heading, which is the actual
process/procedure/instructions jumbled the Header too much. For Sections
33-37, I have 2 PAGE fields, "Chapter" and "Section." I'm thinking that I
can reduce it to just "Chapter" since these sections are all part of the
Appendix

Footer: Section 1's footer is a PAGE field with the "SAVEDATE" that I am
using as a "Last Edited" reference. Sections 2-4 it the ToC, so there is a
PAGE field for roman numeral page numbers. Sections 5-32, I have a PAGE
field for the pagenumber, "Outline Circle 2" as well as two "pasted" logos,
one on either side of the pagenumber. Essentially, one is my company's and
the other is the Software company's. Sections 33-37 use the same "Outline
Circle 2" PAGE field, but I changed the Format to reflect "A-1" for appendix
A, "B-1" for appendix B, etc.

Auto Table of Figures
Sections
Page numbers restart at the beginning of each Section

Again, this is something I would critically review: it's basically an
outdated practice from the ages of printed manuals and delivered
page-wise corrections. If you intend to do that (instead of, say,
delivering PDF or HTML files), then Word might not be the best tool at
hand for you because it's definitely not page-oriented in its setup.

gasp oh, my. So, what is the recommendation? This "File" is intended to
be used by employees through access in our network. The finished product
(and subfiles) will be placed in the "Public" Folder so that any employee can
access it. It is not intended or designed to be printed. Though, my
supervisor threatens that it needs to be printable for folks to have it
"handy." I disagree, but, then again, she's the boss.

Manual Design:
Being this is my second manual, and I'm self taught, I know this is not a
standard format, hence why i'm asking for help:
Title Page
ToC
Introduction
Part I Section
Chapter 1
...
...
Part VI Section
Chapter 23
Appendixes
Glossary
Screenshots

So far, I have 214 pages and i'm only on Chapter "2" of 23. File size is
already 10,048 kb.

I don't know the scope of your application. But by extrapolating, it
looks like you'll be somewhere in the vicinity of 2500 pages in the end.
That is a monster manual. Is it intended to be read?

laughs Yes, it is intended to be read. Maybe that's the wrong
terminology. It is to used to "train" new employees as well as a "Reference"
for established employees. As mentioned above, I have no intentions of ever
printing this monster. Any shortcuts, tricks, and/or ideas to reduce the
size would be greatly appreciated. Half way through Chapter 3, Only added 20
pages. Granted, I reformatted the original 214 pages to be less graphic
intensive, added more white space.

Question: I am not happy with the product, impressed with it, having fun
with the different "eye candy" Word(c) provides, but as you mentioned, I
think that it was the crux of my issue. Essentially, The following is a
"brief" example:
Header: Chapter: "Heading 1" Module: "Heading 2" Section: "Heading 3"
Top right corner: three graphic pictures .25inx.25in, hyperlinked. 1sr one
is to the ToC, 2nd is to the Section Heading, 3rd is to the Appendix
Heading 1 - "3 Inpatient Admissions"
Heading 2 - "Intake"
Heading 3 - "Admissions - Daily Pre-Admission"
- a little paragraph about the purpose and intent of the section, why it has
to be done, etc.
Heading 4 - "Pre-Admission Checklist"
- and then there's a HUGE table that follows. I found that using a table
made it extremely easy to manipulate, as far as height and length, as well as
"filling" table fields with colors for emphasis.
Footer: Company Logo, Page number, Software Logo

Finally, the question: does using extensive, HUGE tables cause problems?

Here's one my Issues:

Every time I insert a "copied" item, something that is being repeated that
is hyperlinked and cannot be placed in the header or footer, Word seems to
"Time Out", no cursor visible, no typing available, for about 15 to 30
seconds. If i scroll the screen up or down a few times, then attempt to type
again, it seems to respond again.

Is this where "Building blocks" or "Quick Parts" would be of better use?

Are you talking about an external object to be repeated here (picture,
Visio object, etc.)? You could bookmark the first occurrence and insert
a REF field, technically.

Yes, and Wow, didn't even think about that. Awesome, will impliment that
today.

In a very large document, saving all the pictures externally and linking
them into the document will reduce the file size. Though frankly, you
have the burden to make sure that the pictures are all stable relative
to the document (in the same folder or subfolder, preferably), have to
deal with relative vs. absolute links, and of course Word needs to bring
all stuff together at run time, so I'm not sure this helps a lot in your
situation.

Oh, okay. I started to do that initially, but found that in order to "link"
to the picture, I had to create a "save" for every single one. After #15 (of
57 currently) I gave up on that idea and just put the pictures (aka Screen
shots) at the end of the document, linked to the appropriate heading.
Problem was, I would have to create a bookmark for the readers spot, insert
the picture to the "Screen shot Appendix", add a WORD(c) caption to the
picture, create a "BACK" hyperlink to the bookmark, then hyperlink the
bookmark to the picture Caption. VERY time consuming, and, as you mentioned
before, takes a lot of memory.

