Getting the Scoop on Word s Normal Template | Microsoft Word Version 2002 Inside Out (Inside Out (Microsoft))

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No matter what template you use to format a specific document, the Normal global template is always open. Normal.dot is stored in the ...\Application Data\Microsoft\ Templates folder by default. Whenever you start Word, it automatically looks for the Normal template in the location specified on the File Locations tab in the Options dialog box. (You access this dialog box by choosing Tools, Options.)

For more information about changing the default location of template files, see Chapter 38, "Customizing Word and Maximizing Accessibility."

The Normal template contains default styles and built-in AutoText entries (but no boilerplate text) that are automatically available whenever you create new, blank documents. As you work in a document, any styles, AutoText entries, macros, or other customizations you save are stored in the Normal template unless you specify otherwise. In addition, you can modify the Normal template to change the default document formatting in Word. As you can imagine, the longer you work with Word, the more customized your Normal.dot file becomes.

If the Normal template is damaged, moved, missing, or renamed, Word creates a new Normal template the next time you start Word, which is based on the default settings. This automatically generated Normal template won't include any customizations you've made to a previously existing version of Normal.dot. Of course, if you've intentionally renamed your Normal template to force Word to create a new Normal template, you can copy components from the renamed template into the newly generated Normal template by using the Organizer, as described in the section "Renaming, Deleting, and Copying Styles Using the Organizer."

Troubleshooting

Word Crashes During Startup

If Word crashes during startup, you can quickly determine whether the problem is due to a damaged registry entry or a corrupt Normal.dot file. To get to the root of the problem, try starting Word while bypassing these two items, as follows:

Click Start, and choose Run.
In the Run dialog box, type "c:\program files\microsoft office\office10\ winword.exe" /a (or replace the text in quotation marks with a different path if you installed Word elsewhere) in the Open box, and click OK.

If Word opens properly using this method, you can deduce that you have a damaged registry or a corrupt Normal.dot file. To test whether the Normal.dot file is the culprit in your startup woes, use Windows Explorer to find and rename the Normal.dot file, and then attempt to start Word normally. If Word starts, a new Normal.dot file will be created, and you can use the Organizer to copy any components you need from the renamed file into the newly created Normal.dot file.

If Word still doesn't start properly after you rename your existing Normal.dot file, you probably have a damaged registry. You can try to correct this problem by opening Word using the Run dialog box (as described above) and choosing Help, Detect And Repair. Alternatively, you can run the Windows Installer. To do so, choose Start, Settings, Control Panel. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, select Microsoft Office or Microsoft Word on the Install/Uninstall tab of the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box, and click Add/Remove. In the setup dialog box, choose the repair option to restore your original Word files and registry settings.

Caution

Because the Normal template is so necessary and so widely used, it's often the first target of macro virus authors. Therefore, if you work with a highly customized Normal template, you might want to back up your system's Normal.dot file every few weeks. If you don't need to change your Normal.dot file on a regular basis, you can provided added security by making the Normal template read-only. Making your Normal template read-only protects it from virus attacks that attempt to overwrite or add information to Normal.dot files.