<p class="Paragraph">You can either create a new empty master document by choosing <span class="T1">File - New - Master Document</span>, or <help:link Id="65742" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help">create a master document</help:link> from an existing document by choosing <span class="T1">File - Send - Create Master Document</span>.</p>
<p class="Paragraph">You can open a master document by choosing <span class="T1">File - New - Master Document</span>. The new master document is opened as an empty text document. You will immediately see the <help:link Id="65664" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help">Navigator in global mode</help:link>.</p>
<p class="Paragraph">The Navigator in master mode provides the functions you need for navigating and editing. Double-click a document in the Navigator to load it for editing.</p>
<p class="Paragraph">When opening an existing master document, note the extension ".sxg", which distinguishes a master document from "normal" <help:productname xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help">%PRODUCTNAME</help:productname> Writer documents in the Open File dialog. There is a sample master document provided with the <help:productname xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help">%PRODUCTNAME</help:productname> samples.</p>
<p class="Paragraph">Now you can either enter text, e.g., for headings, or insert subdocuments, by clicking the icon <span class="T1">Insert</span> and choosing the desired entry <span class="T1">Text</span> or <span class="T1">File</span>.</p>
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<p class="Paragraph">You can also insert a new document with the entry <span class="T1">New document</span>; in this case, first enter a name and a path; after that, you can write the new document and save it.</p>
<p class="Paragraph"><span class="T1">Paragraph Styles</span> you define and use in the subdocuments are automatically adopted in the master document. If you save the master document afterwards, these Styles will be available everywhere in the master document. The Styles defined in the master document have priority over Styles with the same name in subdocuments.</p>
<p class="Paragraph">It is a good idea to base all subdocuments and the master document itself on the same document template. If a new Style is needed in the documents now, you simply have to add it to the document template and reload the master document. Then the new Style can be applied to all documents automatically.</p>
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<p class="Paragraph">Use Page Styles, if you want all subdocuments to always start on a new page (e.g. always on a new right page). We included a Page Style called "Right page" that you can, for example, link to the Paragraph Style "Header 1". If you assign a page break to the Paragraph Style "Header 1", every "Header 1" will always be at the top of a right page. As the Next Style assigned to the Page Style "Right page" you now choose "Left page" and vice versa.</p>
<p class="Paragraph">If the cursor is positioned in a text in the master document, the entry <span class="T1">Text</span> is shaded gray because consecutive texts are always combined to one single text. Between individual inserted documents, you can insert new <span class="T1">text</span>. The new documents or texts are always inserted above the current entry. However, you can easily change their order with Drag&Drop or with the icons <span class="T1">Move down</span> and <span class="T1">Move up</span>.</p>
<p class="Paragraph">The inserted documents are inserted in the master document as protected areas. That means that you cannot edit the documents within the master document. It is possible, however, to navigate through the document with the cursor in order to read them.</p>
<p class="Paragraph"><help:key-word value="master document; indexes" tag="kw68200_6" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help"/><help:key-word value="indexes; in master documents" tag="kw68200_5" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help"/>All <span class="T1">indexes</span> are created directly in the master document, i.e., in the *.sxg file. They automatically include all subdocuments.</p>
<p class="Paragraph">If you change one or more subdocuments after creating an index, you should update the indexes in the master document. To do this, click the icon <span class="T1">Update</span> on the <help:link Id="65664" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help">Navigator for master documents</help:link> and select the entries to be updated from the submenu.</p>
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<p class="Paragraph"><help:key-word value="references; master document" tag="kw68200_4" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help"/><help:key-word value="LOOKUP; master document" tag="kw68200_3" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help"/><help:key-word value="master document; LOOKUP" tag="kw68200_2" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help"/>References work between Master Document and subdocuments, as well as within subdocuments, when these are definite in all documents involved. Therefore, if the figures in a subdocument are numbered from "figure 1" to "figure 10", the figures in the next subdocument can start with "figure 11).</p>
<p class="Paragraph">If you want, you can save the master document together with all its parts as a combined <help:productname xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help">%PRODUCTNAME</help:productname> Writer document. To do this, choose the command <span class="T1">File - Save as</span> and choose a "normal" <help:productname xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help">%PRODUCTNAME</help:productname> Writer format in the list box <span class="T1">File type</span>.</p>
<p class="Paragraph">When printing the master document, all subdocuments, texts, and indexes will be printed.</p>
<p class="TextInTable">You would like to know if a link exists for all subdocument? Position the mouse pointer in the Navigator on the corresponding entry. The path information of the original document will appear in a small window. If the file is no longer found under the original path, the warning <span class="T1">File not found</span> is shown in red in addition to the path.</p>
