Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Combining Word Documents.

Combining Word Documents

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 22, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Word provides a very easy way to combine documents, without the typical cut-and-paste routine. This is great for boilerplate text in your document. All you need to do is use the INCLUDETEXT field within a document. Follow these steps:

  1. Insert a pair of field braces by pressing Ctrl+F9.
  2. Within the field braces type INCLUDETEXT, followed by a space and the name of the document you want to include. For instance, if I wanted to include MyFile.Doc, I my field would look as follows:
  3.      { INCLUDETEXT "MyFile.Doc" }
    
  4. Press F9 to update the field.

At the point, the specified file should appear within your document. If it doesn't (for instance, if you get an error message), then make sure you typed the document name correctly, and that you included a full path name. (You must include the full path name if the document is in a directory different from the one in which the current document is located.)

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (598) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Combining Word Documents.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Allowing Only Comments in a Document

Develop a document that is to be reviewed by a group of people, and you may want to protect it in some way. One way you ...

Discover More

Removing Line Numbering

If you've added line numbers to your document, at some point you may want them turned off. Here's how to disable line ...

Discover More

Inserting Page Number Cross-References

Want to insert a dynamic cross-reference to a particular page number? It's easy to do following the steps in this tip.

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Complex Searches for Documents

When working with lots of documents, you may have need from time to time to discover which of those documents contain ...

Discover More

Getting Rid of Hidden Text in Many Files

Hidden text is a great boon if you want to make sure something doesn't show up on the screen or on a printout. If you ...

Discover More

Saving All Open Documents

Got a lot of open documents you are working with? You can save them all at one time by just holding down the Shift key ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is three less than 4?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.