How to Prepare Your Word Files Before Using the Thesis Formatter
Prepare clean DOCX files for each thesis part so headings, figures, tables and references merge correctly into the final academic document.
A clean source file produces a cleaner final thesis. Before uploading your chapters, dedicate a few minutes to standardizing each Microsoft Word document. This guide explains exactly what to keep, what to remove and how to organize each file.
1. Save every part as DOCX
Use the modern .docx format. Avoid old .doc files, PDFs, protected documents and files containing macros. Open each document in Word and choose File → Save As → Word Document (.docx).
2. Keep only the content of the part
A chapter file should contain the chapter text, figures, tables and captions. Remove repeated cover pages, manually written page numbers, duplicate tables of contents, old chapter divider pages and unnecessary blank pages.
3. Use Word heading styles
| Content | Recommended Word style | Generated example |
|---|---|---|
| Main section inside a chapter | Heading 1 / Titre 2 | II.1 Introduction |
| Subsection | Heading 2 / Titre 3 | II.1.1 System architecture |
| Detailed subsection | Heading 3 / Titre 4 | II.1.1.1 Hardware node |
Do not type the chapter number manually in every title. The formatter can generate the numbering from the selected chapter and heading level.
4. Check images and tables
- Use clear PNG or JPEG images.
- Keep each image inside the normal page width.
- Use real Word tables rather than screenshots when possible.
- Place each caption in its own paragraph below the figure or above the table.
5. Remove conflicting headers and footers
The final document receives new chapter headers and page-number fields. Remove old headers, footers and manually typed page numbers from uploaded files to prevent duplicates.
6. Use simple file names
Clear file names make the upload process easier:
01-resume.docx
02-abstract.docx
03-dedication.docx
04-acknowledgements.docx
05-general-introduction.docx
06-chapter-1.docx
07-chapter-2.docx
08-general-conclusion.docx
09-bibliography.docxYour files are ready
Upload each part, choose its type and generate one structured academic Word file.