diff --git a/pretext/lib/pretext.py b/pretext/lib/pretext.py
index 7bdcdfab0..be089a168 100644
--- a/pretext/lib/pretext.py
+++ b/pretext/lib/pretext.py
@@ -1186,8 +1186,7 @@ def webwork_to_xml(
     ww_reps_dir = dest_dir
     ww_images_dir = os.path.join(dest_dir, "images")
 
-    # file path for the representations file
-    ww_reps_file = os.path.join(ww_reps_dir, "webwork-representations.xml")
+    # per-exercise representation files live in this directory, named {assembly-id}.xml
 
     # where generated pg problem files will live (each .pg file will usually be deeper in a folder
     # tree based on document structure and chunking level)
@@ -1441,11 +1440,8 @@ def webwork_to_xml(
         if count > 0:
             raise ValueError("PTX:ERROR: unable to establish connection to local socket")
 
-    # begin XML tree
-    # then we loop through all problems, appending children
     NSMAP = {"xml": "http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"}
     XML = "http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace"
-    webwork_representations = ET.Element("webwork-representations", nsmap=NSMAP)
     # Choose one of the dictionaries to take its keys as what to loop through
     for problem in origin:
         if origin[problem] == "webwork2":
@@ -1502,7 +1498,7 @@ def webwork_to_xml(
                 socket_params["sourceFilePath"] = os.path.join(external_dir, path[problem])
 
             msg = "sending {} to socket to save in {}: origin is '{}'"
-            log.info(msg.format(problem, ww_reps_file, origin[problem]))
+            log.info(msg.format(problem, ww_reps_dir, origin[problem]))
             clientsocket.send(json.dumps(socket_params).encode('utf-8'))
 
             buffer = bytearray()
@@ -1561,17 +1557,17 @@ def webwork_to_xml(
                 )
 
             msg = "sending {} to server to save in {}: origin is '{}'"
-            log.info(msg.format(problem, ww_reps_file, origin[problem]))
+            log.info(msg.format(problem, ww_reps_dir, origin[problem]))
             if origin[problem] == "webwork2":
                 log.debug(
                     "server-to-ptx: {}\n{}\n{}\n{}".format(
-                        problem, webwork2_path, path[problem], ww_reps_file
+                        problem, webwork2_path, path[problem], ww_reps_dir
                     )
                 )
             elif origin[problem] == "generated":
                 log.debug(
                     "server-to-ptx: {}\n{}\n{}\n{}".format(
-                        problem, webwork2_path, pgdense[problem], ww_reps_file
+                        problem, webwork2_path, pgdense[problem], ww_reps_dir
                     )
                 )
 
@@ -1844,8 +1840,8 @@ def webwork_to_xml(
                         log.warning(msg.format(destination_image_file, ext))
                 os.remove(os.path.join(ww_images_dir, ptx_image_filename))
 
-        # Use "webwork-reps" as parent tag for the various representations of a problem
-        webwork_reps = ET.SubElement(webwork_representations, "webwork-reps")
+        # Use "webwork-reps" as the root tag for this problem's representation file
+        webwork_reps = ET.Element("webwork-reps", nsmap=NSMAP)
         # There once was a "version 1" structure to the representations file before "version 2".
         # For a while, both were supported. Neither was officially defined anywhere, and now
         # "version 1" is a thing of the past. We still mark the current representations file as
@@ -1854,7 +1850,7 @@ def webwork_to_xml(
         webwork_reps.set("webwork2_major_version", str(webwork2_major_version))
         webwork_reps.set("webwork2_minor_version", str(webwork2_minor_version))
         webwork_reps.set("{%s}id" % (XML), "extracted-" + problem)
-        webwork_reps.set("ww-id", problem)
+        webwork_reps.set("assembly-id", problem)
         static = ET.SubElement(webwork_reps, "static")
         static.set("seed", seed[problem])
         if origin[problem] == "webwork2":
@@ -2005,22 +2001,22 @@ def static_webwork_level(write, read):
         elif origin[problem] == "webwork2":
             pg.set("source", path[problem])
 
