changing defaults in Word 2010

[sf]

I know where to change the defaults for Save As, margin, font, font
size and paragraph spacing... and I've done it many times, but the
only one I made "stick" was saving all documents as a .doc instead of
..docx. I've told 2010 to apply the other changes to all further
documents too, but there has to be something I'm not doing right
because the changes are not sticking. I can choose the margins I want
- it's at the top of the list, but I have to change the font, font
size and paragraph spacing manually with every new doc and it's
getting old.

Any ideas? TIA

 

[Stefan Blom]

How are you changing the defaults? Please describe the exact steps.

Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

 

[sf]

I click on the little square that brings up the dialog of what to
change; make my changes, toggle "set as default", select "all
documents based on the Normal.dotm template" +ok. Then I Save the
changes made to the doc. If I open a new doc before closing that one,
all the changes are still there, but if I *close* it and go to
Microsoft Office > Word and open a new document, nothing has been
changed (but my default is now .doc, not docx). I want one (2003)
..doc with all the changes I made that I can pin to my task bar and
know I'll have a blank (2003) .doc with all the changes in tact the
next time I open Word.

I see now that the blank .doc I've been changing is residing at
desktop > libraries > blank.doc. But when I pin it to my taskbar, it
still reverts back to only .doc only - with no other changes after I
close it.

```````````

 

[Stefan Blom]

Something seems to be preventing you from saving to the Normal template.
(That something is usually VBA code, either in Normal.dotm or in an
add-in, and it requires separate troubleshooting). As a workaround, open
Normal.dotm as a document and change the defaults directly in the file
(in the appropriate dialog boxes that is).

Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

 

[Stefan Blom]

And to find Normal.dotm: In the Open dialog box (Ctrl+O), click
Templates in the left pane.

Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

 

[sf]

And to find Normal.dotm: In the Open dialog box (Ctrl+O), click
Templates in the left pane.

Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Thanks! You anticipated my question, but I think I have a problem...
ctrl+O brings up my desktop http://oi51.tinypic.com/2rwky15.jpg and I
don't see "templates" in the left pane. Thanks.

 

[Stefan Blom]

How odd! In the left pane of *my* Open dialog, I have an entry that says
"Microsoft Word" with a sub-entry that says "Templates" and I just click
it to get to the user templates folder.

However, there is a way that works in all versions of Word (97-2010):
Display the Visual Basic Editor, for example by pressing Alt+F11. Press
Ctrl+G to activate the Immediate window. Type

NormalTemplate.OpenAsDocument

and press Enter. Normal.dotm opens in a document window (but note that
it isn't necessarily on top of the other windows). You can now close the
Visual Basic Editor. In the Normal template, change the defaults using
the same methods you tried earlier. When you are done, save and close
Normal.

Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

This illustrates why I have started promulgating *only* the Immediate Window
solution: the behavior of the navigation pane in Windows 7 is such a mystery
to me, and varies so widely from one user to the next, depending on
individual settings, that it is well nigh impossible to tell people how to
find the Templates folder.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[sf]

This illustrates why I have started promulgating *only* the Immediate Window
solution: the behavior of the navigation pane in Windows 7 is such a mystery
to me, and varies so widely from one user to the next, depending on
individual settings, that it is well nigh impossible to tell people how to
find the Templates folder.

I found it a different way, but since I'm only changing the .dotm (I
don't do macros and want nothing to do with a macro enabled doc) and
there is no way I can see to change the .doc which is my default "save
as", what I need changed isn't changed. Are there people who can do
this for me? If so, would they be the same people who do the physical
work on computers? TIA

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

If you're opening an existing document and using Save As to create new
documents, then you're not creating new documents based on Normal.dotm, and
changes you make to the document defaults will be irrelevant. You need to
make those changes in your standard document instead. But I don't see why
you don't just use a Blank Document. The document you create based on
Normal.dotm will be a .docx (not macro-enabled). The Normal template (even
when it was a .dot) has always been macro-enabled.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[sf]

If you're opening an existing document and using Save As to create new
documents, then you're not creating new documents based on Normal.dotm, and
changes you make to the document defaults will be irrelevant. You need to
make those changes in your standard document instead. But I don't see why
you don't just use a Blank Document. The document you create based on
Normal.dotm will be a .docx (not macro-enabled). The Normal template (even
when it was a .dot) has always been macro-enabled.

I think I have the problem solved, hopefully. I found the Dot1.dot
template and made my changes there. Except for needing to change the
margins every time, so far so good - font, font size and line spacing
seem to stick even after unpinning and reopening. The acid test will
be after rebooting. I'll see how it goes tomorrow. Thanks to you and
Stefan.

 

[Stefan Blom]

I guess I'll have to do the same!

Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

 

[Stefan Blom]

By the way, I experienced something similar in the Word Technet forum
where I was trying to envision what the poster actually saw in the Save
As dialog box. I finally understood the problem (I think) but I couldn't
offer any specific ideas on the solution. :-(

Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP