This is *not* the way to correct problems in Normal.dot or to customize it.
You cannot create your own Normal.dot (at least not one that will work the
way you expect); only Word can do that.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"IanRoy" wrote in message
...
Hi, wmfoster;
Start a new word document, set everything the way you want your new
documents to appear, and File Save As Save as type: Document Template
(*.dot). Your Save in: location should have changed to Templates. There
should be a file there named Normal.dot. Click that to give your new
template
that name, and OK to overwrite it.
New blank documents will be based on the template you just saved.
Regards,
Ian.

"wmfoster" wrote:

Thanks for your response. Actually, the problem I'm having is that
every
time I open a new document, the column format is for three columns and a
collumn width of 6 inches. The result is that when I get to the end of
the
first page, I go on typing and nothing appears on the screen. If I go
to the
"Format" menu and select "Columns" and then set the number of columns to
1,
then the phantom pages appear. What I don't understand is why the
"default"
new document is set up so strangely and how to change that. I am sure
that I
did something to cause this condition and I can't figure out how to undo
this.

wmfoster
Washington, DC


"Pat Garard" wrote:

G'Day wmfoster,

What you have done is to create a document on a "large"
piece of paper, complete with all of it's "settings for the left
and right margins, column.......etc".

When you try to make the paper smaller, the document
won't fit and Word refuses to say that it will.

EITHER
Go through the document and reduce "settings......." until
Word will permit the paper size change,
OR
Create a New empty document with the correct page
size and so on. Select All the text in the existing document,
Copy it and Paste it into the New document.
--
Regards,
Pat Garard
Melbourne, Australia
_______________________

"wmfoster" wrote in message
news I am having trouble changing the page size of a Word document. When
I try
to
select 4 x 6, I get a message from the "Office Assistant", "Settings
you
chose for the left and right margins, column spacing or paragraph
indnts
are
too large for the page width in some sections." And it won't let me
choose
that page size.