Autotext and normal.doc

[Gwen]

all of my autotext entries disappeared and I have no idea where to look to
find them. Where is the default save location?
How do autotext and the normal.doc file interact with each other (or do they?)

Thank you.

 

[Stefan Blom]

AutoText entries are saved in templates. Usually that means normal.dot,
unless you explicitly chose a different template when you created the
AutoText (see also http://word.mvps.org/faqs/customization/AutoText.htm).

Have you deleted or renamed normal.dot recently?

 

[Gwen]

I should clarify that I'm working on a network. I haven't done anything with
the normal.dot. I know so little about it that I leave it alone.
What's the difference between normal.doc and normal.dot?

 

[Stefan Blom]

"Normal.doc" would be an ordinary Word document, not a template. If such a
file is present, it must have been created by a user (or by the
administrator). I have to admit I assumed it was a typo, that you were
really referring to normal.dot.

Note that since you are on a network, normal.dot might be deleted (for
example by a login script) now and then, which would explain why you have
lost your AutoText entries. What about the built-in AutoTexts, can you still
see those?

 

[Gwen]

those are gone too. However, I just read somewhere else how to open word in
"safe" mode to see what word would look like if I deleted the current
normal.doc on the server and allowed the word default settings to be
restored. When I did that I saw all of the default word autotext settings.
If this is happening to mulitple users, does it make sense to delete the
normal.doc on the server (not sure where that would be located?) and use the
default?

 

[Stefan Blom]

Deleting normal.dot, or rather renaming it, is a way to restore a fresh copy
with factory default settings, yes. You'll find your normal.dot in the
Templates folder (found in the user profile). Be sure to show hidden files
and folders in Windows Explorer.

 

[Graham Mayor]

You cannot share the Normal.dot file among multiple users in Word
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=811468
Each user should have their own copy preferably stored locally. Renaming
normal.dot will, for the individual user, restore the default autotext
entries. It will not restore the missing personal entries.

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Graham Mayor - Word MVP


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