The 300-Page Merge That Nobody Can Edit
Five authors each write one chapter of a 300-page bid response in separate files. Each file has its own styles: Chapter 1 uses "Heading 1" with 16 pt bold, Chapter 2 uses a manually formatted 15 pt bold paragraph called "ChapterTitle", and Chapter 3 uses "Heading 1" but with direct font overrides on each heading. You must merge them into one document, apply a single corporate template, and produce a table of contents. There are 90 minutes before submission. Two authors are still making small edits.
1. In what order should the merge, style normalisation, and TOC generation be done, and why does the order matter?
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Order: merge → normalise styles to the template → generate the TOC last.
- Merge first so you are working on one file and can see the true total of headings and inconsistencies; normalising five files separately multiplies the work and risks divergence.
- Normalise second, because the TOC is generated from styles. If you generate the TOC before fixing Chapter 2's manual "ChapterTitle" (which is not a real heading style) and Chapter 3's direct overrides, those chapters will be missing or mis-levelled in the TOC, and you will have to regenerate anyway.
- TOC last, so it reflects the final heading set and page numbers.
With 90 minutes left, doing it in this order means one TOC generation, not three.
2. Chapter 2's "ChapterTitle" is manually formatted, and Chapter 3 has direct overrides. What is the practical difference in how you fix each, and which is riskier?
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Chapter 2 needs a style assignment: the paragraphs are not tagged as headings at all, so you select them and apply Heading 1. The manual 15 pt bold formatting may then sit on top as direct formatting and must be cleared so the style's 16 pt takes effect. The fix is mechanical and repeatable.
Chapter 3 already uses Heading 1 but has direct formatting overrides on each heading (e.g. a changed font or size applied on top of the style). These override the style and will survive a template change, so the headings will keep looking wrong even after you apply the corporate template. You must clear direct formatting from those paragraphs.
Chapter 3 is riskier because the paragraphs look correctly tagged - a quick check of the style name says "Heading 1" - so the problem is invisible until you notice the headings do not match the template. Chapter 2's problem is at least visible as a non-heading style name.
3. Two authors are still editing. How does that change your merge plan?
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Do not merge their final content twice by hand. Merge the current versions now to get the structure and styles right, and treat the late edits as small deltas to be applied into the merged document (or re-merge only the changed chapter and re-normalise it).
The key judgement is that style normalisation is the long pole, not the text. Doing it on the current merge means the late edits land in an already-correct document. Waiting for the authors risks having no time to normalise and generate the TOC, which is the part that fails loudly at submission.