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: Linking Word Documents.
Besides being able to link information from other Windows applications into your document, you can link other Word documents to your current document. This comes in real handy if you are working with a document that needs to pull information from other documents. For instance, you might have a contract that has standard clauses in it. These clauses may be stored in other documents and then be pulled into the contract as necessary. If you are using Word 97, this is done in the following manner:
If you are using Word 2000, 2002, or 2003, the process is just a bit different:
This process results in Word displaying the other file, but the INCLUDETEXT field is used instead of the actual text from the file. The advantage to adding links in this way instead of inserting the other file completely is that the original documents (the ones you are linked to) can be independently updated, and those changes are reflected in the document with the links. (Provided, of course, that you update the links in the document by selecting the link and pressing F9.)
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1316) 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: Linking Word Documents.
Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!
If you save different versions of your document using the versioning feature of Word, you'll want to know how you can go back ...
Discover MoreFinding the built in functionality in Word 2002 & 2003 for saving your document as a MS-DOS format.
Discover MoreIf you have some documents that open in Word 2003, but not in Word 2000, it may mean that you are running into some strange ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2017-04-27 08:11:57
guys i need some help......i just wanted to know how to merge 2 or more word documents so that if i change the fonts in one word document it changes in the others too............can you help me............you can reach me at johnwesley.solomon@gmail.com
2016-07-10 20:49:26
Ted Duke
And if you are using Word 2016 Microsoft changes it again. To insert TEXT from a file (a document)
1.Select Insert Tab (at top of window)
2. in the Text group, click on Object
3. In the drop down list select Text from File
4. In File Explorer select an appropriate file that contains text.
Do Microsoft software engineers stay up late at night thinking of new changes to confuse users who upgrade Word?
2015-09-24 08:42:31
Cam Peneff
sorry that did not answer my question. I need to know if I can insert only specific pages from the linked doc. not the whole doc
original post...
office365 word 2013. I have several large docs A, B, C and a small doc D. I want to insert ONLY CERTAIN PAGES of Docs A,B,C into D so that when I update A,B or C, the changes are reflected in D. I have used hyperlink and that only shows the link, (the URL). I want the actual text to appear. Pasting a link to a complete DOC is no problem. I need to know how do to select certain pages from within A to C to show up as text (not hyperlink) in D?
2015-09-23 11:01:35
D Wilson
Every time I create a word document, the computer creates a text document with the same name....how can I stop this from happening?
2015-08-05 04:51:32
Vijay
Second question.
Needed Help, Thanks in advance.
I have one master document in word.
It is to be linked to another document which is a .txt file.
Can we link .txt file to master file of word, just like any other word file ?
2015-08-05 04:46:00
Vijay
Needed Help, Thanks in advance.
I have one master document.
It is to be linked to another document with 20 sentences:
However,
All the contents of the second document are not needed to be inserted in the master file.
Some times only the
sentence number 5, 11, 17 to be inserted,
at other times
sentence number 2, 6, 12 to be inserted
at some other
sentence number 3, 9, 13 to be inserted
how to create a link ?
2015-01-22 13:37:56
Jay
I have dynamic info (text, pics, charts) saved as seperate word files which I want to imbed in several new docs. I want all of them to automatically update whenever I change the imbeded object. How can I do this?
2015-01-10 11:45:12
Cam Peneff
office365 word 2013. I have several large docs A, B, C and a small doc D. I want to insert ONLY CERTAIN PAGES of Docs A,B,C into D so that when I update A,B or C, the changes are reflected in D. I have used hyperlink and that only shows the link, (the URL). I want the actual text to appear. Pasting a link to a complete DOC is no problem. I need to know how do to select certain pages from within A to C to show up as text (not hyperlink) in D?
2014-11-30 06:41:17
Sridhar
Please tell the procedure for the following.There are two word documents in word 2007.If i make any change in one document it must be automatically done in second one.
2013-04-18 09:28:06
Sarah
How do I find/ save as "Master Doc"
Thanks All!
2013-04-17 01:04:49
Eric
It was not easy to find but... I think this will help.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/field-codes-link-field-HP005186170.aspx
2013-02-13 04:09:11
Tareq Hawary
Word 2010, open a new document and save it with MasterDoc., from Insert tab|Text group|Quick Parts|Fields, then select the field called [Includetext], and put the file name -with its path- that you want to link.
Now you can edit the linked files individually and to update the MasterDoc. by the latest changes, open MasterDoc. then press F9.
Also you can make changes to the linked files in the MasterDoc. and you can press Ctrl+Shif+F7 to updated the linked files.
2013-01-28 08:46:18
Michael
David,
Can you please elaborate? I don't understand what to do with that code. Thanks.
2013-01-25 06:51:24
David Maley
I only got the first page of linked documents too. I found this worked:
{ INCLUDETEXT "o:7 background provision7.5 backupVerification that Backup is Comprehensive.docx" * MERGEFORMAT }
2012-09-06 14:04:20
Laura Pichette
how can I save a document in 2 seperate ares, and then if I make a change to the document in 1 area, it automatically updates it in the other area?
For example: I create a doc. and save it in file folder A.
I make a copy of that document and file it in folder B.
I go back to folder A and make a change to the document.
How can I make it automatically update the copy that is in Folder B?
2012-08-31 12:47:25
Michael
I'm using Word 2007 and trying to link a multi page word document into another word document. I only get the first page of the linked document in my new document. how do i get all pages to show?
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.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2017 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
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: 
Comments