Can a customized page be set as a new document default

S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

There are two answers to this:

1. If you want to customize Normal.dot (the default template, on which new
Blank Documents are based), see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/CustomizeNormalTemplate.htm.

2. There is a limit to the type of customization that should prudently be
done to Normal.dot. Beyond that, you should create specific document
templates (see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/CreateATemplatePart1.htm). You can
access document templates through File | New. There are two ways to make
Word start with a new document based on a specific template. One is to use a
shortcut with the /t startup switch as described in the Help topic
"Customize how Word starts." An easier way is just to put a shortcut to the
specific template on your desktop. Either of these will affect only the
initial document; the default New button (or Ctrl+N shortcut) will still
create a new document based on Normal.dot.
 
J

Jay Freedman

When you click the New button, Word makes a document based on the Normal.dot
template. The article at
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=151 gives an
overview of what that means.

You can customize the Normal.dot template in certain ways, but it's a bad
idea to try to customize it in other ways. See
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/CustomizeNormalTemplate.htm for a
discussion of what you can do and instructions for doing it.

If you have changes in mind that go beyond what should be done in
Normal.dot, make a separate template for that kind of document
(http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/CreateATemplatePart1.htm). Then
make another desktop shortcut that points to your new template file -- when
you double-click that shortcut, Word will open with a document based on your
template.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
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