What files need to be moved to a secondcomputer to transfer keyboard shortcuts?

[greggsewell]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

I edit for a small Chicago publisher in the office and at home.

I recently had to reformat the primary drive on both computers (for different reasons) and reinstall all software.

I have Word set the way I want it at work; I'd love to "just transfer" all my settings (custom toolbars, keyboard shortcuts, templates, everything) to my home computer instead of repeating the process manually.

Can anyone tell me what files I'd need to copy and replace?

Thanks very much for your help.

 

[michael_carr]

I haven't yet done this for 2008, but in earlier versions If you have a copy of your old preferences on back-up, you can replace the new with the old in the preferences folder in your library.

com.microsoft.Word.plist

 

[greggsewell]

Could it be that simple?

If true, then very nice.

I'll try it at home tonight.

Thanks, Michael.

 

[CyberTaz]

No, it isn't that simple It is a small part of what you need, but
certainly not everything based on your "shopping list".

Unfotunately I'm pressed for time right now but if someone doesn't come
along I'll try to get back to you a bit later.

 

[John McGhie]

Could it be that simple?

If true, then very nice.

I'll try it at home tonight.

Thanks, Michael.

Hi Greg:

Well, yes it is that simple But you need to take your Normal.dotm
across as well.

And your Custom Dictionary.

Your toolbars and keystrokes are in Normal.dotm. Your preferred spellings
in the custom dictionary.

Despite repeatedly asking Microsoft for several years, they won't tell us
what is in the Preferences: but if you Google for "Word 2003 Registry
Settings", I believe the Word 2004/2008 Preferences contain the same
information Word 2003 puts in the Windows Registry.

Cheers

This email is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless you intend to pay!

--

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[greggsewell]

Thank you, Bob and John.

To be thorough, I've copied the following for transfer to my home computer:

1. /Users/myname/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/

This includes:
- Normal.dotm
- My Templates [folder]
- My Themes [folder]

2./Users/myname/Library/Preferences

This includes:
- com.microsoft.autoupdate2.plist
- com.microsoft.entourage.database_daemon.plist
- com.microsoft.entourage.office_reminders.plist
- com.microsoft.entourage.syncservices.plist
- com.microsoft.error_reporting.plist
- com.microsoft.helpviewer.plist
- com.microsoft.office.plist
- com.microsoft.OfficeNotifications.plist
- com.microsoft.setupassistant.plist
- com.microsoft.Word.plist

3. /Users/myname/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Office 2008

This includes:
- Custom Dictionary
- Microsoft Office 2008 Settings.plist
- Microsoft Office ACL [English]
- Office 2008 First Run
- Office Font Cache (12)
- Office Registration Cache 2008
- OfficeSync Prefs
- OLE Registration Database 2008
- Proofing Tools Preferences
- Word Font Substitutes

4. /Users/gregg/Documents/Microsoft User Data/

This includes (all folders):
- Entourage Script Menu Items
- Excel Script Menu Items
- Office 2008 AutoRecovery
- Office 2008 Identities
- PowerPoint Script Menu Items
- Word Script Menu Items

There is also Microsoft data here:

/Library/Application Support/Microsoft

which doesn't seem to have anything to do with user-defined settings.

Too thorough? Will replacing all of these items on my home computer cause problems?

Thanks again for your help.

P.S. Perhaps this list will be helpful to others . . . I don't know.

 

[CyberTaz]

You'll also want to go to wherever you have your Templates stored so you can
copy them & take the copies to the home system. The default location for
Templates in Office 2008 is:

User/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/My
Templates

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Gregg;

Wow - talk about "overkill" I'd wait for input from John on this, but it
looks to me like you are going a bit too far... And some may be potentially
dangerous. Keep in mind that each installation has -- and must have -- a
certain degree of unique support files specific to that installation. You
can't just 'mix n match' components. I've marked some with an "X":

Thank you, Bob and John.

