Normal.dot should _not_ be shared. What can be shared or distributed is one
or more other global templates which can customize AutoText, macros,
toolbars, and the interface in general. See
http://addbalance.com/word/movetotemplate.htm for step-by-step instructions
on moving / sharing / copying / backing-up customizations including
AutoText, AutoCorrect, keyboard assignments, toolbars, macros, etc.
Also, you should have a set of workgroup templates which can set formats and
styles. For more on the different kinds of templates, tabs on the file new
dialog, and locations of templates folders see
http://addbalance.com/usersguide/templates.htm.
These two approaches, combined, can do far more toward standardizing a work
environment and maximizing your users' efficacy with Word than sharing
normal.dot ever could, without the problems that come from attempting to
share normal.dot. These are more work and require a greater knowledge of how
to use Word, but are much more productive.
--
Charles Kenyon
Word New User FAQ & Web Directory:
http://addbalance.com/word
Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide)
http://addbalance.com/usersguide
See also the MVP FAQ:
http://www.mvps.org/word which is awesome!
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This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.
"MarieC" wrote in message
...
I am responsible for IT (and word processing) in a small
office of about 20 users. I am the only IT Operator in
the office and new to professional IT. My issue is this:
All 20 computer users in this office are accessing the
same normal.dot file on a network drive.
The Windows platforms and Office versions on the
computers are various, from Windows98 to WindowsXP, and
from Office97 to Office2003.
I have read a Microsoft article that says normal.dot
should not be used by multiple users. The network
administrators disagree with this.
I am asking about this issue in an attempt to understand
some odd, glitchy issues we have been having with Word
from time to time.
Any advice or comments on the advisability of network use
of normal.dot would be appreciated.
Cheers
MarieC