Normal.dot versus blank document template

[Jacqueline]

I have been involved in several discussions regarding this recently and
would like to try and clear this up. My firm hold the normal.dot (and
all other templates) in a central templates folder on our network.
Each user has a copy on their C drive which updates every day when they
log on. This means if the network crashes they can still work with
their template(s). Normal.dot contains all of our macros, styles,
autotexts etc. When I update I simply update the master version and
this is replicated to each pc. This means if a user's normal.dot gets
damaged it can be copied from the master, and if something goes wrong
with the master I can copy my (or someone else's c drive version).

This seems to work well but everything I read tells me we shouldn't use
normal.dot as our blank document - can anyone tell me a good reason
why we should change?

thanks

 

[Jezebel]

"everything I read tells me we shouldn't use normal.dot as our blank
document"

Can you give an example of something you've read that tells you this?
Normal.dot is the default "blank document", by definition. Perhaps you've
misunderstood suggestions about not putting stuff into the headers and
footers of normal.dot, eg to use it as the standard company letterhead or
similar (which is indeed good advice). But if you just want a plain blank
document, there's no need to complicate matters.

 

[Jonathan West]

I have been involved in several discussions regarding this recently and
would like to try and clear this up. My firm hold the normal.dot (and
all other templates) in a central templates folder on our network.
Each user has a copy on their C drive which updates every day when they
log on. This means if the network crashes they can still work with
their template(s). Normal.dot contains all of our macros, styles,
autotexts etc. When I update I simply update the master version and
this is replicated to each pc. This means if a user's normal.dot gets
damaged it can be copied from the master, and if something goes wrong
with the master I can copy my (or someone else's c drive version).

This seems to work well but everything I read tells me we shouldn't use
normal.dot as our blank document - can anyone tell me a good reason
why we should change?

Hi Jacqueline

In addition to what John said, this article will also help you work out the
best approach for storing and distributing macros.

Distributing macros to other users
http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/MacrosVBA/DistributeMacros.htm


--
Regards
Jonathan West - Word MVP
www.intelligentdocuments.co.uk
Please reply to the newsgroup
Keep your VBA code safe, sign the ClassicVB petition www.classicvb.org

 

[Charles Kenyon]

A better method is more complex. The problem with your method is that it
will not allow for an individual to customize his or her own Word
configuration without becoming a Word expert. The method you describe is
better than having all users share a single file.

To me, a preferred method would be to have one or more global templates that
hold customizations other than styles and to put styles in document
templates in a workgroup templates folder. Styles should be different in
different uses. For instance, briefs, pleadings, and letters can all use
different formatting to serve the same purposes. When text is copied from
one of these to a different one it will assume the appropriate formatting.
For most routine work, I base a new document not on a blank page, but on a
document template that already has formatting and text appropriate to the
new document. I use the blank page primarily as a scratch pad.

It is also possible to have a global template other than normal.dot hold
styles, but this is not as simple.
http://addbalance.com/word/stylesheet.htm.

See http://addbalance.com/word/movetotemplate.htm for step-by-step
instructions on moving / sharing / copying / backing-up customizations
including AutoText, AutoCorrect, keyboard assignments, toolbars, macros,
etc.

For more on the different kinds of templates, tabs on the file new dialog,
and locations of templates folders see
http://addbalance.com/usersguide/templates.htm.
--

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


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from my ignorance and your wisdom.

 

[Jacqueline]

Thanks to all of you who replied - very reassuring! At present we
prefer to control all add-ins etc so we create any required auto-texts,
macros etc and then make them availabe to users. It means our IT dept
has to maintain these things but we are happy with that. all of our
'proforma' documents are templats and each have their own styles so
users can use styles other than our standard house style when required.

 

[Jacqueline]

Previous firms I've worked with worked with two templates (blank and
normal) and during a VBA training course yesterday the trainer
recommended this. I then looked at previous posts on here and found
suggestions for both methods. Perhaps as you say I have misunderstood
these posts and the blank document template has contained 'add-ins' or
similar.

