Where does Microsoft Word 2003 keep the settings for the new document I get
whenever I open Word? I want to structure that document to be the same
everytime it offers me a new blank document. I thouhgt it was the normal.doc
file - but it doesn't seem to be - because I've tried editing that file - and
it does keep my new settings.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

See http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customizat...alTemplate.htm. As
you can see from this article, there are many ways of changing Normal.dot
settings without opening it directly. If these settings are not being saved,
the problem could be caused by an add-in, such as the one in Acrobat 7. If
you have edited Normal.dot directly and saved it, and your settings are not
being reflected in new blank documents, I have no explanation.

What specific settings are you changing? If they are environmental ones (as
opposed to content or formatting), see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/General/SaveViewAndZoom.htm (but note that Word
2003 is less reliable about saving/honoring these settings, and sometimes it
has to be forced with an AutoExec macro).

--
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.

"Robin" wrote in message
...
Where does Microsoft Word 2003 keep the settings for the new document I
get
whenever I open Word? I want to structure that document to be the same
everytime it offers me a new blank document. I thouhgt it was the
normal.doc
file - but it doesn't seem to be - because I've tried editing that file -
and
it does keep my new settings.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

When Word first opens it uses the default template called "normal.dot". If
you want to change that template open Word, make any changes to the blank
page such as margins, etc., click File|Save as..., change file type to
"Document Template (.dot)" and save with file name "normal". Then every time
you open Word your new template will be used. Hope this helps.
Jamn

"Robin" wrote:

Where does Microsoft Word 2003 keep the settings for the new document I get
whenever I open Word? I want to structure that document to be the same
everytime it offers me a new blank document. I thouhgt it was the normal.doc
file - but it doesn't seem to be - because I've tried editing that file - and
it does keep my new settings.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

This is *not* the way to modify Normal.dot!

--
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.

"Jamn" wrote in message
...
When Word first opens it uses the default template called "normal.dot". If
you want to change that template open Word, make any changes to the blank
page such as margins, etc., click File|Save as..., change file type to
"Document Template (.dot)" and save with file name "normal". Then every
time
you open Word your new template will be used. Hope this helps.
Jamn

"Robin" wrote:

Where does Microsoft Word 2003 keep the settings for the new document I
get
whenever I open Word? I want to structure that document to be the same
everytime it offers me a new blank document. I thouhgt it was the
normal.doc
file - but it doesn't seem to be - because I've tried editing that
file - and
it does keep my new settings.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

Among other minor inconveniences, following this suggestion will wipe out
all of your AutoText and macros saved in normal.dot. Not a good idea. Also,
you do not want to store text (including headers/footers) in normal.dot.
That is what document templates are for.
--
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!
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
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.

"Jamn" wrote in message
...
When Word first opens it uses the default template called "normal.dot". If
you want to change that template open Word, make any changes to the blank
page such as margins, etc., click File|Save as..., change file type to
"Document Template (.dot)" and save with file name "normal". Then every
time
you open Word your new template will be used. Hope this helps.
Jamn

"Robin" wrote:

Where does Microsoft Word 2003 keep the settings for the new document I
get
whenever I open Word? I want to structure that document to be the same
everytime it offers me a new blank document. I thouhgt it was the
normal.doc
file - but it doesn't seem to be - because I've tried editing that file -
and
it does keep my new settings.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.