Corrupted Normal.dot file

[Robert McN]

Dear MS Word Community,
I have been using MS Word for about 13 years (the version of Word I use is
"2002") and during that time have been gradually modifying the Normal.dot
file as I added new macros, autocorrects, and tweaks to the interface
(toolbars, etc.). Given that, my "Normal.dot" is valuable and "homey" to me.
Unfortunately, it seems to have gotten corrupted. Word doesn't open or
close properly as it used to, moreover, recently, when I open Word, I get the
following error message, "Microsoft Visual Basic: Run-Time error '-2147024809
(80070057)': Cannot move focus to the control because it is invisible, not
enabled, or of a type that does not accept the focus." My question is this, I
think I need to create a "Normal.dot" file, but I'd like to do so in a way
that retains all characteristics of my current normal.dot were it not
corrupted. Any suggestions on how to do so would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jezebel]

Easy. Restore normal.dot from your last backup.



If that is not an option, indulge in some significant self-flagellation,
then try this ---

rename normal.dot to somethingelse.dot

start Word

open somethingelse.dot directly and see what (if anything) you can recover
from it.

 

[Charles Kenyon]

With Word closed, rename normal.dot. When you start Word, a new normal.dot
will be formed. You can then move your customizations either to the new
normal.dot or to a separate template. 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.
--

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.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Jezebel and Charles have answered the question you asked; I will answer the
question you didn't ask: "Does this error message mean that Normal.dot is
corrupt?" I don't think it does. Such an error is much more likely to be
coming from an add-in. Here's what Office MVP Beth Melton has to say on the
matter:

A "runtime" error means that there is an error in a macro or add-in that is
attempting to run. Typically these macros are created by a third-party and
are not part of the Word installation. (They could also be caused by a
malfunctioning macro virus as well)

Many third-party applications will create an add-in and place it in the
Office\Startup folder or use a COM add-in (DLL) to integrate their software
with Word. Another common add-in, the "Microsoft Works Suite Add-in for
Word" can only be found in your Add/Remove programs list.

Aside from the Works Suite Add-in, to determine if you have any add-ins you
can check for them using the following:

Go to Tools/Templates and Add-Ins and see if there are any global templates
or add-ins listed. If you find any then chances are they are located in
your Office\Startup folder or Word\Startup folder.

The location of the Word\Startup folder can be found under
Tools/Options/File Locations and the Office\Startup folder will be located
in the installation path for Office.

If you find more than one add-in move them one at a time until you
determine which one is causing the problem.

As of Word 2000, Word can have COM add-ins, those that are added in via the
Registry rather than the Startup folders. To check for COM add-ins add the
"COM Add-In" command to your toolbar.

- Right-click any toolbar and select Customize
- On the Commands tab, select the Tools category
- Locate COM Add-Ins on the right
- Drag/Drop to a location of your choice

For more information on COM Add-Ins, see this article:
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Customization/CheckIfAddinsInstalled.htm

That said, if you do find you need to rename (not delete!) Normal.dot, you
should be able to retrieve many of your customizations: AutoText entries,
macros, styles, and custom toolbars can be copied from the renamed
Normal.dot to the new one using the Organizer. Toolbar customizations can't
be transferred, but you can get around this by opening the old Normal.dot,
creating a custom toolbar, moving all your menu and toolbar customizations
to it, copying it to the new Normal.dot, and then moving them back to the
built-in toolbars and menus. If you have a *lot* of formatted AutoCorrect
entries (only the formatted ones are saved to Normal.dot; the rest are in
..acl files), you might see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/ExportAutocorrect.htm. Also see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/ExportUserShortcuts.htm

 

[Charles Kenyon]

Excellent response.


--
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.

 

[Robert McN]

I want to say thank you to all three of you (Jezebel, Charles, and Suzanne),
but I hope it will be ok, if I put that collective thank you here. I did
have an older copy of my normal.dot, that I had saved from last year, so I
was able to revert to that. When I tried to open it, I found that I still go
the same Visual Basic error. As you suggested, I tried disabling the
"add-ins" but they reappeared even though I had unchecked them. I then went
to the startup folder and removed the offending program and things are
working ok. The problem was associated with the SaveReminder function that
was part of the "Marcros9" that I got for Microsoft. I really liked the fact
that it would do a real save automatically. Is there some other automatic
save program you could recommend?
In any case, thanks very much to you and your colleagues for your help. Bob