global Template (Word XP)

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Hello everyone:

Can anyone advise me on the following:

Word keeps prompting me to choose “Yes, or No” for the changes to the global template, I have been using office xp for about 24 months straight without any issues, I have spent the entire day reading all the post pertaining to the issue, and I don’t have any of the problems indicated in many of the post.

I became very agitated, and decided to call tech support, and realized that I spoke with someone in another far country who could hardly speak english, this was extremely frustrating.

Does anyone know if in the check mark is suppose to visible in the Tools, Option, and Save Tab “Prompt for to save normal template?

I really wanted to find out what the culprit was, but there just doesn’t seem to be any answers to this, I have no Addins, accept a pluggin from Winfax Pro, but the timeline has only been late last week since this problem has been happeining.

I did install a bluetooth drive, and all went well with the instalation, but I cannot see that interfering with Word.

Thanks

dillon

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…if in the check mark is suppose to visible in the Tools, Option, and Save Tab “Prompt for to save normal template?

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Not sure I understand your question. Are you saying that the checkbox isn’t available? Or just that you never checked it before, and now all of a sudden it’s checked?

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Hello Andrew:

Your are correct on the latter. I never checked it before, and now it is prompting me for an option. I do remember saving a document as a template, and I saved it within my docments, but then I deleted, the last time I checked for deleting a file was to hightlight and click delete, surley this action could not be the root of my problem.

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If unchecking the box restores the desired behavior, then I’d say chalk it up to gremlins.

For example, every 10th time or so that I bring my laptop back from Hibernate, I’m prompted for my password, after which I dutifully return to the appropriate dialog and *un* check the setting to prompt for password … until the next time it happens.

If it repeatedly returns to the checked state even after clearing it, then you may be experiencing the first signs of a corrupt registry data key.

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Hello Andrew:

I have unchecked the box, and I am not having any problems, I was a bit scared, only because from reading the post, I read that someone stated NEVER uncheck the particular box, but if I did that then it would always prompt me to choose.

Much appreciated for your support.

dillon65

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Hello Andrew:

I have unchecked the box, and I am not having any problems, I was a bit scared, only because from reading the post, I read that someone stated NEVER uncheck the particular box, but if I did that then it would always prompt me to choose.

Much appreciated for your support.

dillon65

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Check this thread . If you have installed the MS “Remove Hidden Data” routine, you will be prompted to save the golbal template each time you shut down. And you are absolutely correct – you should NOT uncheck the box that prompts to save the global template. If something other than changes that you have intentionally made is changing the global template, you should be aware of it.

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Hello Rebel:

I read the “The complete referrence book,” and it indicates if the box is checked then word will prompt you to save, a template. I did not download the hidden data file. I have renamed and deleted the normal.dot file in the Template folder, I have exported the Userdata file to the desktop from the registry, I even deleted Office XP and reinstalled it, after all that it was still prompting me to choose yes or no, when I needed to close word.

My last resort was to uncheck the prompt, I would like to here from anyone who has resolved this type of problem.

Regards,

dillon

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When you start afresh, there is no Normal.dot; Word will use factory settings. As soon as you change a setting that is stored in Normal.dot, Word will try to create it the next time you quit Word, so you will be prompted if the box is checked. After that, you should only be prompted if you changed something that is stored in Normal.dot. If you are being prompted EVERY time you quit Word, there MUST be something that updates Normal.dot.

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When you start afresh, there is no Normal.dot; Word will use factory settings. As soon as you change a setting that is stored in Normal.dot, Word will try to create it the next time you quit Word, so you will be prompted if the box is checked. After that, you should only be prompted if you changed something that is stored in Normal.dot. If you are being prompted EVERY time you quit Word, there MUST be something that updates Normal.dot.

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It’s sad isn’t it?

Normal.dot stores a large variety of things, from AutoText entries and default styles, to Macros and keyboard shortcuts you assign to various things, to toolbars (perhaps the most frequent annoyance). Microsoft gives you the option to be notified when there is a change to Normal.dot that has not been changed. In other words, “Tell me something has changed but not what it is so I can worry and not know what to do about it.” or “Leave me alone and save any change made.” What kind of choices are these?

When this option was the last barrier to macro viruses, I guess it was better than nothing. But it’s really sad that they’ve never given us more insight to the situation.

If you are running up-to-date anti-virus software, and you are very careful about opening files from strangers (including strange web sites), then the odds that the change is viral code are very, very low. The old advice about always showing the warning may be obsolete. On the other hand, if you really do want to know that “something” has changed, leave the box checked. I can tell from your original message that you’re in the first camp and not the second. If it happened every time I closed Word, I would be, too. But fortunately, it doesn’t.

Added: If you do customize Word by adding your own style definitions, AutoText, or macros to Normal.dot, you should make regular backups of the file. That way, if some change that gets saved corrupts the file or causes the anti-virus program to kill it, you can restore the good stuff.

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Hello Jscher2000, Hansv:

I after reading your replies, I have decided to uncheck the prompt, I can see no other way around the matter.

Can either of you direct me to a place where I can find proper settings for the options tab, eg check mark for “Background saves” I would like to know which one more appropriate, and less aggravating.

Thanks

dillon

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Dillon,
Jefferson’s advice is very sound, but so is Hans’ statement that “there MUST be something that updates updates Normal.dot”. Have you read Phil’s post on this topic? While I can understand your aggrevation with this behaviour, it would be great if you could isolate what exactly is causing the problem. There are many useful suggestions in Phil’s post and I would be interested in any results after you have exhaused the suggestions here.

