Can't save Normal after changing macros; Read-Only?!?

[Ed]

Lately (since last week), almost every time I make any changes to any macro,
then try to save Normal.dot, I get an error message that tells me Normal is
being changed by another user, and do I want to save anyway? If I say yes,
it tells me Normal is read-only, and gives me a Save As dialog. I've been
saving as Normal1, then going into the folder, deleting Normal and renaming
Normal1.

I thought at first it was Outlook, where I'm using Word as editor, but I'm
not sure now. I don't have any add-ins (that show up, anyway), and I
haven't added any. I've been the only user on this system, so no one else
has done anything in the last two weeks.

Any suggestions?

Ed

 

[Steve Lang]

Hi Ed,

Next time before you open Word, do a Ctrl-Alt-Delete and click the Task
Manager to check the running processes to make sure there already isn't a
WINWORD.EXE process running. I am guessing that Outlook is holding the app
open.

HTH and have a great day!

Steve

 

[Ed]

Thank, Steve - I'll check that (probably in a little bit, right after
lunch.) But I've also experienced this with Outlook closed. Or that may
just be with closing Outlook before trying to close Word - I'll try it both
ways.

Ed

 

[Mark Tangard]

Ed,

This sort of thing can also be caused by the accursed MS Works add-in.
If you have, or have ever had, Microsoft Works installed on your PC,
you can safely remove the Works add-in (which adds functionality that
hardly anyone needs or uses) from Control Panel-> Add/Remove Programs.
The mechanism by which Works screws up Word isn't well understood but
the effect is not uncommon, and this specific message about Normal.dot
being indiposed is the exact/classic symptom.

 

[Ed]

Thanks, Mark. I checked my Add-Ins, but saw nothing, either through Word or
through the Control Panel. I did close Outlook first, and had no problem
closing Word. Go figure.

Ed

 

[Charles Kenyon]

Check your control panel (Start Menu) under Add/Remove Programs. Is the
Works Add-In there? In its later incarnations it is a .com Add-In and
doesn't show up in the Templates and Add-Ins dialog.
--

Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory:
<URL: http://addbalance.com/word/index.htm>

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide)
<URL: http://addbalance.com/usersguide/index.htm>

See also the MVP FAQ: <URL: http://www.mvps.org/word/> which is awesome!
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This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
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from my ignorance and your wisdom.

 

[Ed]

No, it wasn't there. And I can't find it through System Info, either. I
did find a second template loading at start-up; I'm deleting it because I
don't need it.

I do notice that I can make changes to my toolbars, but the changes don't
show up when I open a previously-created document. Perhaps that's because I
haven't saved Normal yet, so the changes aren't active. Will explore this,
too.

Thanks for the help.

Ed

 

[Ed]

New Info (just happened):

It looks like one instance of the problem is created when I have two
documents open. If I make changes to a macro or toolbar in one document,
but don't save Normal, when I try to close the unchanged doc, I get the
error.

When I closed the doc where I made the changes, the doc AND Normal saved.
When I went back and closed the unchanged doc, it asked me to save Normal,
and I clicked No. When I reopened a Word doc, the changes were there.

I guess the answer is "save when changes are made".

Ed

 

[Mark Tangard]

Ed,

Are these macros & toolbars stored in the document or in Normal?
(What does the 'Save changes in' box say in the Tools­> Customize
dialog?)

 

[Ed]

Mark, I always save everything to Normal. What I'm noticing is that it
seems to happen when I have multiple Word windows open, especially documents
that were created before I made certain changes to my macros (that could be
as "old" as yesterday morning!). If I then make changes to Normal in one
document's window - especially the newer doc - and close it, Word is still
open, so it doesn't prompt for saving Normal. But the changes I made aren't
reflected in that doc's toolbars or VBE Editor. So when I go to close that
window and quit Word, I get an error, can't save Normal - it's read-only.

I guess it comes back to Save and Save Often. Yesterday I made a new
toolbar, then went into the VBE Editor and saved Normal. The "older" doc I
had open still didn't reflect the new toolbar, but I could close everything
out okay.

Does it sound like I've hit on the problem? Or do you think I might just be
working around something that's waiting to crash on me?

Ed

 

[Mark Tangard]

I'm stumped. It really still sounds like the Works add-in is at work
somewhere. In that connection, I've noticed on some systems that the
Works add-in is listed in Add/Remove programs under "W" and on others
it's under "M" (for "Microsoft Works for...."). Long shot: Did you
look under both letters in the Add/Remove list?

 

[Ed]

Just looked again - nothing. Is there a file name or something I could type
into Search>>For Files or Folders?

 

[Mark Tangard]

Yes, but (1) I don't know what it is, and (2) if it's not listed
in Add/Remove it's almost certainly not installed....

MT

 

[Ed]

Mark:

I've had no problems today. Maybe it has something to do with moving back
and forth between docs while changing Normal without saving it. I'd think
Normal should be outside any doc, and any changes should be reflected in any
doc based on it, but I notice changes don;t show up in the other docs in
"real time." I might have been closing the doc that was active when I was
making changes before I saved Normal, then trying to save Normal when
closing the other docs which did not reflect the changes. (Did that make
sense?) Maybe that's why Word was trying to keep Normal open. Maybe next
time I encounter that, I'll see if I can re-open the doc that was active,
save Normal from there, and then close.

Then again, maybe I'll stop fiddling so much! NAAHH!! 8>)

Ed