 

[Jacqueline]

Previous firms I've worked with worked with two templates (blank and
normal) and during a VBA training course yesterday the trainer
recommended this. I then looked at previous posts on here and found
suggestions for both methods. Perhaps as you say I have misunderstood
these posts and the blank document template has contained 'add-ins' or
similar.

 

[Tony Jollans]

... most users passionately hate being treated like that....

Seconded.

If your, or any other IT department, tried to overwrite my Normal.dot I
would build my own process to make sure I got it back. I have been fighting
this total failure of IT departments to understand users since the days of
mainframes - they couldn't impose central control over designed-in user
customization facilities then and they can't do it now - and trying to do so
shows ignorance and arrogance.

 

[Charles Kenyon]

Again, this does not need to be done through normal.dot. It is perhaps
marginally easier for your IT people to do it the way I suggest but the
ordinary user should not have to learn how to create an Add-In to save their
own AutoText or macros globally. We regularly get people here who can't
understand why their customizations keep disappearing, and it turns out that
it is their IT departments at work.

Where I've worked, the purpose of the IT department was to make it easier
for the front-line workers to use their computers to get their jobs done,
not to strip those computers of the ability to do that.
--
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


--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
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.

 

[Tony Jollans]

A well written summary.

In Word 2002 and later, a "Blank Document" icon appeared on the toolbar.
This button does NOT necessarily create documents from Normal.dot. There
are specific circumstances under which Normal.dot may not exist in these
applications. If it doesn't, the blank document is produced directly from
Word's hard-coded defaults. That may be what they were referring to.

New icon in 2002? Which toolbar?

I was under the impression that, no matter what, a Normal.dot always
existed - at least in memory. Under what circumstances is this not the case?

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

Hi Tony:

It's on the Standard toolbar, I think. It's labelled "Blank Document"
instead of "New Document", from memory.

Yes, the Normal Template data structure always exists in memory. What I
meant was that the "file" Normal.dot does not always exist. I must admit
that I have never seen a case where it actually didn't. But that's because
in Australia, chances are the first thing we do is change the default
spelling languages from English US, and that would automatically populate
the Normal Template structure with a user specification, which will force
creation of a file.

Cheers

A well written summary.


New icon in 2002? Which toolbar?

I was under the impression that, no matter what, a Normal.dot always
existed - at least in memory. Under what circumstances is this not the case?

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 (0) 4 1209 1410

 

[Shauna Kelly]

Hi John, Tony

I've seen at least one live case where no normal.dot existed, and I learned
about it the hard way: my VBA code went looking for Normal.dot, failed to
find it and crashed. So I don't just assume that it exists any more.

FWIW, when Normal.dot does not exist, Application.NormalTemplate.FullName
will still produce a very convincing string that consists of the
UserTemplates folder & "\Normal.dot". But there may be no such file.

Hope this helps.

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

 

[Tony Jollans]

Thanks John and Shauna,

You're really just confirming what I thought to be the case having maybe
said it in a different way to start with.

If Normal.dot does not exist in either place Word expects to find it, a new
one will be created (from built-in defaults) in the same way that a new
blank document is created if Word is started without one. If any changes are
made to this normal.dot it will be saved (or the user will be prompted to
save it) - again just like a new blank document. The new normal.dot does not
exist in the OS's file system (neither does the new blank document) but
while Word is open the source of normal.dot is not relevant.

It is a tad confusing that it claims to have a path and about the only way I
know to identify the situation is that the "Last Saved Time" property will
give an error if it has never been saved.


In my Word 2000 I have an icon on the standard toolbar tagged "New Blank
Document"
In my Word 2003 I have an icon on the standard toolbar tagged "New Blank
Document"
I'm not aware of any differences between the two in terms of what they do.