-    # write to file
-    include_file_name = os.path.join(ww_reps_file)
-    try:
-        with open(include_file_name, "wb") as include_file:
-            include_file.write(
-                ET.tostring(
-                    webwork_representations,
-                    encoding="utf-8",
-                    xml_declaration=True,
-                    pretty_print=True,
+        # write one file per exercise, named by @assembly-id
+        include_file_name = os.path.join(ww_reps_dir, problem + ".xml")
+        try:
+            with open(include_file_name, "wb") as include_file:
+                include_file.write(
+                    ET.tostring(
+                        webwork_reps,
+                        encoding="utf-8",
+                        xml_declaration=True,
+                        pretty_print=True,
+                    )
                 )
-            )
-    except Exception as e:
-        root_cause = str(e)
-        msg = "PTX:ERROR: there was a problem writing a problem to the file: {}\n"
-        raise ValueError(msg.format(include_file_name) + root_cause)
+        except Exception as e:
+            root_cause = str(e)
+            msg = "PTX:ERROR: there was a problem writing a problem to the file: {}\n"
+            raise ValueError(msg.format(include_file_name) + root_cause)
 
     # close session to avoid resource wanrnings
     try:
diff --git a/xsl/extract-pg.xsl b/xsl/extract-pg.xsl
index ed2224212..1dc83aa77 100644
--- a/xsl/extract-pg.xsl
+++ b/xsl/extract-pg.xsl
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@
 
 <xsl:template match="webwork[@source|statement|task|text()]" mode="extraction">
     <xsl:variable name="problem">
-        <xsl:value-of select="@ww-id"/>
+        <xsl:value-of select="../@assembly-id"/>
     </xsl:variable>
     <problem>
         <xsl:attribute name="id">
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@
         <!-- 1b. if this problem is a copy, record what it was copied from         -->
         <xsl:if test="@copied-from">
             <xsl:attribute name="copied-from">
-                <xsl:value-of select="@copied-from"/>
+                <xsl:value-of select="id(@copied-from)/../@assembly-id"/>
             </xsl:attribute>
         </xsl:if>
         <!-- 2. a seed for randomization (with a default explicitly declared)      -->
diff --git a/xsl/pretext-assembly.xsl b/xsl/pretext-assembly.xsl
index 9e074d5f3..479e5bd26 100644
--- a/xsl/pretext-assembly.xsl
+++ b/xsl/pretext-assembly.xsl
@@ -271,12 +271,6 @@ along with PreTeXt.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
     </xsl:copy>
 </xsl:template>
 
-<xsl:template match="node()|@*" mode="webwork">
-    <xsl:copy>
-        <xsl:apply-templates select="node()|@*" mode="webwork"/>
-    </xsl:copy>
-</xsl:template>
-
 <xsl:template match="node()|@*" mode="assembly">
     <xsl:copy>
         <xsl:apply-templates select="node()|@*" mode="assembly"/>
@@ -476,17 +470,8 @@ along with PreTeXt.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 </xsl:variable>
 <xsl:variable name="original-labeled" select="exsl:node-set($original-labeled-rtf)"/>
 
-<!-- A global list of all "webwork" used for       -->
-<!-- efficient backward-compatible indentification -->
-<xsl:variable name="all-webwork" select="$original-labeled//webwork"/>
-
-<xsl:variable name="webwork-rtf">
-    <xsl:apply-templates select="$original-labeled" mode="webwork"/>
-</xsl:variable>
-<xsl:variable name="webworked" select="exsl:node-set($webwork-rtf)"/>
-
 <xsl:variable name="assembly-rtf">
-    <xsl:apply-templates select="$webworked" mode="assembly"/>
+    <xsl:apply-templates select="$original-labeled" mode="assembly"/>
 </xsl:variable>
 <xsl:variable name="assembly" select="exsl:node-set($assembly-rtf)"/>
 
@@ -1051,10 +1036,10 @@ along with PreTeXt.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 
 <!-- WeBWorK @copy resolution -->
 
