I’m trying to figure out if there is an effective way to merge 100 separate Google Docs files into one consolidated document. I attempted to join them by manually copy-pasting the content; however, I encountered issues with the overall length and, more importantly, the inability to transfer comments. The comments are an essential part of the document’s feedback and collaboration process. Is there a built-in method or any recommended tool that can combine these files, preserving formatting and comments, without requiring extensive manual work?
In my experience working to consolidate multiple Google Docs while preserving comments, I realized early on that a direct built-in method simply doesn’t exist. I attempted to automate the process using the Google Docs API and custom scripts, but managing comment preservation proved particularly challenging and required significant customization. The formatting often carried over well using this approach, yet the comments rarely maintained their contextual integrity. A rough workaround involved merging the documents first and then manually re-integrating comments, which isn’t ideal for large volumes. It is important to plan for extra effort or explore dedicated third-party solutions, although their reliability can be inconsistent.
I have experimented with merging Google Docs using Google Apps Script, which provided a partial solution in terms of preserving formatting. However, the challenge remains with comments, which do not migrate as seamlessly. In my case, the scripts worked well for merging plain text and images, but incorporating the feedback left by collaborators required manual adjustments. Although third-party tools are emerging, they often have limitations. It seems that until Google offers a more robust built-in device, a mixed approach of automation and manual corrections is necessary.
hey im in the same boat. one trick i tried was exporting docs to .docx then merging in word, which kinda kept comments intact. not perfect but way less manual work. might be worth a shot if you dont mind a conversion step.
After struggling with a similar issue, I eventually discovered that the optimal approach was to automate the merging process using a combination of the Google Docs API and Apps Script. I set up a script to pull content from each document and then appended it to a master file. Comments required extra attention because they weren’t automatically transferred, so I wrote separate code to extract them and reinsert at relevant positions based on document structure. This process, while technical, significantly reduced manual work once configured.