This document I am creating also has documents within documents, meaning,
for processes, prcedures, and/or instructions that will be referred to more
often than others, I created an external document (some are up to 10 pages)
that was hyperlinked from the main document. This does save space, but at
the same time, when the link is clicked on, it "opens" the document and if
the User doesn't "close" it, well, let's just say there's going to be a lot
of open documents.

In any case, the machine you're working on should be state of the art
and have lots and lots of RAM.

Alas, though the system I am working on is better than the majority of
systems being used at our agency, it is far from "State of the Art." Hence
why I'm trying to find any and all means to reduce the intensity of the
document w/o losing the integrity as well. I like what I have created, but I
worry that I am putting an awful lot of work into something that may end up
too cumbersome or worse yet, unused.

Thank you Robert for responding. I will take what responses you have listed
and put them into action. I also am anxiously waiting for a respone this as
well.

Again, thank you.

James Dart
Special Projects Manager
Sundown M Ranch

James,
I'm making a manual very similar to yours only much smaller. I'm a summer
intern with a copius job that takes a while to learn the ins and outs of, so
I'm making a manual for the next intern and any other future interns during
my free time.

I'm using most of what you're using, 3 levels of headers, a autoTOC and
bookmarks (probably an autoindex as well which ill bookmark so that they are
links...)

I was just wondering if you knew any way to add in an object that will
scroll as the user scrolls with a link back to the TOC, or if there's a good
alternative besides keeping the document map open to easily return to the
table of contents...

Thanks, and good luck on your possible 2500 page beast.

-Shuls

"JamesDart" wrote:

Robert;

Thank you for responding, been struggling terribly.

JamesDart wrote:
[..]
It is a Process Manual, meaning it is a Large document designed to show
users how to do specific procedures within the program we are using.

For my document, I am using the following features:
Auto Table of Contents
Heading Styles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6)

I would take a step back he *6* heading levels for anything under the
volume of, say, the Bible, is too much IMHO.

I did take a step back and reduced to "4" Heading levels, so that's good to
know that i'm on the right track.

Hyperlinks to outside documents
Hyperlinks to same document
Bookmarks (300 so far)
Cross-References
Insert Picture (mostly Screen shots copied into MSPaint and saved)
"Dragged" images from Visio

I would investigate a bit if exporting from Visio (WMF/EMF format?)
might get better results in terms of file size and overhead for Word.

nods I will do some investigating on this. Any ideas on where I can get
this kind of information, or will it just be trial and error? grins
Getting used to the Trial and Error, frustrating, but I do learn from my
mistakes.

Figure Captions
Field Codes in Header
Field Codes in Footer

Could you elaborate a bit he PAGE and STYLEREF fields, and/or
something more?

Header: For Sections 1-4, there is no Header. For Sections 4-32, I have 3
PAGE fields: "Chapter" (Heading 1), "Module" (Heading 2), and "Section"
(Heading 3). I felt that the 4th Heading, which is the actual
process/procedure/instructions jumbled the Header too much. For Sections
33-37, I have 2 PAGE fields, "Chapter" and "Section." I'm thinking that I
can reduce it to just "Chapter" since these sections are all part of the
Appendix

Footer: Section 1's footer is a PAGE field with the "SAVEDATE" that I am
using as a "Last Edited" reference. Sections 2-4 it the ToC, so there is a
PAGE field for roman numeral page numbers. Sections 5-32, I have a PAGE
field for the pagenumber, "Outline Circle 2" as well as two "pasted" logos,
one on either side of the pagenumber. Essentially, one is my company's and
the other is the Software company's. Sections 33-37 use the same "Outline
Circle 2" PAGE field, but I changed the Format to reflect "A-1" for appendix
A, "B-1" for appendix B, etc.

Auto Table of Figures
Sections
Page numbers restart at the beginning of each Section

Again, this is something I would critically review: it's basically an
outdated practice from the ages of printed manuals and delivered
page-wise corrections. If you intend to do that (instead of, say,
delivering PDF or HTML files), then Word might not be the best tool at
hand for you because it's definitely not page-oriented in its setup.

gasp oh, my. So, what is the recommendation? This "File" is intended to
be used by employees through access in our network. The finished product
(and subfiles) will be placed in the "Public" Folder so that any employee can
access it. It is not intended or designed to be printed. Though, my
supervisor threatens that it needs to be printable for folks to have it
"handy." I disagree, but, then again, she's the boss.

Manual Design:
Being this is my second manual, and I'm self taught, I know this is not a
standard format, hence why i'm asking for help:
Title Page
ToC
Introduction
Part I Section
Chapter 1
...
...
Part VI Section
Chapter 23
Appendixes
Glossary
Screenshots

So far, I have 214 pages and i'm only on Chapter "2" of 23. File size is
already 10,048 kb.