-<!-- A "webwork" with a @copy attribute is a lightweight reference     -->
-<!-- to another authored "webwork".  We resolve the copy here in the   -->
-<!-- assembly pass (after @ww-id has been stamped in the webwork pass) -->
-<!-- by pulling the target's content into a new "webwork" element.     -->
+<!-- A "webwork" with a @copy attribute is a lightweight reference  -->
+<!-- to another authored "webwork".  We resolve the copy here in    -->
+<!-- the assembly pass by pulling the target's content into a new   -->
+<!-- "webwork" element.                                             -->
 <xsl:template match="webwork[@copy]" mode="assembly">
     <!-- Find the target.  Maybe. -->
     <xsl:variable name="target" select="id(@copy)"/>
@@ -1093,15 +1078,12 @@ along with PreTeXt.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
                 <!-- used as a signal here.  We don't want to copy this   -->
                 <!-- again after we have been to the WeBWorK server.      -->
                 <xsl:apply-templates select="@*[not(local-name(.) = 'copy')]" mode="assembly"/>
-                <!-- The @seed makes the problem different, and there are also      -->
-                <!-- unique identifiers, so grab any other attributes of the        -->
-                <!-- original, but exclude these while formulating a copy/clone.     -->
-                <!-- We also exclude @ww-id since the target already has its own     -->
-                <!-- @ww-id from the webwork pass, and we must keep the source's ID. -->
+                <!-- The @seed makes the problem different, and there are also  -->
+                <!-- unique identifiers, so grab any other attributes of the    -->
+                <!-- original, but exclude these while formulating a copy/clone. -->
                 <xsl:apply-templates select="$target/@*[(not(local-name(.) = 'id')) and
                                                         (not(local-name(.) = 'label')) and
-                                                        (not(local-name(.) = 'seed')) and
-                                                        (not(local-name(.) = 'ww-id'))]" mode="assembly"/>
+                                                        (not(local-name(.) = 'seed'))]" mode="assembly"/>
                 <!-- NB: authored WeBWorK content never has @xml:id or @label, -->
                 <!-- so no scrubbing of unique IDs is needed here.             -->
                 <xsl:apply-templates select="$target/node()" mode="assembly"/>
@@ -1111,9 +1093,7 @@ along with PreTeXt.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
         <!-- similar in gross form, and alert at the console      -->
         <xsl:otherwise>
             <xsl:copy>
-                <!-- As for a legitimate copy above, we carry over as much -->
-                <!-- metadata as possible, and in particular include a     -->
-                <!-- @ww-id for tracking through the server                -->
+                <!-- Carry over as much metadata as possible -->
                 <xsl:apply-templates select="@*[not(local-name(.) = 'copy')]" mode="assembly"/>
                 <!-- Now a minimal, but correct PreTeXt, WeBWorK problem into the  -->
                 <!-- extraction machinery, and out into all possible final outputs  -->
@@ -1222,60 +1202,6 @@ along with PreTeXt.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 </xsl:template>
 
