OT Merging Word Documents

Discussion in 'UK Motorcycles' started by sweller, Nov 12, 2006.

  1. sweller

    sweller Guest

    I have 50 or so single page Word documents which I wish to combine into
    one.

    How do I do it with Word 2003? Surely it's possible? Just that
    Google and F1 hae not been exactly forthcoming.

    To make matters worse my full copy of Acrobat 6 seems to have fallen
    out with Word 2003 and refuses to convert and combine that sort of
    number.
     
    sweller, Nov 12, 2006
    #1
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  2. Maybe I'm being dim, here. Just open a new word doc and keep inserting text
    from file for each of the fifty?

    Ali
     
    Alison Hopkins, Nov 12, 2006
    #2
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  3. sweller

    muddy cat Guest

    He could have been finished by now.
     
    muddy cat, Nov 12, 2006
    #3
  4. sweller

    sweller Guest

    ****. That.

    I have another lot of 100+ single pages and it's the same every month.
    I want a simple batch process to bang them all together whilst I go off
    and do something that doesn't involve getting RSI.
     
    sweller, Nov 12, 2006
    #4
  5. sweller

    Christofire Guest

    Do they all have the same filenames each month? You could probably
    write/have a macro written to do it, but I've not done a lot of macro
    writing. If you don't know where to start I might be able to look at it.
     
    Christofire, Nov 12, 2006
    #5
  6. sweller

    Pete Fisher Guest

    If you are prepared to cough up 20 dollars this looks as if it might
    work:

    http://www.vicman.net/downloads/dir/Word-Join-Merge-Combine-Multiple-Documents-Software/37794.html

    I am interested myself so I have downloaded a demo and will have a play.
    --

    +-------------------------------------------------------------+
    | Pete Fisher at Home: |
    | Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest Yamaha WR250Z |
    | Gilera GFR Moto Morini 2C/375 |
    +-------------------------------------------------------------+
     
    Pete Fisher, Nov 13, 2006
    #6
  7. sweller

    catman Guest

    There is a switch for copy that will combine any binary file(s) together
    into one. That should do it very easily

    Sadly I don't have a DOS command window here but a quick google shows

    Copy

    Copies one or more files to the location you specify.

    This command can also be used to combine files. When more than one file
    is copied, MS-DOS displays each filename as the file is copied.
    Syntax

    copy [/a|/b] source [/a|/b] [+ source [/a|/b] [+ ...]][destination
    [/a|/b]] [/v]

    HTH

    --
    Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
    Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
    Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 TS 156 TS S2
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    catman, Nov 13, 2006
    #7
  8. sweller

    catman Guest

    Bad form, but I missed a chunk off:

    Switches

    /a

    Indicates an ASCII text file. When the /a switch precedes the list of
    filenames on the command line, it applies to all files whose names
    follow the /a switch, until copy encounters a /b switch, in which case
    the /b switch applies to the file whose name precedes the /b switch.

    When the /a switch follows a filename, it applies to the file whose name
    precedes the /a switch and to all files whose names follow the /a
    switch, until copy encounters a /b switch, in which case the /b switch
    applies to the file whose name precedes the /b switch.

    An ASCII text file can use an end-of-file character (CTRL+Z) to indicate
    the end of the file. When combining files, copy treats files as ASCII
    text files by default.

    /b

    Indicates a binary file. When the /b switch precedes the list of
    filenames on the command line, it applies to all files whose names
    follow the /b switch, until copy encounters an /a switch, in which case
    the /a switch applies to the file whose name precedes the /a switch.

    When the /b switch follows a filename, it applies to the file whose name
    precedes the /b switch and to all files whose names follow the /b
    switch, until copy encounters an /a switch, in which case the /a switch
    applies to the file whose name precedes the /a switch.

    The /b switch specifies that the command interpreter is to read the
    number of bytes specified by the file size in the directory. The /b
    switch is the default value for copy unless copy is combining files.

    /v

    Verifies that new files are written correctly.

    Notes

    Copying to and from devices

    You can substitute a device name for one or more occurrences of source
    or for destination.

    Using or omitting the /b switch when copying to a device

    When destination is a device (for example, COM1 or LPT1), the /b switch
    causes MS-DOS to copy data to the device in binary mode. In binary mode,
    all characters (including such special characters as CTRL+C, CTRL+S,
    CTRL+Z, and carriage return) are copied to the device as data. Whereas,
    omission of the /b switch causes MS-DOS to copy data to the device in
    ASCII mode. In ASCII mode, such special characters as those previously
    listed may cause MS-DOS to take special action during the copying process.

    Using the default destination file

    If you do not specify a destination file, MS-DOS creates a copy with the
    same name, creation date, and creation time as the original file,
    placing the new copy in the current directory on the current drive. If
    the source file is on the current drive and in the current directory and
    you do not specify a different drive or directory for the destination
    file, the copy command stops and MS-DOS displays the following error
    message:

    File cannot be copied onto itself
    0 File(s) copied

    Using the /v switch

    If MS-DOS cannot verify a write operation, it displays an error message.
    Although recording errors rarely occur with the copy command, the /v
    switch lets you verify that critical data has been correctly recorded.
    The /v switch also slows down the copy command, because MS-DOS must
    check each sector recorded on the disk.

    Using the /a and /b switches

    The effect of an /a or /b switch depends upon its position on the
    command line. When the /a or /b switch follows the source filename, copy
    performs as shown in the following list:

    /a

    Treats the file as an ASCII (text) file and copies data that precedes
    the first end-of-file character. Copy does not copy the first
    end-of-file character or the remainder of the file.

