I also got the impression at the What's new in 10 event hosted by ESRI that you could group multiple figures into one file. In my group we use ArcMap to make all of our figures for groundwater modeling reports. When we are done we can have 35 .mxd files in our project folder. After one of my coworkers mentioned it at a meeting yesterday (works in a different group) I decided to check it out. I was very disappointed to learn that this multiple feature created a grid of the map area and created maps for each section of the grid. We have no use for that at all.
Also at the Whats new in 10 event the ESRI people said they watched users to come up with this new version. You really need to watch members of my unit because a lot of the changes we have found so far either don't help us or make things harder. We don't digitize streets and roads and sewer lines. We don't care about topology. We use ArcMap for data analysis and figure making.
Our goal in 9.4 was two-fold:
[INDENT]1) deliver a set of tools for building complete map books
2) provide an automated way to update layouts, data frames, and map documents[/INDENT]
Many people express a need for mulitple layouts because they want to achieve one of those two things. There are also other reasons people want multiple layouts. The 9.4 beta period will be very important for us, as we need to understand which problems 9.4 has actually solved, and which workflows still need solutions.
I think our future plans regarding multiple layouts will should be made with unfulfilled user requirements in mind. For now, our solution is what you see in 9.4, focused on satisifying the above two requirements. In the future, we can consider full multiple layouts but should do so with a set real world goals. It would be great for us if you could provide additional details about multiple layout workflows. I think that some needs could be covered with the new 9.4 python scripting experience. Other requirements should go on ESRI's list for a future release.
Thanks,
Michael
The arcpy.mapping script environment can accomplish many of these tasks.
Take some time to review the help and Resource Center. Here is a good starting point:
http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.html#/Introduction_to_arcpy_mapping/00s30000...
Jeff