I don't know the scope of your application. But by extrapolating, it
looks like you'll be somewhere in the vicinity of 2500 pages in the end.
That is a monster manual. Is it intended to be read?

laughs Yes, it is intended to be read. Maybe that's the wrong
terminology. It is to used to "train" new employees as well as a "Reference"
for established employees. As mentioned above, I have no intentions of ever
printing this monster. Any shortcuts, tricks, and/or ideas to reduce the
size would be greatly appreciated. Half way through Chapter 3, Only added 20
pages. Granted, I reformatted the original 214 pages to be less graphic
intensive, added more white space.

Question: I am not happy with the product, impressed with it, having fun
with the different "eye candy" Word(c) provides, but as you mentioned, I
think that it was the crux of my issue. Essentially, The following is a
"brief" example:
Header: Chapter: "Heading 1" Module: "Heading 2" Section: "Heading 3"
Top right corner: three graphic pictures .25inx.25in, hyperlinked. 1sr one
is to the ToC, 2nd is to the Section Heading, 3rd is to the Appendix
Heading 1 - "3 Inpatient Admissions"
Heading 2 - "Intake"
Heading 3 - "Admissions - Daily Pre-Admission"
- a little paragraph about the purpose and intent of the section, why it has
to be done, etc.
Heading 4 - "Pre-Admission Checklist"
- and then there's a HUGE table that follows. I found that using a table
made it extremely easy to manipulate, as far as height and length, as well as
"filling" table fields with colors for emphasis.
Footer: Company Logo, Page number, Software Logo

Finally, the question: does using extensive, HUGE tables cause problems?

Here's one my Issues:

Every time I insert a "copied" item, something that is being repeated that
is hyperlinked and cannot be placed in the header or footer, Word seems to
"Time Out", no cursor visible, no typing available, for about 15 to 30
seconds. If i scroll the screen up or down a few times, then attempt to type
again, it seems to respond again.

Is this where "Building blocks" or "Quick Parts" would be of better use?

Are you talking about an external object to be repeated here (picture,
Visio object, etc.)? You could bookmark the first occurrence and insert
a REF field, technically.

Yes, and Wow, didn't even think about that. Awesome, will impliment that
today.

In a very large document, saving all the pictures externally and linking
them into the document will reduce the file size. Though frankly, you
have the burden to make sure that the pictures are all stable relative
to the document (in the same folder or subfolder, preferably), have to
deal with relative vs. absolute links, and of course Word needs to bring
all stuff together at run time, so I'm not sure this helps a lot in your
situation.

Oh, okay. I started to do that initially, but found that in order to "link"
to the picture, I had to create a "save" for every single one. After #15 (of
57 currently) I gave up on that idea and just put the pictures (aka Screen
shots) at the end of the document, linked to the appropriate heading.
Problem was, I would have to create a bookmark for the readers spot, insert
the picture to the "Screen shot Appendix", add a WORD(c) caption to the
picture, create a "BACK" hyperlink to the bookmark, then hyperlink the
bookmark to the picture Caption. VERY time consuming, and, as you mentioned
before, takes a lot of memory.

This document I am creating also has documents within documents, meaning,
for processes, prcedures, and/or instructions that will be referred to more
often than others, I created an external document (some are up to 10 pages)
that was hyperlinked from the main document. This does save space, but at
the same time, when the link is clicked on, it "opens" the document and if
the User doesn't "close" it, well, let's just say there's going to be a lot
of open documents.

In any case, the machine you're working on should be state of the art
and have lots and lots of RAM.

Alas, though the system I am working on is better than the majority of
systems being used at our agency, it is far from "State of the Art." Hence
why I'm trying to find any and all means to reduce the intensity of the
document w/o losing the integrity as well. I like what I have created, but I
worry that I am putting an awful lot of work into something that may end up
too cumbersome or worse yet, unused.

Thank you Robert for responding. I will take what responses you have listed
and put them into action. I also am anxiously waiting for a respone this as
well.

Again, thank you.

James Dart
Special Projects Manager
Sundown M Ranch

"Mike Shuls" wrote:

James,
I'm making a manual very similar to yours only much smaller. I'm a summer
intern with a copius job that takes a while to learn the ins and outs of, so
I'm making a manual for the next intern and any other future interns during
my free time.

I'm using most of what you're using, 3 levels of headers, a autoTOC and
bookmarks (probably an autoindex as well which ill bookmark so that they are
links...)

I was just wondering if you knew any way to add in an object that will
scroll as the user scrolls with a link back to the TOC, or if there's a good
alternative besides keeping the document map open to easily return to the
table of contents...

Thanks, and good luck on your possible 2500 page beast.

-Shuls


Hiyas Shuls

I'm pretty sure that having a "scrolling object" will create more problems
than solve. What i did, since i have this beast, and frankly, having a
document map open, while is a wonderful function, not everyone understands
it, is just added an icon to represent the Table of Contents on each page
that is hyperlinked.