 
-<!-- ################################# -->
-<!-- WeBWorK Identification (ww-id)  -->
-<!-- ################################# -->
-
-<!-- Every "webwork" that is a problem (not just the logo)     -->
-<!-- gets a @ww-id stamped here.  This ID migrates through     -->
-<!-- the extraction stylesheet ("extract-pg.xsl"), the Python  -->
-<!-- communication with the server, and into the               -->
-<!-- representations file.  It is then used to look up the     -->
-<!-- matching "webwork-reps" during the representations pass.  -->
-<!-- 2022-11-21: we are a bit careful to optimize the          -->
-<!-- computation of the identifiers in a backwards-compatible   -->
-<!-- way.  Better to someday switch to a purely recursive       -->
-<!-- descent version as a one-time jolt to authors.            -->
-<!-- (Remove global $all-webwork.)                             -->
-
-<xsl:template match="webwork[* or @copy or @source or text()]" mode="webwork">
-    <xsl:variable name="ww-id">
-        <xsl:choose>
-            <xsl:when test="@xml:id">
-                <xsl:value-of select="@xml:id"/>
-            </xsl:when>
-            <xsl:otherwise>
-                <xsl:value-of select="local-name(.)" />
-                <xsl:text>-</xsl:text>
-                <!-- compute the eqivalent of the count of all previous WW:     -->
-                <!-- <xsl:number from="book|article|letter|memo" level="any" /> -->
-                <!-- Save off the WW in question -->
-                <xsl:variable name="the-ww" select="self::*"/>
-                <!-- Run over global list, looking for a match -->
-                <xsl:for-each select="$all-webwork">
-                    <xsl:if test="count($the-ww|.) = 1">
-                        <!-- context is the $all-webwork node-set, so   -->
-                        <!-- position() gives index/location of $the-ww -->
-                        <xsl:value-of select="position()"/>
-                    </xsl:if>
-                </xsl:for-each>
-            </xsl:otherwise>
-        </xsl:choose>
-    </xsl:variable>
-    <!-- Stamp @ww-id on every webwork element and pass through.    -->
-    <!-- Substitution (from representations file) and @copy         -->
-    <!-- resolution are handled later in the representations pass   -->
-    <!-- and the assembly pass, respectively.                       -->
-    <xsl:copy>
-        <xsl:apply-templates select="@*" mode="webwork"/>
-        <xsl:attribute name="ww-id">
-            <xsl:value-of select="$ww-id"/>
-        </xsl:attribute>
-        <xsl:apply-templates select="node()" mode="webwork"/>
-    </xsl:copy>
-</xsl:template>
-
-
 <!-- ########## -->
 <!-- Enrichment -->
 <!-- ########## -->
@@ -3183,58 +3109,60 @@ along with PreTeXt.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 
 <!-- Mine webwork-reps for relevant application -->
 