To be thorough, I've copied the following for transfer to my home computer:

1. /Users/myname/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/

This includes:
- Normal.dotm
- My Templates [folder]

X > - My Themes [folder] Unnecessary unless you have created custom ThemesX > 2./Users/myname/Library/Preferences

This includes:
- com.microsoft.autoupdate2.plist
- com.microsoft.entourage.database_daemon.plist
- com.microsoft.entourage.office_reminders.plist
- com.microsoft.entourage.syncservices.plist
- com.microsoft.error_reporting.plist
- com.microsoft.helpviewer.plist
- com.microsoft.office.plist
- com.microsoft.OfficeNotifications.plist
- com.microsoft.setupassistant.plist

I'd avoid all of the above... Most are unnecessary, I suspect many can cause
conflicts. The only one that retains user-specific settings is:

- com.microsoft.Word.plist

so go ahead with that one.

X> 3. /Users/myname/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Office 2008

This includes:
- Custom Dictionary
- Microsoft Office 2008 Settings.plist
- Microsoft Office ACL [English]
- Office 2008 First Run
- Office Font Cache (12)
- Office Registration Cache 2008
- OfficeSync Prefs
- OLE Registration Database 2008
- Proofing Tools Preferences
- Word Font Substitutes

Other than the Custom Dictionary, the ACL & Proofing Tools Prefs I'd avoid
all in #3
X> 4. /Users/gregg/Documents/Microsoft User Data/

This includes (all folders):
- Entourage Script Menu Items
- Excel Script Menu Items
- Office 2008 AutoRecovery
- Office 2008 Identities
- PowerPoint Script Menu Items
- Word Script Menu Items

None of #4 needed unless you have custom Apple Script/workflows. I'd
definitely avoid the AutoRecovery & I'm leery of the Identities. Perhaps
John can comment more on that or you might check with the Entourage group.

There is also Microsoft data here:

/Library/Application Support/Microsoft

which doesn't seem to have anything to do with user-defined settings.

Too thorough? Will replacing all of these items on my home computer cause
problems?

Thanks again for your help.

P.S. Perhaps this list will be helpful to others . . . I don't know.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Greg:

I would recommend that you copy only the files I suggested (in addition to
com.microsoft.Word.plist). That should bring across everything you want.

You can, of course, take across everything you list. But if you do, you run
the risk of getting an "unstable" installation, due to the effect Bob
mentions.

Many of the preferences are very specific to the machine they exist on. If
you copy them all across, you can end up with Microsoft Office applications
looking for things in the wrong places on that computer. In which case, you
end up having to do a Remove and Reinstall to straighten them out again.

So I would recommend just taking the files I recommended first. That should
not cause any great issues, and I believe it will transfer everything you
want.

What I am battling here is that I can not find out exactly what's in each of
the files

Hope this helps

Hi Gregg;

Wow - talk about "overkill" I'd wait for input from John on this, but it
looks to me like you are going a bit too far... And some may be potentially
dangerous. Keep in mind that each installation has -- and must have -- a
certain degree of unique support files specific to that installation. You
can't just 'mix n match' components. I've marked some with an "X":

Thank you, Bob and John.

To be thorough, I've copied the following for transfer to my home computer:

1. /Users/myname/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/

This includes:
- Normal.dotm
- My Templates [folder]

X > - My Themes [folder] Unnecessary unless you have created custom ThemesX > 2./Users/myname/Library/Preferences

This includes:
- com.microsoft.autoupdate2.plist
- com.microsoft.entourage.database_daemon.plist
- com.microsoft.entourage.office_reminders.plist
- com.microsoft.entourage.syncservices.plist
- com.microsoft.error_reporting.plist
- com.microsoft.helpviewer.plist
- com.microsoft.office.plist
- com.microsoft.OfficeNotifications.plist
- com.microsoft.setupassistant.plist

I'd avoid all of the above... Most are unnecessary, I suspect many can cause
conflicts. The only one that retains user-specific settings is:

- com.microsoft.Word.plist

so go ahead with that one.