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Dillon,
Jefferson’s advice is very sound, but so is Hans’ statement that “there MUST be something that updates updates Normal.dot”. Have you read Phil’s post on this topic? While I can understand your aggrevation with this behaviour, it would be great if you could isolate what exactly is causing the problem. There are many useful suggestions in Phil’s post and I would be interested in any results after you have exhaused the suggestions here.

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I tend to do things too quickly, switching among applications, saving, printing, closing. To prevent unexpected problems, I do not use Background Save or Background Print. However, if you work in a more orderly fashion, mostly with one application at a time and not in a rush, these options will make your life a little bit easier becaues they let you get back to work sooner (your cursor is available sooner).

If you have access to Woody’s books, you will find detailed tips for customizing the options for Office applications. Some of these can be really helpful, such as confirming conversions at open, so that you always know when you are working on an odd-format document. Others hardly seem to matter at all, at least to me. I’ve recorded the ones I have at the moment, but unfortunately the option names in VBA don’t exactly match the order or description in the dialog. Still, might be helpful to you or someone.

Reply | Quote

I tend to do things too quickly, switching among applications, saving, printing, closing. To prevent unexpected problems, I do not use Background Save or Background Print. However, if you work in a more orderly fashion, mostly with one application at a time and not in a rush, these options will make your life a little bit easier becaues they let you get back to work sooner (your cursor is available sooner).

If you have access to Woody’s books, you will find detailed tips for customizing the options for Office applications. Some of these can be really helpful, such as confirming conversions at open, so that you always know when you are working on an odd-format document. Others hardly seem to matter at all, at least to me. I’ve recorded the ones I have at the moment, but unfortunately the option names in VBA don’t exactly match the order or description in the dialog. Still, might be helpful to you or someone.

Reply | Quote

Hello Jscher2000, Hansv:

I after reading your replies, I have decided to uncheck the prompt, I can see no other way around the matter.

Can either of you direct me to a place where I can find proper settings for the options tab, eg check mark for “Background saves” I would like to know which one more appropriate, and less aggravating.

Thanks

dillon

Reply | Quote

It’s sad isn’t it?

Normal.dot stores a large variety of things, from AutoText entries and default styles, to Macros and keyboard shortcuts you assign to various things, to toolbars (perhaps the most frequent annoyance). Microsoft gives you the option to be notified when there is a change to Normal.dot that has not been changed. In other words, “Tell me something has changed but not what it is so I can worry and not know what to do about it.” or “Leave me alone and save any change made.” What kind of choices are these?

When this option was the last barrier to macro viruses, I guess it was better than nothing. But it’s really sad that they’ve never given us more insight to the situation.

If you are running up-to-date anti-virus software, and you are very careful about opening files from strangers (including strange web sites), then the odds that the change is viral code are very, very low. The old advice about always showing the warning may be obsolete. On the other hand, if you really do want to know that “something” has changed, leave the box checked. I can tell from your original message that you’re in the first camp and not the second. If it happened every time I closed Word, I would be, too. But fortunately, it doesn’t.

Added: If you do customize Word by adding your own style definitions, AutoText, or macros to Normal.dot, you should make regular backups of the file. That way, if some change that gets saved corrupts the file or causes the anti-virus program to kill it, you can restore the good stuff.

Reply | Quote

You’ve got another option:

Odds are, some macro in your template is changing a style, autotext entry, numbering format, or toolbar (e.g. displayinig toolbars can do it).
If you have an initialization macro in the template, or other macros that do those things, make the last step
MacroContainer.Saved = True

This tells word, “It’s saved, it’s OK, these aren’t the droids you’re looking for. Move Along”

Reply | Quote

You’ve got another option:

Odds are, some macro in your template is changing a style, autotext entry, numbering format, or toolbar (e.g. displayinig toolbars can do it).
If you have an initialization macro in the template, or other macros that do those things, make the last step
MacroContainer.Saved = True

This tells word, “It’s saved, it’s OK, these aren’t the droids you’re looking for. Move Along”

Reply | Quote

Hello Rebel:

I read the “The complete referrence book,” and it indicates if the box is checked then word will prompt you to save, a template. I did not download the hidden data file. I have renamed and deleted the normal.dot file in the Template folder, I have exported the Userdata file to the desktop from the registry, I even deleted Office XP and reinstalled it, after all that it was still prompting me to choose yes or no, when I needed to close word.

My last resort was to uncheck the prompt, I would like to here from anyone who has resolved this type of problem.

Regards,

dillon

Reply | Quote

If unchecking the box restores the desired behavior, then I’d say chalk it up to gremlins.

For example, every 10th time or so that I bring my laptop back from Hibernate, I’m prompted for my password, after which I dutifully return to the appropriate dialog and *un* check the setting to prompt for password … until the next time it happens.

If it repeatedly returns to the checked state even after clearing it, then you may be experiencing the first signs of a corrupt registry data key.

Reply | Quote

Hello Andrew:

Your are correct on the latter. I never checked it before, and now it is prompting me for an option. I do remember saving a document as a template, and I saved it within my docments, but then I deleted, the last time I checked for deleting a file was to hightlight and click delete, surley this action could not be the root of my problem.

Reply | Quote

[indent]

---

…if in the check mark is suppose to visible in the Tools, Option, and Save Tab “Prompt for to save normal template?

---

[/indent]

Not sure I understand your question. Are you saying that the checkbox isn’t available? Or just that you never checked it before, and now all of a sudden it’s checked?

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Just for giggles, look at post 168,787

Edited by KB MacKenzie to add post link

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