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In addition to linking a new document into the outline, you can also reuse content by linking an existing document into the structure. There is no limit to the number of times you can reuse an existing document. However, inserting an existing document creates a link to the original document and does not create a copy of the existing document. Therefore, if you link multiple instances of the same document into your outline and then modify one instance of that document, your changes are reflected in all linked instances.

Note: You can also copy an existing document and link it to another document. When you copy a document, you have the option to link it as the original or link it as a copy. When it is linked as a copy, you can change the content of the copy without changing the content of the original document.

In addition to linking new and/or existing documents from the Outline Editor, you can also drag-and-drop or copy/paste documents from the Library into the outline. To do this, you need to split the view and open the Outline Editor in one pane and the Library in another. Then you can select one or more documents in the Library and either copy/paste or drag-and-drop them into the Outline Editor.

Note: When you link an existing document into the outline, the linked document retains its original property settings from when the document was created and does not inherit properties from its parent.

Multi-user Considerations

A Check Out Parent Document message appears when you perform actions that impact a parent document that you do not have checked out such as linking a document, moving a document, pasting a document, deleting document links, and so on.

See Check In and Check Out Documents in Use the Developer in a Multi-user Environment for more information.

To link an existing document:

From the Outline Editor, select a parent document to which you want to link the existing document.
On the Link menu, choose Existing Document.

You can also right-click the document and choose Link Existing Document.
Browse to a Library folder to locate the document that you want to link.
Select a document and click Link. If you selected a module or section as the parent document, the document is linked as a child document. If you selected a topic as the parent document, the document appears directly beneath the topic at the same level (since a topic cannot have child documents).

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