X> 3. /Users/myname/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/Office 2008

This includes:
- Custom Dictionary
- Microsoft Office 2008 Settings.plist
- Microsoft Office ACL [English]
- Office 2008 First Run
- Office Font Cache (12)
- Office Registration Cache 2008
- OfficeSync Prefs
- OLE Registration Database 2008
- Proofing Tools Preferences
- Word Font Substitutes

Other than the Custom Dictionary, the ACL & Proofing Tools Prefs I'd avoid
all in #3
X> 4. /Users/gregg/Documents/Microsoft User Data/

This includes (all folders):
- Entourage Script Menu Items
- Excel Script Menu Items
- Office 2008 AutoRecovery
- Office 2008 Identities
- PowerPoint Script Menu Items
- Word Script Menu Items

None of #4 needed unless you have custom Apple Script/workflows. I'd
definitely avoid the AutoRecovery & I'm leery of the Identities. Perhaps
John can comment more on that or you might check with the Entourage group.

There is also Microsoft data here:

/Library/Application Support/Microsoft

which doesn't seem to have anything to do with user-defined settings.

Too thorough? Will replacing all of these items on my home computer cause
problems?

Thanks again for your help.

P.S. Perhaps this list will be helpful to others . . . I don't know.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

This email is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless you intend to pay!

--

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[greggsewell]

John and Bob,

Thanks very much. Yes, I'm nothing if not overkill (rimshot).

I've lived on the bleeding edge of tech for a long, long time, and actually enjoy seeing what I can break. This fact, coupled with the knowledge that I don't have any irreplaceable Word documents on my home computer, made it easy for me to "just go ahead and see what happens."

PLEASE NOTE: I do not recommend this to anyone at all.

So, last night I replaced all of the files I listed above and thought I'd report on the results.

I had no problems with:
- Normal template
- Other templates
- Custom toolbars
- Custom keyboard shortcuts

The only thing that wasn't "just perfect" were basic preferences (Word menu > Preferences...). All of these were at the factory default position.

It didn't take long to "bend them to my will" (thanks to Clive), so all-in-all I feel fortunate to have not blown up anything.

There is one odd thing worth mentioning, though.

In the AutoCorrrect area of Preferences, all of the custom additions I had put in, such as Clive's helpful ==v equals a Wingdings down arrow, were in the list.

I suppose they're stored in a secret list somewhere that isn't in the dot-plist files (just guessing).

Final notes:

Again, please don't do what I did, dear reader. I took unnecessary risks. I understood the potential consequences and went forward anyway because I was willing to "play" with my installation of Word.

And another big thank-you to John, Bob, and the entire Mactopia community. You're always there to help out the lame of mind when they need it.

Ciao,

Gregg

 

[John McGhie]

John and Bob,

Thanks very much. Yes, I'm nothing if not overkill (rimshot).

I've lived on the bleeding edge of tech for a long, long time, and actually
enjoy seeing what I can break. This fact, coupled with the knowledge that I
don't have any irreplaceable Word documents on my home computer, made it easy
for me to "just go ahead and see what happens."

PLEASE NOTE: I do not recommend this to anyone at all.

So, last night I replaced all of the files I listed above and thought I'd
report on the results.

I had no problems with:
- Normal template
- Other templates
- Custom toolbars
- Custom keyboard shortcuts

The only thing that wasn't "just perfect" were basic preferences (Word menu >
Preferences...). All of these were at the factory default position.

It didn't take long to "bend them to my will" (thanks to Clive), so all-in-all
I feel fortunate to have not blown up anything.

There is one odd thing worth mentioning, though.

In the AutoCorrrect area of Preferences, all of the custom additions I had put
in, such as Clive's helpful ==v equals a Wingdings down arrow, were in the
list.

I suppose they're stored in a secret list somewhere that isn't in the
dot-plist files (just guessing).

Final notes:

Again, please don't do what I did, dear reader. I took unnecessary risks. I
understood the potential consequences and went forward anyway because I was
willing to "play" with my installation of Word.

And another big thank-you to John, Bob, and the entire Mactopia community.
You're always there to help out the lame of mind when they need it.

Ciao,

Gregg

Hi Gregg:

As far as we can determine, the "autocorrects" are in the Normal.dotm.

The AutoCorrectList file on the Mac seems to be non-customisable.

It's at /Applications/Microsoft Office 2008/Office in the "Default ACL ..."
files

Cheers

This email is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless you intend to pay!

--

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]