Writer Guide

Why use a master document?
Master documents are typically used for producing long documents
such as a book, a thesis, or a long report. A master document is
especially useful when graphics, spreadsheets, or other material
causes the file size to become quite large. Master documents are also
used when different people are writing different chapters or other
parts of the full document, so you don’t need to share files. A master
document joins separate text documents into one larger document, and
unifies the formatting, table of contents (ToC), bibliography, index, and
other tables or lists.
Yes, master documents do work in OOo Writer. However, their use is
full of traps for inexperienced users. Until you become familiar with
the traps, find out whether they affect what you are doing, and learn
how to avoid (or work around) them, you may think that master
documents are unreliable or difficult to use. In fact, avoiding or
working around most of the traps is quite easy to do.
You can use several methods to create master documents. Each
method has its advantages and disadvantages. Which method you
choose depends on what you are trying to accomplish. The different
methods are described in this chapter, along with suggestions on when
to use each one.
Styles and master documents
Styles that are used in subdocuments, such as paragraph styles, are
automatically imported into the master document after you save the
master document. When you modify the style in the master document,
the style in the subdocument remains unaffected. That is, the style in
the master document takes precedence over the style in the
subdocument.
Tip
Use the same document template for the master document and
its subdocuments. When you modify or create a style, add it to
the document template, and then reload the styles from the
template into the master document and the subdocuments.
This way the subdocuments will look the same when they are
loaded into the master document as they do when viewed as
individual files.
Chapter 13 Working with Master Documents 413