My solution was the following:
(Part 1)
At the beginning of the document (or just above my Table of Contents) I
typed in very teeny tiny letters "Table"
Highlighted "Table", went into font format and made the text "hidden"
While still highlighted I also gave it a refcode called "Table" as a bookmark

(Part 2)
Then I added my Auto Table of Contents.

(Part 3)
In my "Introduction" I have a page script describing all the little icons
and symbols on any given page. In here, I created a Visio Object (you can
use paint or even import a picture/clipart) to represent the Table of
Contents.

I highlighted this object and named it "AutoTable" as a Bookmark

(Part 4)
Then, I go to the first spot in the manual, all I have to do is select the
spot where i want it (Upper right-hand corner), go to the Insert Tab, Click
on Quick Parts, Click on Fields, Click on Ref, select "Autotable" bookmark,
click on OK...

....and Viola! the picture is now where I want it to be.

(Part 5)
Finally, I highlight the new tableicon and hyperlink it to the "table"
bookmark.

Setup takes a few minutes, then it's just copied/pasted onto each page.
Rather nifty. Got the Idea from Robert (see below)

"Are you talking about an external object to be repeated here (picture,
Visio object, etc.)? You could bookmark the first occurrence and insert a REF
field, technically."

Anyhow, if there's an easier way to do it, i'm open to suggestions. Being
self-taught here, i'm probably working too hard. But, I've read, in it's
entirety, "Step by Step; Office Word 2007" and progressing through "2007
Microsoft Office System." Fantastic resources, but limited on the In's and
Out's. That's why i'm posting here.


James Dart
Special Projects Manager
Sundown M Ranch
"Reality isn't Relevant, Perception is Everything"

Sweet.
I'm completely self taught as well, and my office has office 2000, so we'll
see if that works or not. I think it should and it sounds awesome so i'll try
it out right now.

Thanks a million
-Shuls

"JamesDart" wrote:



"Mike Shuls" wrote:

James,
I'm making a manual very similar to yours only much smaller. I'm a summer
intern with a copius job that takes a while to learn the ins and outs of, so
I'm making a manual for the next intern and any other future interns during
my free time.

I'm using most of what you're using, 3 levels of headers, a autoTOC and
bookmarks (probably an autoindex as well which ill bookmark so that they are
links...)

I was just wondering if you knew any way to add in an object that will
scroll as the user scrolls with a link back to the TOC, or if there's a good
alternative besides keeping the document map open to easily return to the
table of contents...

Thanks, and good luck on your possible 2500 page beast.

-Shuls


Hiyas Shuls

I'm pretty sure that having a "scrolling object" will create more problems
than solve. What i did, since i have this beast, and frankly, having a
document map open, while is a wonderful function, not everyone understands
it, is just added an icon to represent the Table of Contents on each page
that is hyperlinked.

My solution was the following:
(Part 1)
At the beginning of the document (or just above my Table of Contents) I
typed in very teeny tiny letters "Table"
Highlighted "Table", went into font format and made the text "hidden"
While still highlighted I also gave it a refcode called "Table" as a bookmark

(Part 2)
Then I added my Auto Table of Contents.

(Part 3)
In my "Introduction" I have a page script describing all the little icons
and symbols on any given page. In here, I created a Visio Object (you can
use paint or even import a picture/clipart) to represent the Table of
Contents.

I highlighted this object and named it "AutoTable" as a Bookmark

(Part 4)
Then, I go to the first spot in the manual, all I have to do is select the
spot where i want it (Upper right-hand corner), go to the Insert Tab, Click
on Quick Parts, Click on Fields, Click on Ref, select "Autotable" bookmark,
click on OK...

...and Viola! the picture is now where I want it to be.

(Part 5)
Finally, I highlight the new tableicon and hyperlink it to the "table"
bookmark.

Setup takes a few minutes, then it's just copied/pasted onto each page.
Rather nifty. Got the Idea from Robert (see below)

"Are you talking about an external object to be repeated here (picture,
Visio object, etc.)? You could bookmark the first occurrence and insert a REF
field, technically."

Anyhow, if there's an easier way to do it, i'm open to suggestions. Being
self-taught here, i'm probably working too hard. But, I've read, in it's
entirety, "Step by Step; Office Word 2007" and progressing through "2007
Microsoft Office System." Fantastic resources, but limited on the In's and
Out's. That's why i'm posting here.


James Dart
Special Projects Manager
Sundown M Ranch
"Reality isn't Relevant, Perception is Everything"

Hello James

JamesDart wrote:
[..]
I did take a step back and reduced to "4" Heading levels, so that's good to
know that i'm on the right track.

well, 4 is certainly better than 6 or 7 in that regard!

