Deploying Templates

[v_fas]

I have a batch file that I run to distribute templates throughout the company
as a whole. I created a digital certificate which is used by each; each
template has the digital certioficate associated with it. All users security
level are set at 'Medium'. I have Office 2003 users as well as Office 2007
users. Users are still receiving errors on initial startup of Word; as well
as constantly being asked ot enable macros. They should never be prompted.
What do I change to ensure that all users are not receiving these messages?

 

[Jean-Guy Marcil]

I have a batch file that I run to distribute templates throughout the company
as a whole. I created a digital certificate which is used by each; each
template has the digital certioficate associated with it. All users security
level are set at 'Medium'. I have Office 2003 users as well as Office 2007
users. Users are still receiving errors on initial startup of Word; as well
as constantly being asked ot enable macros. They should never be prompted.
What do I change to ensure that all users are not receiving these messages?

What certificate did you use?
Self-Cert is not intended to be used for distributing templates...

Where do you place the templates on the user machines?
If you place them in the User or Workgroup template folder, or the default
Office or Word template folder, then you can set the security to High and do
not need a certificate.

 

[v_fas]

The templates are placed inside of a what I beleived to be a workgroup
folder. It had been used previously without any issues. I read in a
Microosft article that if I use a self cert than users have to have security
level set to medium. What defines a workgroup template?

 

[Doug Robbins - Word MVP]

A Workgroup Templates folder is the one that is set by selecting Options
from the Tools menu and then going to the File Locations tab and clicking on
the Work Group Templates item and then selecting Modify.

You should however see the article "Distributing macros to other users" at:

http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/MacrosVBA/DistributeMacros.htm


--
Hope this helps.

Please reply to the newsgroup unless you wish to avail yourself of my
services on a paid consulting basis.

Doug Robbins - Word MVP

 

[v_fas]

I have the templates being posted to a folder inside of this path:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11

 

[v_fas]

Yes, but how do I set this programmatically? I have a folder located inside
of OFFICE11 whic I would think would make it automatically trusted. Maybe
the questino is how do I make a folder trusted for all?

 

[Jonathan West]

Yes, but how do I set this programmatically?

You don't set a folder to be trusted programatically. Do you see the gaping
hole in security such an arrangement would open up?

I have a folder located inside
of OFFICE11 whic I would think would make it automatically trusted.

You need to check such things rather than merely think them. In this case,
your thought is incorrect. Only the templates installed to that location by
Microsoft as part of Word are trusted.

Maybe
the questino is how do I make a folder trusted for all?

Install the templates to each user's User templates folder. By default, this
is the Application Data\Microsoft\Templates subfolder of the user profile.

Alternatively, install to the Workgroup templates folder. this is not
pre-specified in Word, but can be set (by each user) by going to Tools,
Options, File Locations, or programatically by setting an appropriate key in
each user's hive in the registry.

 

[v_fas]

Hi,

Thanks for the advice. for 500 users I will have to definitely do this
programmatically. I'll have to research how to do so to the "hive in their
registries".

Thanks.

 

[Jonathan West]

Hi,

Thanks for the advice. for 500 users I will have to definitely do this
programmatically. I'll have to research how to do so to the "hive in
their
registries".

It is a subkey of HKEY_CURRENT_USER. I forget which one. You can find out by
setting the workgroup folder by hand through Tools, Options, File locations,
and then searching the registry to see which key holds the new value.

 

[Karl E. Peterson]

Thanks for the advice. for 500 users I will have to definitely do this
programmatically. I'll have to research how to do so to the "hive in their
registries".

It's the "SharedTemplates" key, located:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Common\General (Office 2003)

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Common\General (Office 2000)

You probably see the pattern?

 

[Doug Robbins - Word MVP]

I (and I think Jonathon also) would suggest that you use the method for the
second category in Jonathon's article to which I directed you to put a copy
of the template in each User's User Templates Folder, rather than put the
templates into a Workgroup Templates Folder and modify each users registry
so that it points to that folder.

In another forum, Jonathon has provided the following reasons from not
locating templates in a shared
network location:

1. There is a bug in Word regarding opening documents based on network
templates. If the document is emailed to a customer who doesn't have the
template, Word sometimes waits several minutes before giving up hope that
the network location will respond. While a hotfix is available, there is no
guarantee that a recipient of the document outside the company has had the
hotfix installed. Documents based on local templates do not have this
problem. (This reason by itself is usually enough to persuade customers that
network templates are a Thoroughly Bad Idea)

2. If the templates are all locally installed, laptops do not need a
separate different setup to cope with when they are disconnected from the
network. (This reason also very much appeals to network admins!)

3. Response speed is generally better for locally installed templates.

4. If templates are all locally installed, word-processing can continue even
if the network or server has gone down. (Quite enough of a company's
operations will grind to a halt anyway without unnecessarily adding
word-processing to the list.)

5. Installing templates locally reduces network traffic, improving response
times for those other applications which must use the network.

6. Local templates can easily be updated using a login script or other
mechanisms that guarantee that Word will not be open and locking files when
the update occurs.

7. If a user manages to mess up a template, he has only done so on his own
PC, and doesn't affect other users.

--
Hope this helps.

Please reply to the newsgroup unless you wish to avail yourself of my
services on a paid consulting basis.

Doug Robbins - Word MVP

 

[Gordon Bentley-Mix]

Doug/Jonathan,

Do you mind if I incorporate your "dissertation" into the content I
sometimes use when providing direction to clients on the best way to
implement a solution? This is all stuff that I usually tell them, but I've
never seen it so perfectly distilled.
--
Cheers!
Gordon

Uninvited email contact will be marked as SPAM and ignored. Please post all
follow-ups to the newsgroup.

 

[Jonathan West]

Doug/Jonathan,

Do you mind if I incorporate your "dissertation" into the content I
sometimes use when providing direction to clients on the best way to
implement a solution? This is all stuff that I usually tell them, but I've
never seen it so perfectly distilled.

You're most welcome.