This wikiHow teaches you how to combine multiple Microsoft Word documents into one document. In addition to separate documents, you can also combine several versions of the same document into one new file. While it may seem like a hassle at first, the steps to follow are actually really easy and you can combine files quickly!
Step
Method 1 of 2: Merging Multiple Documents
Step 1. Open the Word document to which you want to add another document
The easiest way to do this is to double-click the document file to open it in Word. You can also open Word first, clicking the File ” in the Word window, select “ Open ”, and click the desired document.
Step 2. Click the area where you want to add the next document
The text of the added document will be inserted at the point or area you clicked.
Step 3. Click the Insert tab
This tab is at the top of the screen, between the " Home " and " Draw " tabs (or " Home” and " Design " in some versions).
Step 4. Click the Object button
It's in the "Text" pane of the "Insert" tab in the upper-right corner of the Word window. The " Object " dialog window will be opened.
If you only want to merge “plain” text into the document (no images, special fonts, or other formatting), you can click the arrow next to " Object ", selecting " Text from File ”, and move on to the seventh step.
Step 5. Click the Create from File tab
This tab is the second option in the “Object” window.
Step 6. Click the Browse button
A computer file browsing window will open.
Step 7. Select the document you want to add
Step 8. Click the Insert button
The file browsing window will close and the file will be added to the " File name " field.
Step 9. Click the OK button to add the document
The contents of the selected document will be displayed in the area marked by the cursor.
- The original format of Word documents and most RTF documents will be preserved when the documents are merged. However, results may differ for other file types/formats.
- Repeat the steps above for each document you want to merge.
Method 2 of 2: Merging Two Versions of the Same Document
Step 1. Open one of the Word documents that you want to merge
The easiest way to do this is to double-click the document file to open it in Word. You can also open Word first, clicking the File ” in the Word window, select “ Open ”, and click the desired document.
Documents will have multiple versions if you enable the “ Track Changes " on tabs " Review ”.
Step 2. Click the Review tab
This tab is at the top of the Word window, between the " Mailings " and " View " tabs.
If the tab " Review " not available, click tab " Tools ”.
Step 3. Click Compare
It's in the toolbar in the upper-right corner of the window. Two options will be expanded.
Step 4. Click Combine…
This option is the second option. A new window will open and you can select the document.
Step 5. Select "Original document" from the drop-down menu labeled
This is the document that was originally sent for review (before you make any modifications).
Step 6. Select "Revised document" from the drop-down menu labeled
This option represents a document that you have edited.
If you want to mark parts of the document that have been changed since the revision, type a label into the " Label unmarked changes with " box. Usually, you need to use the name of the person who suggested the edit
Step 7. Select New document under "Show changes in"
This option instructs Word to create a new document from the two versions you merged.
Step 8. Click OK
The two versions will be combined into one new Word document and displayed in a new Word window with three panes. The document in the middle is a merged document, while the left pane shows the revisions and the right pane shows two documents that are compared to each other.
