master document loses sub docs (9.0 SR-1)

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I have a Master Document into which I’ve inserted three sub documents. I’ve seen the subdocument elements displayed when the subdocuments are expanded and when they are collapsed, I’ve seen the hyperlinks to the 3 sub docs displayed. I save the Master doc and exit Word.

When I re-open the Master document, it opens in the Outline view and no subdocuments are to be found. What am I doing wrong? The sub-docs haven’t been moved – they’re still in the same sub directory as the master doc. Can anyone tell me what’s happening here?

Thanks.

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I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. What you are doing wrong is using the Master Document feature. It is broken, it has always been broken in Word, it may never be fixed.

“Master Document” is a term of art in Word referring to a “feature” that not only doesn’t work but also destroys documents. The consensus among those offering advice on the Microsoft Word newsgroups is that using the Master Document feature is a sure way to destroy your document. It can destroy parts of your document that you are not even working on! I think John McGhie said it succinctly when he said that there are two kinds of Master Documents: Those that are corrupt and those that will be corrupt soon. See How can I best use Master Documents? (addbalance.com/word/masterdocuments.htm) for information on the Master Document feature and workarounds. See Why Master Documents Corrupt (mvps.org/word/FAQs/General/WhyMasterDocsCorrupt.htm) for more information on what goes wrong, and How to Recover Master Documents (mvps.org/word/FAQs/General/RecoverMasterDocs.htm) for ideas on how to salvage what you can.

Hope this helps.

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Chas,

Thanks for your post. Your references helped a lot! I should have known that the Master/Sub doc feature was too good to be true.

Wendy

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