normal.dot in a network

[Bosse]

We are 600 users in a Novell network using Word 2003 and
all users have the same normal.dot stored in a write-
protected area of the network, because we do not want the
users to be able to change normal.dot.

Every time a user starts Word and then clost it down, the
following message appears:

"Word cannot save changes to the global template because
it was opened with read-only access. Do you want to save
the changes in a template with a different name?"

We have recently changed from Word 97 to Word 2003,
working in the same environment as before. The problem
did not arise with Word 97. Is this a built-in problem in
2003. Do you really must have normal.dot with read access
in order to avoid this innoing question every time you
are closing down Word in 2003.

N.B. This problem ALWAYS arise, even though you have not
done anything which affects normal.dot, like creating new
buttons etc.

 

[Charles Kenyon]

This is only one of many problems you'll have sharing normal.dot. Everything
you want to accomplish by sharing and locking normal.dot down can be done in
other ways. Have your users start new documents based on workgroup
templates, not normal.dot. Put any customizations that you have in
normal.dot in a different global template.

What, specifically, is the reason for sharing normal.dot?

The message "Changes have been made that affect the global template -
normal. Do you wish to save those changes?" is an important warning. It
means that changes have been made, whether you intended to make changes or
not. You can also get it when your template has been altered by a poorly
written Add-In program or by a malicious virus.

The reason for the message being shown repeatedly is almost always a poorly
written Add-In. The Norton AV Office Plug-In seems to be the most frequent
offender recently, but that can change as some other poorly written program
comes on the market.

Other offenders include the MS Works Suite Add-In, EZ-Photo, Scansoft, Adobe
Acrobat, and Microsoft's MetaData remover. These all install Add-Ins that
mess with your normal.dot when they shouldn't do so and don't need to do so.
Some of these are .dot files, others are installed. See <URL:
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/CheckIfAddinsInstalled.htm> for
instructions on seeing what Add-Ins you have. (Having Add-Ins is not a bad
thing. I run Word with 15 Add-Ins, most of which I wrote myself.)

Start with the Add-Ins I've noted. If you have any of them, decide whether
they are worth the annoyance they are causing you. Probably they are not.
Disable any that are not worth the candle. Restart Word and see if your
problem is gone.

If not...

If you start Word using
Start => Run: Winword.exe /a
you'll end up with Word out of the box loading without your saved normal.dot
file, with no macros and no Add-Ins. You may notice that it loads much more
quickly than you are used to seing. When you close it, you won't get the
"normal.dot" prompt.

So, what you need to do is disable all of your Add-Ins (don't delete them).
Start by moving .dot files out of your Word Startup folder, one-by-one, with
Word closed. Restart Word and see if that Add-In caused the problem. If not,
put it back in and take the next one out. (You can put them in a sub-folder
of your Startup folder.) If none of them are the problem, move to the .com
Add-Ins that have to be uninstalled.

If your offender is not on my list, please write back and let us know which
one caused your problems.

Write to the company that put out the Add-In with a complaint, and possibly
a bill for your time.

Hope this helps,