Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Combining Word Documents.

Combining Word Documents

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 19, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

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:

Insert a pair of field braces by pressing Ctrl+F9.
Within the field braces type INCLUDETEXT, followed by a space and the name of the document you want to include. Make sure you surround the document name with quote marks. For instance, if I wanted to include MyFile.Doc, my field would look as follows:

     { INCLUDETEXT "MyFile.Doc" }

Press F9 to update the field.

At this 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 (13137) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word 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. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Picking Which Outlook Address to Use in Word

If your Outlook contacts have more than one address each, you may want to select which one is used in Word. This tip ...

Discover More

Jumping to the Last Possible Cell

It can be frustrating if you try to jump to the last cell in a worksheet, only to find out that you are taken to some ...

Discover More

Displaying Worksheets in a Slideshow Fashion

Want to step through the worksheets in a workbook, displaying them like a slideshow? The macros provided in this tip can ...

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 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Using a Standard Format in a Suggested File Name

Many companies (and some individuals) use specific formats for naming their documents. If you want Word to recognize your ...

Discover More

Formatting Text in Custom Document Properties

Word allows you to create custom document properties that stay with a document and can be inserted through the use of ...

Discover More

Leading Spaces in Document File Names

If you try to add spaces to the beginning of a document's file name, Word normally strips them away. This tip examines ...

Discover More

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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is four less than 6?

2020-09-19 19:43:54

Peter Thomas

Just a note of caution that when typing the path in the field you must use the \\ separator rather than the single \. I also had some trouble until I included both the path and filename within the quotes.

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.