-<!-- WeBWorK exercises retain a "webwork" child element through the      -->
-<!-- pipeline (with @ww-id stamped in the webwork pass).  Here in the    -->
-<!-- representations pass, we look up the corresponding "webwork-reps"   -->
-<!-- from the representations file and substitute it in place of the     -->
-<!-- "webwork" element.  We then split three ways, for PGML, static,    -->
-<!-- and dynamic (HTML) employment, via modal templates.                 -->
-<!-- During extraction, the "webwork" child is left intact.             -->
-<!-- NB: including "task" though this may not be supported.              -->
+<!-- WeBWorK exercises retain a "webwork" child element through the    -->
+<!-- pipeline.  Here in the representations pass, we look up the       -->
+<!-- corresponding "webwork-reps" from the representations file using  -->
+<!-- the parent exercise's @assembly-id, and substitute it in place    -->
+<!-- of the "webwork" element.  We then split three ways, for PGML,    -->
+<!-- static, and dynamic (HTML) employment, via modal templates.       -->
+<!-- During extraction, the "webwork" child is left intact.            -->
+<!-- NB: including "task" though this may not be supported.            -->
 <xsl:template match="exercise[(@exercise-interactive = 'webwork')]
                    | project[(@exercise-interactive = 'webwork')]
                    | activity[(@exercise-interactive = 'webwork')]
                    | exploration[(@exercise-interactive = 'webwork')]
                    | investigation[(@exercise-interactive = 'webwork')]" mode="representations">
     <xsl:choose>
-        <!-- During extraction, pass through the exercise with its         -->
-        <!-- "webwork" child intact.  The extraction stylesheet will read  -->
-        <!-- the @ww-id and process the authored content.                  -->
+        <!-- During extraction, pass through the exercise with its    -->
+        <!-- "webwork" child intact for the extraction stylesheet     -->
+        <!-- to process the authored content.                         -->
         <xsl:when test="$b-extracting">
             <xsl:copy>
                 <xsl:apply-templates select="node()|@*" mode="representations"/>
             </xsl:copy>
         </xsl:when>
         <xsl:otherwise>
-            <!-- Look up the "webwork-reps" element from the server  -->
-            <!-- for this "webwork" exercise, using the @ww-id that  -->
-            <!-- was stamped in the webwork pass.                    -->
-            <xsl:variable name="ww-id" select="webwork/@ww-id"/>
-            <xsl:variable name="the-webwork-rep" select="document($webwork-representations-file, $original)/webwork-representations/webwork-reps[@ww-id=$ww-id]"/>
+            <!-- Load the per-exercise representation file for this    -->
+            <!-- exercise, identified by its @assembly-id.             -->
+            <xsl:variable name="webwork-rep-uri"
+                select="concat($webwork-representations-dir, @assembly-id, '.xml')"/>
+            <xsl:variable name="the-webwork-rep"
+                select="document($webwork-rep-uri, $original)/webwork-reps"/>
             <xsl:choose>
-                <!-- An empty string for $webwork-representations-file, and      -->
+                <!-- An empty string for $webwork-representations-dir, and       -->
                 <!-- the "document()" still succeeds (returns the source file?). -->
                 <!-- But this is hopeless. So just totally bail out repeatedly   -->
                 <!-- and leave the containing "exercise" hollow.                 -->
-                <xsl:when test="$webwork-representations-file = ''">
+                <xsl:when test="$webwork-representations-dir = ''">
                     <xsl:copy>
                         <xsl:apply-templates select="node()|@*" mode="representations"/>
                     </xsl:copy>
-                    <xsl:message>PTX:ERROR:    There is a WeBWorK exercise with internal id "<xsl:value-of select="$ww-id"/>"</xsl:message>
-                    <xsl:message>              but your publication file does not indicate the file</xsl:message>
+                    <xsl:message>PTX:ERROR:    There is a WeBWorK exercise with @assembly-id "<xsl:value-of select="@assembly-id"/>"</xsl:message>
+                    <xsl:message>              but your publication file does not indicate the directory</xsl:message>
                     <xsl:message>              of problem representations created by a WeBWorK server.</xsl:message>
                     <xsl:message>              Your WeBWorK exercises will all, at best, be empty.</xsl:message>
                 </xsl:when>
-                <!-- This should only fail if the file is missing.  Repeatedly. -->
+                <!-- This should only fail if the file is missing or stale.  Repeatedly. -->
                 <xsl:when test="not($the-webwork-rep)">
                     <xsl:copy>
                         <xsl:apply-templates select="node()|@*" mode="representations"/>
                     </xsl:copy>
-                    <xsl:message>PTX:ERROR:    The WeBWorK problem with internal id "<xsl:value-of select="$ww-id"/>"</xsl:message>
-                    <xsl:message>              could not be located in the file of WeBWorK problems from</xsl:message>
-                    <xsl:message>              the server, which your publication file indicates should be located</xsl:message>
-                    <xsl:message>              at "<xsl:value-of select="$webwork-representations-file"/>". </xsl:message>
-                    <xsl:message>              If there are many messages like this, then likely your file is missing. </xsl:message>
+                    <xsl:message>PTX:ERROR:    The WeBWorK problem with @assembly-id "<xsl:value-of select="@assembly-id"/>"</xsl:message>
+                    <xsl:message>              could not be located at "<xsl:value-of select="$webwork-rep-uri"/>". </xsl:message>
+                    <xsl:message>              If the WeBWorK files were built with an older version of PreTeXt,</xsl:message>
+                    <xsl:message>              they need to be regenerated.  A "webwork-representations.xml"</xsl:message>
+                    <xsl:message>              in that directory is a sign of this old single-file format.</xsl:message>
+                    <xsl:message>              If there are many messages like this, then likely your directory is missing.</xsl:message>
                     <xsl:message>              But if this is an isolated error message, then it may indicate a bug,</xsl:message>
                     <xsl:message>              which should be reported.</xsl:message>
                 </xsl:when>
diff --git a/xsl/pretext-html.xsl b/xsl/pretext-html.xsl
index e4f9a77aa..931a25cfe 100644
--- a/xsl/pretext-html.xsl
+++ b/xsl/pretext-html.xsl
@@ -10903,7 +10903,7 @@ along with MathBook XML.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
     <!-- (or PROJECT-LIKE).  So in this case (only) we place    -->
     <!-- an id value on the  div.exercise-wrapper that is       -->
     <!-- derived from the parent.  Otherwise, we use the id     -->
-    <!-- placed on the "webwork-reps" in @ww-id.                -->
+    <!-- placed on the "webwork-reps" in @assembly-id.          -->
     <xsl:variable name="inner-id">
         <xsl:choose>
             <xsl:when test="$b-host-runestone">
@@ -10911,7 +10911,7 @@ along with MathBook XML.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
                 <xsl:text>-ww-rs</xsl:text>
             </xsl:when>
             <xsl:otherwise>
-                <xsl:value-of select="@ww-id"/>
+                <xsl:value-of select="@assembly-id"/>
             </xsl:otherwise>
         </xsl:choose>
     </xsl:variable>
@@ -11058,7 +11058,7 @@ along with MathBook XML.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
     </xsl:variable>
     <!-- build the iframe -->
     <!-- mimicking Mike Gage's blog post -->
-    <iframe name="{@ww-id}" width="{$design-width}" src="{$the-url}" data-seed="{static/@seed}"/>
+    <iframe name="{@assembly-id}" width="{$design-width}" src="{$the-url}" data-seed="{static/@seed}"/>
     <script>
         <xsl:text>iFrameResize({log:true,inPageLinks:true,resizeFrom:'child',checkOrigin:["</xsl:text>
         <xsl:value-of select="$webwork-server" />
diff --git a/xsl/publisher-variables.xsl b/xsl/publisher-variables.xsl
index d4bd27e1e..1a7031ac8 100644
--- a/xsl/publisher-variables.xsl
+++ b/xsl/publisher-variables.xsl
@@ -1364,33 +1364,26 @@ along with PreTeXt.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 </xsl:variable>
 