It's really also a matter of changing seats and imagine you were the
reader. The heading structure is supposed to guide -- not to confuse. :-)

I think I read about this in one of fellow MVP John McGhie's articles.
I'm not sure it's in the following, but you might still take a look (and
there are other good ones where this one comes is hosted :-)):

Creating a Template (Part II, by John McGhie)
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customizat...platePart2.htm


[..]
nods I will do some investigating on this. Any ideas on where I can get
this kind of information, or will it just be trial and error? grins
Getting used to the Trial and Error, frustrating, but I do learn from my
mistakes.

Sorry, I don't really know any good resources up front. That doesn't
mean there are not any (especially "somewhere" in office online). But
much material there seems to be ephemeral/version bound. For a project
like yours, I would test myself in any case. Office/Word is great in
bringing together all different parts/objects, but the details can be a
pain. And historically, testing was due again whenever you switched
versions. So always keep whatever you put into Word also in separate
files wherever you took it from (Visio, PPT, Excel, maybe graphic art
from Photoshop or any other graphic application).


Header: For Sections 1-4, there is no Header. For Sections 4-32, I have 3
PAGE fields: "Chapter" (Heading 1), "Module" (Heading 2), and "Section"
(Heading 3). I felt that the 4th Heading, which is the actual
process/procedure/instructions jumbled the Header too much. For Sections
33-37, I have 2 PAGE fields, "Chapter" and "Section." I'm thinking that I
can reduce it to just "Chapter" since these sections are all part of the
Appendix

Footer: Section 1's footer is a PAGE field with the "SAVEDATE" that I am
using as a "Last Edited" reference.

Good idea, I've even used that in dissertation templates (including with
instructions on how to take it out again before publication).


Sections 2-4 it the ToC, so there is a
PAGE field for roman numeral page numbers.

Just curious: 3 sections for a TOC? Have you three of 'em? [I've seen
this in a 1000 page book before, all with different level of detail. Two
seems enough here as well IMHO ...]


Sections 5-32, I have a PAGE
field for the pagenumber, "Outline Circle 2" as well as two "pasted" logos,
one on either side of the pagenumber. Essentially, one is my company's and
the other is the Software company's. Sections 33-37 use the same "Outline
Circle 2" PAGE field, but I changed the Format to reflect "A-1" for appendix
A, "B-1" for appendix B, etc.
[..]
gasp oh, my. So, what is the recommendation? This "File" is intended to
be used by employees through access in our network. The finished product
(and subfiles) will be placed in the "Public" Folder so that any employee can
access it. It is not intended or designed to be printed. Though, my
supervisor threatens that it needs to be printable for folks to have it
"handy." I disagree, but, then again, she's the boss.

This again is one of John's points: "Folio by Chapter" is outdated.
Imagine yourself leaving through a very large book, say you look
something up in the INDEX or TOC. You will find page 625 in a 1000 page
book very quickly. But how fast will you be able to locate page 8-39?

It's really something people did "in the old days" when large manuals
went into print, and where paper was expensive. When you changed
something in a manual, you only reprinted certain pages with actual
edits. And that's the part where Word really is unsuitable: it does not
really have a clear concept of "pages".

The main text is laid out each and every time you switch views. Well,
it's a text processor, not a typewriter. When you change something on
page 13, 59 following pages might change their pagination. And that's
fine, if you either print out the whole thing anyway each time, and
certainly if you don't print at all.

For an electronic "publication," even on an intranet, I strongly suggest
you don't put the original Word file up there, because users will mess
it up for you! :-) I would probably not even put it in DOC format there,
but as a PDF (or HTML). And, frankly, especially for a printed
publication, the page number is either not necessary at all, or it might
be an ordinary number running from 1 to 1000.


[..]
laughs Yes, it is intended to be read. Maybe that's the wrong
terminology. It is to used to "train" new employees as well as a "Reference"
for established employees. As mentioned above, I have no intentions of ever
printing this monster. Any shortcuts, tricks, and/or ideas to reduce the
size would be greatly appreciated. Half way through Chapter 3, Only added 20
pages. Granted, I reformatted the original 214 pages to be less graphic
intensive, added more white space.

That's cool. Many long documents are what we call "lead deserts" in my
language. :-)


Question: I am not happy with the product, impressed with it, having fun
with the different "eye candy" Word(c) provides, but as you mentioned, I
think that it was the crux of my issue. Essentially, The following is a
"brief" example:
Header: Chapter: "Heading 1" Module: "Heading 2" Section: "Heading 3"
Top right corner: three graphic pictures .25inx.25in, hyperlinked. 1sr one
is to the ToC, 2nd is to the Section Heading, 3rd is to the Appendix

Hyperlinks in headers or footers are not clickable from the main text
story in Word. I don't know what happens if you convert such a document
to PDF (certainly depends in which way you convert whether you get links
at all anywhere :-)).


