Including Defined Terms from Another Document Is Impossible

  • What happens: A document with defined terms that you want to include in your main document (see Including Defined Terms from Another Document to learn more) doesn’t appear in the “Include from” pop‑up menu in the Analysis Settings view.

  • What this means: It’s possible that the document with the defined terms that you want to include is closed or new. To include defined terms from another document, it must be open in Word and it must not be a new, unsaved document.

    If the document with the defined terms that you want to include is open in Word and saved, then most likely, this document and your main document are open in separate instances of Word. To include defined terms from another document in your main document, both documents must be open in the same instance of Word.

    In Word 2016 and later (including Word for Microsoft 365), documents may open in separate instances of Word if you quickly open documents while Word is closed (for example, by double-clicking documents in File Explorer).

  • What you should do: Make sure the document with the defined terms that you want to include in your main document is open in Word and saved. Also, make sure both documents are open in the same instance of Word. If you’re working with two documents in two instances of Word, a generally reliable way to do this is to close one of the documents and Word instances by clicking the Close button (×) at the top right of a Word window, and then reopen the document you closed. If Word’s opening display (splash screen) does not appear when you reopen this document, it’s opening in the same instance of Word as the other document.

    Here are ways to open documents in the same instance of Word:

    • Double-click a document in File Explorer to open Word, wait for the document to appear in a Word window, and then double-click another document in File Explorer.

    • Double-click a document in File Explorer to open Word, and then open another document using Word’s controls; search for “open file” in Word Help to learn how.

    • Open Word by clicking its icon in the taskbar or the Start menu, and then open documents using Word’s controls.

    Here are ways to see how many instances of Word are open:

    • Use Task Manager; search the internet for “Windows Task Manager” to learn how.

    • Use PowerShell or Command Prompt. For example, enter in PowerShell:

      Get-Process WINWORD

      or in Command Prompt:

      tasklist /fi "IMAGENAME eq WINWORD.EXE"

      If the output contains more than one instance of WINWORD or WINWORD.EXE, more than one instance of Word is open.