 
-<!-- WeBWork problem representations are formed by Python routines  -->
+<!-- WeBWorK problem representations are formed by Python routines  -->
 <!-- in the   pretext.py  module that communicates with a WeBWorK   -->
-<!-- server.  So this filename is only relevant for *consumption"   -->
-<!-- of WW representations into final output.   But we need to make -->
-<!-- sure these filenames stay in sync, creation v. consumption.    -->
-<!-- Keep this template silent, since this variable may not be      -->
-<!-- necessary, and it is only needed during consumption.           -->
-<xsl:variable name="webwork-representations-file">
-    <!-- Only relevant if there are WW problems present. A version     -->
-    <!-- might remove all WW problems but there is no harm in this     -->
-    <!-- template since the variable created will not be used, and     -->
-    <!-- the template is silent, but for a useful deprecation warning. -->
+<!-- server.  One file per exercise is written into this directory, -->
+<!-- named by the exercise's @assembly-id.  This variable is only   -->
+<!-- relevant for consumption of WW representations into output.    -->
+<!-- Keep this variable silent since it may not be necessary.       -->
+<xsl:variable name="webwork-representations-dir">
+    <!-- Only relevant if there are WW problems present. A version    -->
+    <!-- might remove all WW problems but there is no harm in this    -->
+    <!-- variable since it will not be used, and it is silent.        -->
     <xsl:if test="$original//webwork[* or @copy or @source]">
         <xsl:choose>
             <!-- Note: $generated-directory-source is never empty?    -->
             <!-- Defaults to the very old "directory.images"?         -->
             <!-- So testing for the publication file entry is better. -->
             <xsl:when test="$publication/source/directories/@generated">
-                <xsl:value-of select="str:replace(concat($generated-directory-source, 'webwork/webwork-representations.xml'), '&#x20;', '%20')"/>
+                <xsl:value-of select="str:replace(concat($generated-directory-source, 'webwork/'), '&#x20;', '%20')"/>
             </xsl:when>
-            <xsl:when test="$publication/source/@webwork-problems">
-                <xsl:value-of select="str:replace($publication/source/@webwork-problems, '&#x20;', '%20')"/>
-                <xsl:message>PTX:WARNING: the publication file entry  source/@webwork-problems  is</xsl:message>
-                <xsl:message>             deprecated, please move to using managed directories</xsl:message>
-            </xsl:when>
-            <!-- no specification, so empty string for filename -->
-            <!-- this will be noted where it is employed        -->
+            <!-- no specification, so empty string for directory    -->
+            <!-- this will be noted where it is employed            -->
             <xsl:otherwise/>
         </xsl:choose>
     </xsl:if>