Heading 1 - "3 Inpatient Admissions"
Heading 2 - "Intake"
Heading 3 - "Admissions - Daily Pre-Admission"
- a little paragraph about the purpose and intent of the section, why it has
to be done, etc.
Heading 4 - "Pre-Admission Checklist"
- and then there's a HUGE table that follows. I found that using a table
made it extremely easy to manipulate, as far as height and length, as well as
"filling" table fields with colors for emphasis.
Footer: Company Logo, Page number, Software Logo

Finally, the question: does using extensive, HUGE tables cause problems?

Yes, Word can be slowed down when your tables span many, many pages. I'd
say it's not the sheer length but "complexity" (number of columns/rows,
split/merged cells, and the content, raw text or pictures/objects, etc.)
that makes it struggle. If you can, split up the table every now and
then (where you'd have inserted a Heading 5 previously ... :-)).


Is this where "Building blocks" or "Quick Parts" would be of better use?
Are you talking about an external object to be repeated here (picture,
Visio object, etc.)? You could bookmark the first occurrence and insert
a REF field, technically.

Yes, and Wow, didn't even think about that. Awesome, will impliment that
today.

And I hope it really works well, too! :-)


In a very large document, saving all the pictures externally and linking
them into the document will reduce the file size. Though frankly, you
have the burden to make sure that the pictures are all stable relative
to the document (in the same folder or subfolder, preferably), have to
deal with relative vs. absolute links, and of course Word needs to bring
all stuff together at run time, so I'm not sure this helps a lot in your
situation.

Oh, okay. I started to do that initially, but found that in order to "link"
to the picture, I had to create a "save" for every single one. After #15 (of
57 currently) I gave up on that idea and just put the pictures (aka Screen
shots) at the end of the document, linked to the appropriate heading.
Problem was, I would have to create a bookmark for the readers spot, insert
the picture to the "Screen shot Appendix", add a WORD(c) caption to the
picture, create a "BACK" hyperlink to the bookmark, then hyperlink the
bookmark to the picture Caption. VERY time consuming, and, as you mentioned
before, takes a lot of memory.

Regarding the pictures befo Word has not historically been a good
container for original "artwork" -- meaning that it's only prudent to
save them someplace else (additionally, unless you link to there from
Word). Linking is more work for you, I think (esp. since you need to
make sure the link targets are still there).


This document I am creating also has documents within documents, meaning,
for processes, prcedures, and/or instructions that will be referred to more
often than others, I created an external document (some are up to 10 pages)
that was hyperlinked from the main document. This does save space, but at
the same time, when the link is clicked on, it "opens" the document and if
the User doesn't "close" it, well, let's just say there's going to be a lot
of open documents.

Yes, well, but users these days should be familiar with hypertext enough
to get along there. Again, the DOC format is hardly the optimal format
for your "publication."


Alas, though the system I am working on is better than the majority of
systems being used at our agency, it is far from "State of the Art." Hence
why I'm trying to find any and all means to reduce the intensity of the
document w/o losing the integrity as well. I like what I have created, but I
worry that I am putting an awful lot of work into something that may end up
too cumbersome or worse yet, unused.

Thank you Robert for responding. I will take what responses you have listed
and put them into action. I also am anxiously waiting for a respone this as
well.

You're welcome. I wish I could give you more direct tips and less
"general advise", but it's been some time since I had to do large
manuals like the one you're working with. I'm not even sure you
mentioned it, but this is not in Word 2007, I presume?

[Tried and trusted is what you are looking for, in any case ... ;-)]

I once had a setup with a dissertation with many pictures being done in
PowerPoint. The special circumstance was that the author took his work
home with him on on weekends and holidays. And had some obscure
subnotebook or such a thing (and it was way before the time when USB
memory sticks were known) and the connection speed from his main
computer to his mobile device was really, really slow. That's where we
exported all slides from PowerPoint to WMF files (that's done with one
command from PowerPoint) into the same folder where the doc was sitting,
and linked all files into Word via INCLUDEPICTURE fields. That worked
pretty well. And a change to a slide took only another save as WMF
(globally, in PowerPoint) and an UpdateField in Word.

Greetinx
Robert
--
/"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign | MSFT |
\ / | MVP | Scientific Reports
X Against HTML | for | with Word?
/ \ in e-mail & news | Word | http://www.masteringword.eu/

Hello James

JamesDart wrote:
[..]
My solution was the following:
(Part 1)
At the beginning of the document (or just above my Table of Contents) I
typed in very teeny tiny letters "Table"
Highlighted "Table", went into font format and made the text "hidden"
While still highlighted I also gave it a refcode called "Table" as a bookmark

hmm. Interesting. You don't have a heading reading "Table of Contents,"
I presume? You could use that to reference (and if it's done in a
heading style, you don't even have to create the bookmark yourself :-)).

