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Can one create separate Word documents from a large consolidated Word docx, by removing section breaks?

Anonymous
2023-12-30T12:00:44+00:00

I have a very large document composed of about 100 separate files. Many of the internal docs have unique, distinctive formatting. I created the consolidated document by inserting a section break at the end of one document, then inserting 'text from file' of the next part, and so on. I now need to recreate separate files from each of the internal documents, many of which were edited and corrected within the consolidated file. Is there any easy way to break apart the consolidated document by removing the section breaks and spinning off the new documents while retaining their complex formatting? (Using latest MS Word through Office 365)

Questions for clarification or elaboration welcomed.

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  1. Charles Kenyon 166.5K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2023-12-30T14:59:44+00:00

    I have a very large document composed of about 100 separate files. Many of the internal docs have unique, distinctive formatting. I created the consolidated document by inserting a section break at the end of one document, then inserting 'text from file' of the next part, and so on. I now need to recreate separate files from each of the internal documents, many of which were edited and corrected within the consolidated file. Is there any easy way to break apart the consolidated document by removing the section breaks and spinning off the new documents while retaining their complex formatting? (Using latest MS Word through Office 365)

    Questions for clarification or elaboration welcomed.

    I think shollybee's response was really non-responsive.

    You do NOT want to remove those section breaks because they contain much of the formatting you are trying to retain, I suspect.

    1. Simplest method is to save a copy of the compiled document with a new name.
    2. Then, in that copy, delete everything before the section you want to preserve, including any section break before it.
    3. Then, go to the end of the section you want to keep and delete everything after the section break that ends the section.
    4. This may give you an extra page. Change that section break to continuous but do not delete it.
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  2. Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 322.9K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2023-12-30T22:08:10+00:00

    Use the following macro

    Sub splitter()
    ' splitter Macro
    ' Macro created by Doug Robbins to save each letter created by a mailmerge
    ' as a separate file, retaining the header and footer information.
    Dim i As Long, Source As Document, Target As Document, Letter As Range
    Set Source = ActiveDocument
    For i = 1 To Source.Sections.Count
        Set Letter = Source.Sections(i).Range
        Set Target = Documents.Add
        Target.Range = Letter
        Target.Sections(2).PageSetup.SectionStart = wdSectionContinuous
        Target.SaveAs FileName:="Letter" & i
        Target.Close
    Next i
    End Sub

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-12-30T14:45:49+00:00

    Hi Davrich,

    Thanks for contacting us,

    Cited from the Microsoft article https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/office/insert-a-section-break-eef20fd8-e38c-4ba6-a027-e503bdf8375c "Select where you want a new section to begin. Go to Layout > Breaks, and then choose the type of section break you want. Next Page Starts the new section on the following page."

    Let me know if this helps or if you need further assistance.

    Regards, Sola

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