You cannot create a normal.dot template. Only Word can do that!
The fact that you could not save a template as normal.dot was ample evidence
that it already existed. However if you had a (non-updated) version of
Acrobat 7 on your PC, then this would have prevented normal.dot from being
saved so Word may not have been able to create a permanent normal.dot. You
need to fix this issue if you want Word to operate correctly, because so far
you haven't.
When it exists normal.dot is a hidden file in the location defined at tools
options file locations user templates.
Rename your phoney normal.dot to oldnormal.dot and allow Word to build a new
one (having first attended to the Acrobat issue - if present)
--
Graham Mayor - Word MVP
My web site
www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site
http://word.mvps.org
Nickyxx5 wrote:
Please ignore my last post - I have finally just managed to solve my
own problem.
I created a new template. Word would not let me save this as
normal.dot as it said this file already existed. I saved it under a
different name, then closed Word and in Windows Explorer, renamed it
to normal.dot - this time Windows did not object that the file
"already existed", since Windows was never able to find a file of
that name. But now when I open Word, it seems to be happily using my
newly created normal.dot as the global template, instead of whatever
other hidden file it was using before.
If you have Adobe Acrobat 7 installed, see the last portion of
http://www.gmayor.com/lose_that_adob...at_toolbar.htm
--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
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"Nickyxx5" wrote in message
...
I want to change my default margins in Word.
I know that to do this I need to change the normal.dot template -
but I can't find it anywhere! There is no file by this name in the
location that Word Help says it should be. I have searched my
entire computer for a file of this name - the search function
cannot find one. I have also searched my entire computer for all
.dot files - I still can't find one called 'normal'.
Clearly there must be some template file somewhere that Word is
using to base my documents on, but I do not know what it is called
or where it is. The folder in which Word Help says the normal
template should be saved is completely empty.
As an alternative way of changing my margins, I opened up a new
blank document, made the page margin changes I wanted and clicked
on the "Default" option in the dialogue box. It said it had saved
my changes, but next time I opened up a new document in Word, the
margins were the same as ever and my changes had not been
registered.
So where has my normal.dot gone?
What template is Word using as its default? What is it called
(since it's not normal.dot) and where should I look for it (since
it's not saved where normal.dot should be found).
I am using Word 2003 from Office Professional Edition 2003. This
is the first time that I have tried to change anything in the
normal template, so I don't know if it used to be there and has
disappeared or got corrupted, or if there has been something funny
going on ever since I installed it.
Thanks for any help!
Nicky
--
Nickyxx5