I created and saved a new macro in Word 2003 (to insert the date).
It works fine, I open new documents and it works fine and is listed in the
macro list.
When I close and re-open Word, the macro has disappeared!
I have repeated the process several times with the same result.
Any clues?

Hi Randy

Where did you save the macro? If you didn't specify where to save it, Word
will save it in normal.dot. When you exit Word, Word should save normal.dot,
and your changes with it. It will do so silently, unless you have ticked the
box at Tools Options Save Prompt to save Normal template.

So, to test what's going on, I would do the following. Use Tools Options
File Locations and identify the folder shown there as User Templates. Use
Windows Explorer to find normal.dot in the folder you identified, and see
what date and time stamp is on that file. In Word, do Tools Options Save
and tick "Prompt to save Normal template" so that you should get a prompt if
Word wants to save changes to normal.dot. In Word, create your macro. Exit
Word. You should get a "do you want to save" prompt. Say yes. Now, back in
Windows Explorer, see if the file date and time has changed to reflect the
save.

The only times I've ever seen this behaviour is when some over-zealous IT
systems administrator has locked out your ability to save normal.dot or
created a process whereby normal.dot is replaced each time you log in to the
network or each time you run Word. It's the IT equivalent of clamping the
wheels on your car. It's not recommended, and it's contrary to the
information provided by Microsoft at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811468
which says "Word must have full read and write access to the [normal.dot]
file at all times."

By the way, you can insert the date into a document in several ways without
a macro. Try Insert Date and Time. Or, Insert Field and use an
appropriate field. You'll find descriptions of how each of the fields works
in Word's help.

Hope this helps.

Shauna Kelly. Microsoft MVP.
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word


"randy" wrote in message
...
I created and saved a new macro in Word 2003 (to insert the date).
It works fine, I open new documents and it works fine and is listed in the
macro list.
When I close and re-open Word, the macro has disappeared!
I have repeated the process several times with the same result.
Any clues?

If you have Acrobat 7 installed, Normal.dot will not be saved. If this is
the case, see the last section of
http://www.gmayor.com/lose_that_adob...at_toolbar.htm

But note that you do not need a macro to insert the date. By default,
Alt+Shift+D will insert a DATE field in the currently selected default
format. This field is usually not the ideal one to use, however. In most
cases what you want is a CREATEDATE field (see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/TblsFldsFms/DateFields.htm), and you can save this
or any other field as an AutoTextEntry (see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/AutoText.htm). Instead of running a
macro, just type the first four letters of the AutoText entry name and press
Enter or Tab.

--
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.

"Shauna Kelly" wrote in message
...
Hi Randy

Where did you save the macro? If you didn't specify where to save it, Word
will save it in normal.dot. When you exit Word, Word should save
normal.dot,
and your changes with it. It will do so silently, unless you have ticked
the
box at Tools Options Save Prompt to save Normal template.

So, to test what's going on, I would do the following. Use Tools Options

File Locations and identify the folder shown there as User Templates. Use
Windows Explorer to find normal.dot in the folder you identified, and see
what date and time stamp is on that file. In Word, do Tools Options
Save
and tick "Prompt to save Normal template" so that you should get a prompt
if
Word wants to save changes to normal.dot. In Word, create your macro. Exit
Word. You should get a "do you want to save" prompt. Say yes. Now, back in
Windows Explorer, see if the file date and time has changed to reflect the
save.

The only times I've ever seen this behaviour is when some over-zealous IT
systems administrator has locked out your ability to save normal.dot or
created a process whereby normal.dot is replaced each time you log in to
the
network or each time you run Word. It's the IT equivalent of clamping the
wheels on your car. It's not recommended, and it's contrary to the
information provided by Microsoft at
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811468
which says "Word must have full read and write access to the [normal.dot]
file at all times."

By the way, you can insert the date into a document in several ways
without
a macro. Try Insert Date and Time. Or, Insert Field and use an
appropriate field. You'll find descriptions of how each of the fields
works
in Word's help.

Hope this helps.

Shauna Kelly. Microsoft MVP.
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word


"randy" wrote in message
...
I created and saved a new macro in Word 2003 (to insert the date).
It works fine, I open new documents and it works fine and is listed in
the
macro list.
When I close and re-open Word, the macro has disappeared!
I have repeated the process several times with the same result.
Any clues?