2cents
Robert
--
/"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign | MSFT |
\ / | MVP | Scientific Reports
X Against HTML | for | with Word?
/ \ in e-mail & news | Word | http://www.masteringword.eu/

I ended up getting your idea to work, but I decided I wanted to convert my
document to PDF to make it easier to read, since reading something complex in
word can be confusing at best.
The only problem is that those images didn't keep their hyperlinks after the
conversion...any ideas?

Thanks
-Shuls

"JamesDart" wrote:



"Mike Shuls" wrote:

James,
I'm making a manual very similar to yours only much smaller. I'm a summer
intern with a copius job that takes a while to learn the ins and outs of, so
I'm making a manual for the next intern and any other future interns during
my free time.

I'm using most of what you're using, 3 levels of headers, a autoTOC and
bookmarks (probably an autoindex as well which ill bookmark so that they are
links...)

I was just wondering if you knew any way to add in an object that will
scroll as the user scrolls with a link back to the TOC, or if there's a good
alternative besides keeping the document map open to easily return to the
table of contents...

Thanks, and good luck on your possible 2500 page beast.

-Shuls


Hiyas Shuls

I'm pretty sure that having a "scrolling object" will create more problems
than solve. What i did, since i have this beast, and frankly, having a
document map open, while is a wonderful function, not everyone understands
it, is just added an icon to represent the Table of Contents on each page
that is hyperlinked.

My solution was the following:
(Part 1)
At the beginning of the document (or just above my Table of Contents) I
typed in very teeny tiny letters "Table"
Highlighted "Table", went into font format and made the text "hidden"
While still highlighted I also gave it a refcode called "Table" as a bookmark

(Part 2)
Then I added my Auto Table of Contents.

(Part 3)
In my "Introduction" I have a page script describing all the little icons
and symbols on any given page. In here, I created a Visio Object (you can
use paint or even import a picture/clipart) to represent the Table of
Contents.

I highlighted this object and named it "AutoTable" as a Bookmark

(Part 4)
Then, I go to the first spot in the manual, all I have to do is select the
spot where i want it (Upper right-hand corner), go to the Insert Tab, Click
on Quick Parts, Click on Fields, Click on Ref, select "Autotable" bookmark,
click on OK...

...and Viola! the picture is now where I want it to be.

(Part 5)
Finally, I highlight the new tableicon and hyperlink it to the "table"
bookmark.

Setup takes a few minutes, then it's just copied/pasted onto each page.
Rather nifty. Got the Idea from Robert (see below)

"Are you talking about an external object to be repeated here (picture,
Visio object, etc.)? You could bookmark the first occurrence and insert a REF
field, technically."

Anyhow, if there's an easier way to do it, i'm open to suggestions. Being
self-taught here, i'm probably working too hard. But, I've read, in it's
entirety, "Step by Step; Office Word 2007" and progressing through "2007
Microsoft Office System." Fantastic resources, but limited on the In's and
Out's. That's why i'm posting here.


James Dart
Special Projects Manager
Sundown M Ranch
"Reality isn't Relevant, Perception is Everything"

Robert! Thanks; some more answers and questions for you.


I think I read about this in one of fellow MVP John McGhie's articles.
I'm not sure it's in the following, but you might still take a look (and
there are other good ones where this one comes is hosted :-)):

Creating a Template (Part II, by John McGhie)
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customizat...platePart2.htm

Awesome article, made me cry with all that I have done, wish i had this
beforehand. Oh, well.


Sections 2-4 it the ToC, so there is a
PAGE field for roman numeral page numbers.

Just curious: 3 sections for a TOC? Have you three of 'em? [I've seen
this in a 1000 page book before, all with different level of detail. Two
seems enough here as well IMHO ...]

No, the ToC is not three sections, but the first three sections are as
follows: Section 2 is the ToC, section 3 is the Brief Description of the
Chapters, and section 4 is a Page Script and descriptions for various icons
and jargon. I included them all in the same "section" due to i used small
roman numerals to give them reference.

This again is one of John's points: "Folio by Chapter" is outdated.
Imagine yourself leaving through a very large book, say you look
something up in the INDEX or TOC. You will find page 625 in a 1000 page
book very quickly. But how fast will you be able to locate page 8-39?

Message understood, and zomg, 25 sections of linking and unlinking, but, it
does look a lot better and cleaner. Thanks!

Question: I am not happy with the product, impressed with it, having fun
with the different "eye candy" Word(c) provides, but as you mentioned, I
think that it was the crux of my issue. Essentially, The following is a
"brief" example:
Header: Chapter: "Heading 1" Module: "Heading 2" Section: "Heading 3"
Top right corner: three graphic pictures .25inx.25in, hyperlinked. 1sr one
is to the ToC, 2nd is to the Section Heading, 3rd is to the Appendix

Hyperlinks in headers or footers are not clickable from the main text
story in Word. I don't know what happens if you convert such a document
to PDF (certainly depends in which way you convert whether you get links
at all anywhere :-)).

