Question

Join Word documents? Very easy!

Answer 1

Why merge multiple Word documents?
Join multiple files in Word
Compare and combine documents

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Join Word documents? Very easy!

Sometimes Word can make life quite difficult, especially when working as a team. When a colleague edits one version of a document and you take care of another, combining all those extra paragraphs, modified snippets, and single sentences into a single coherent text can take a long time, unless you know the handy function of merging two. or more documents in Word ..

Index

1. Why merge multiple Word documents?
2. Join multiple files in Word
3. Compare and combine documents

Why merge multiple Word documents?

When several people work on the same project using the Microsoft Word word processor, they all edit separate documents, that is, separate files. The reason is that, unlike other programs, Microsoft Word does not offer the possibility of working on a single file collaboratively and at the same time. Even if multiple people try to open the same file, they will all be editing different versions .

Note

Collaborative word processing programs are powered by cloud technology. An example of this is Office 365, which, unlike other versions of Microsoft Office, allows multiple people to edit the same file at the same time..

When joining the different versions, it is possible to do it by copying and pasting , which is very cumbersome if we work with a large number of files. Also, if the changes overlap, joining all the text by hand can be tremendously complicated and require a lot of time and concentration. In these cases, we often make mistakes that are sometimes caught too late. However, there is a feature that allows you to combine Word documents while keeping all changes in view. For example, it prevents a paragraph from appearing twice or an error from being overlooked.

Join multiple files in Word

Do you have a coherent text spread over several files that you now have to join into one? If the contents of each document do not overlap, that is, if none of the files have identical content, you can put it all together in a few steps using a much faster system than copying and pasting each fragment by hand..

Before using this function, you must prepare the files, saving them all in the same folder. Then, you have to name the documents consecutively, so that Word can distinguish the order clearly in the next step. For example, you can give all files the same name, adding different numbers to it. This numerical order will determine how the fragments will be merged in the final document.

Then create a new Word file, open the tab? Insert? and click on the option? Object ?. There, select? Insert text from file ?. In the window that opens, navigate to the appropriate folder and select the files. If you hold down the [Ctrl] key, you can select multiple files at the same time .

Finally, click on? Insert ?. Word will merge all the individual texts into a single document and in the correct order , as long as you have numbered them properly first. Now you will only have to correct some formatting elements (for example, the paragraphs and styles) to have the document ready.

With the function? Object? (? Object? In the image) you can merge several Word documents into one

In summary

With this method, you can join many Word files without having to open all the documents separately. The program itself takes care of automatically extracting the content of each file.

Compare and combine documents

The system described above is especially useful if you need to merge the different contents of a large number of files into a single document. On the other hand, if two people work on two different files, but editing the same text, this method does not make sense. In this case, if you merge both files, you will get a document with both versions, one below the other. To get consistent text that includes the changes for both files , you must first compare the two versions.

To do this, open one of the files (or a new document), go to the? Review? Tab, click the? Compare? Button. and then select? Combine ?. In the configuration window that will appear next, select both files. To get an overview of the changes and who made them, specify who is the author of each version. When you accept the settings, Word opens a new window. There you can see both versions of the text, as well as a combined version . In the zone where the Word documents have been merged, you can decide which changes to apply.

You can also compare two documents first and join them later.

In summary

This second option is especially useful if you are working with only two documents, as it offers full control over the text. However, joining several Word documents can take a long time this way, since the program only allows you to compare them two by two.

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