    /b

    Copies the entire file, including any end-of-file character.

    When the /a or /b switch follows the destination filename, copy performs
    as shown in the following list:

    /a

    Adds an end-of-file character as the last character of the file.

    /b

    Does not add an end-of-file character.

    Combining files with the copy command

    If you specify more than one source, separating entries with a plus sign
    (+), copy combines the files, creating a single file. If you use
    wildcards in source but specify a single filename in destination, copy
    combines all files matching the filename in source and creates a single
    file with the filename specified in destination.

    In either case, copy assumes the combined files are ASCII files unless
    you specify the /b switch. (Do not combine non-ASCII files without
    specifying the /b switch; doing so can result in truncated files, since
    most binary files contain CTRL+Z characters which cause copy to behave
    as if it has reached the end of the file.)

    If the name of the destination file is the same as the name of one of
    the files being copied (except the first file), the original contents of
    the destination file are lost. When this happens, copy displays the
    following message:

    Content of destination lost before copy

    Copying files in subdirectories

    To copy all of a directory's files and subdirectories, you should use
    the xcopy command.

    More here

    http://www.microsoft.com/technet/archive/msdos/comm1.mspx?mfr=true

    --
    Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
    Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
    Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 TS 156 TS S2
    Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
    www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk
     
    catman, Nov 13, 2006
    #8
  9. sweller

    sweller Guest

    So some form of open all *.doc in a directory > save as xml then do
    stuff type macro is called for, eh?

    If only I knew someone...
     
    sweller, Nov 13, 2006
    #9
  10. sweller

    Pete Fisher Guest

    Worth a try, but I would be surprised if it resulted in a properly
    merged word document.

    This will:
    http://www.monkeyjob.com/Merge-Word-Files.htm

    Shareware for less than ten quid.

    A rather clunky interface and no command line option but it works for
    me.



    --

    +-------------------------------------------------------------+
    | Pete Fisher at Home: |
    | Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest Yamaha WR250Z |
    | Gilera GFR Moto Morini 2C/375 |
    +-------------------------------------------------------------+
     
    Pete Fisher, Nov 13, 2006
    #10
  11. sweller

    Krusty Guest

    Open first doccie, position cursor at end, then select all other
    doccies in explorer & drag & drop them into the one you opened.

    Works in Word 2k anyway.

    --
    Krusty
    www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
    Off-Road Classifieds

    '02 MV Senna '03 Tiger 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250
     
    Krusty, Nov 13, 2006
    #11
  12. sweller

    ogden Guest

    You'll be telling me I can't use the same technique to merge database
    tables next. Shame on you!

    (Isn't catman another Independent IT Consultant?)
     
    ogden, Nov 13, 2006
    #12
  13. sweller

    Pete Fisher Guest

    You'll be telling me I can't use the same technique to merge database
    tables next. Shame on you!
    [/QUOTE]

    Tables with the same structure in CSV format ?

    --

    +-------------------------------------------------------------+
    | Pete Fisher at Home: |
    | Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest Yamaha WR250Z |
    | Gilera GFR Moto Morini 2C/375 |
    +-------------------------------------------------------------+
     
    Pete Fisher, Nov 13, 2006
    #13
  14. sweller

    darsy Guest

    "Monkey Merge"

    http://www.monkeyjob.com/Merge-Word-Files.htm

    nag-wear unless you purchase it, but I guess you'll be used to that.
     
    darsy, Nov 13, 2006
    #14
  15. sweller

    Pete Fisher Guest

    Ginge. ^^^^^^
    Worse than nag-ware. Won't merge more than two files unless you cough
    up. Plus points - offers to merge Excels and PDF (if you have full
    Acrobat installed).


    --

    +-------------------------------------------------------------+
    | Pete Fisher at Home: |
    | Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest Yamaha WR250Z |
    | Gilera GFR Moto Morini 2C/375 |
    +-------------------------------------------------------------+
     
    Pete Fisher, Nov 13, 2006
    #15
  16. sweller

    Ace Guest

    Absolutely. I've done a fair amount of work with word and rtf document
    creation and management and can state with some degree of certainty
    that this idea is a complete non-starter.

    Basically, I've always ended up creating .rtf instead of .doc files,
    which one can then manipulate externally, stripping off headers and
    footers and all sorts of extraneous crap that word uses.

    --
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    `\|/`
    `
     
    Ace, Nov 13, 2006
    #16
  17. sweller

    darsy Guest

    err, you recommended "Word Join (Merge, Combine) Multiple Documents
    Software Version: 7.0 by Sobolsoft" price $19.82. I, well, didn't.
    Monkey Merge is only £8.95, for a start.
     
    darsy, Nov 13, 2006
    #17
  18. sweller

    Catman Guest

    I can understand that, but it works (IME) in the most unlikely circumstances

    --
    Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
    Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
    Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 TS 156 TS S2
    Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
    www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk
     
    Catman, Nov 13, 2006
    #18
  19. sweller

    Catman Guest

    Erm sort of now. I have been persuaded to re-sell my soul

    --
    Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
    Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
    Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 TS 156 TS S2
    Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
    www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk
     
    Catman, Nov 13, 2006
    #19
  20. sweller

    Catman Guest


    Well, I'm always willing to learn :)



    --
    Catman MIB#14 SKoGA#6 TEAR#4 BOTAFOF#38 Apostle#21 COSOC#3
    Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright (Remove rust to reply)
    Alfa 116 Giulietta 3.0l (Really) Sprint 1.7 75 TS 156 TS S2
    Triumph Speed Triple: Black with extra black bits
    www.cuore-sportivo.co.uk
     
    Catman, Nov 13, 2006
    #20
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