The Hyperlinks are not in the Header, but in the upper right hand corner,
just below the header. I experimented with Hyperlinks in the Header and
discovered that they are only accessible, if you are in the Header. Don't
want users there. heh. But, this does bring up a question.

I have these "hyperlinks" on every single page, and quite honestly, i have
to replace them with "InsertQuickpartFieldRef" and that's a lot of them,
roughly 582 of them. shivers any suggestions on how to make a very long
document more accessible?

I thought about just putting a statement in the Header or Footer about using
"Ctrl+F" instead of the graphic intense icons. What do you think?

Finally, the question: does using extensive, HUGE tables cause problems?

Yes, Word can be slowed down when your tables span many, many pages. I'd
say it's not the sheer length but "complexity" (number of columns/rows,
split/merged cells, and the content, raw text or pictures/objects, etc.)
that makes it struggle. If you can, split up the table every now and
then (where you'd have inserted a Heading 5 previously ... :-)).

Okay, I was not clear enough. I have purposely "Split Table" and "Break
Page" on every page to reduce cells being on 2 pages, etc, but it does create
more work. I removed the "extra" cells. You're going to laugh, but I added
cells above and below each one as spacers. It was recently i discovered that
I could control the height with a click of a button on the Layout Tab. So, I
removed all the extra Cells. Much Cleaner.

Is this where "Building blocks" or "Quick Parts" would be of better use?
Are you talking about an external object to be repeated here (picture,
Visio object, etc.)? You could bookmark the first occurrence and insert
a REF field, technically.

Yes, and Wow, didn't even think about that. Awesome, will impliment that
today.

And I hope it really works well, too! :-)

In a very large document, saving all the pictures externally and linking
them into the document will reduce the file size. Though frankly, you
have the burden to make sure that the pictures are all stable relative
to the document (in the same folder or subfolder, preferably), have to
deal with relative vs. absolute links, and of course Word needs to bring
all stuff together at run time, so I'm not sure this helps a lot in your
situation.

Oh, okay. I started to do that initially, but found that in order to "link"
to the picture, I had to create a "save" for every single one. After #15 (of
57 currently) I gave up on that idea and just put the pictures (aka Screen
shots) at the end of the document, linked to the appropriate heading.
Problem was, I would have to create a bookmark for the readers spot, insert
the picture to the "Screen shot Appendix", add a WORD(c) caption to the
picture, create a "BACK" hyperlink to the bookmark, then hyperlink the
bookmark to the picture Caption. VERY time consuming, and, as you mentioned
before, takes a lot of memory.

Regarding the pictures befo Word has not historically been a good
container for original "artwork" -- meaning that it's only prudent to
save them someplace else (additionally, unless you link to there from
Word). Linking is more work for you, I think (esp. since you need to
make sure the link targets are still there).

I have done extensive reading on Pictures and Imbedded items into word, but
I can't seem to find my answer. You mentioned making sure to put all my
external items into seperate files and link them to the document. I
understand that works well for Screen Captures and Bitmaps. As far as Visio,
i have many flowcharts and modified Screen Captures that are imbedded (i.e.
Ctrl+Click & Drap) into the document. Do I need to have an individual file
for each one instead?

Also, if I have FieldRef linked a picture, can I copy & Paste it in another
spot or do I have Link it again to the document?

I read in one of the MVP logs that if I"m going to insert pictures, several
things need to be done. (1) use a table to provide a frame for the picture,
that way it doesn't wander (2) Convert any Bitmap to a GIF and then
"InsertPictureLink to File." I finally figured out how to convert my bit
maps, and wow, I have a 3,780 KB bitmap reduced to a 52 KB GIF. Granted the
color quality is less, but it's sufficient. Once one of these GIFs have been
inserted & linked, can I copy & paste them elsewhere?

This document I am creating also has documents within documents, meaning,
for processes, prcedures, and/or instructions that will be referred to more
often than others, I created an external document (some are up to 10 pages)
that was hyperlinked from the main document. This does save space, but at
the same time, when the link is clicked on, it "opens" the document and if
the User doesn't "close" it, well, let's just say there's going to be a lot
of open documents.

Yes, well, but users these days should be familiar with hypertext enough
to get along there. Again, the DOC format is hardly the optimal format
for your "publication."


Rut Roh, what would be the suggestion?

Thank you Robert for responding. I will take what responses you have listed
and put them into action. I also am anxiously waiting for a respone this as
well.

Ditto!

You're welcome. I wish I could give you more direct tips and less
"general advise", but it's been some time since I had to do large
manuals like the one you're working with. I'm not even sure you
mentioned it, but this is not in Word 2007, I presume?

I am creating this Document in Word 2007 Compatibility Mode due to the fact
that our company has 144 Users, 141 of them are using Word 2000.

James E. Dart
Sundown M Ranch
Special Projects