How do I get the "File" -> "Open" functionality to work?

[MikeatIPS]

It's worked before. Tried uninstalling ScanSoft - no luck. Tried unstalling
and restalling - didn't work. Can't open a file from application. Can't
save a file to a selected location.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

What happens when you try to open a file? Does the File Open dialog appear
at all?

 

[MikeatIPS]

No. Nothing happens.

What happens when you try to open a file? Does the File Open dialog appear
at all?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

In that case, check Tools | Macro | Macros to see if there is a FileOpen
macro listed. If so, change the "Macros in" setting until you figure out
which template or add-in the macro is saved in. Assuming that this is
probably a poorly written (possibly even malicious) add-in, try unloading it
to see if that helps. If so, remove it from Word's Startup folder (or
wherever it is located).

 

[MikeatIPS]

Nothing listed in Tools | Macro | Macros. This is really baffling to me. I
do appreciate your suggestions.

 

[Beth Melton]

IIRC, ScanSoft is a COM add-in and uninstalling it may not actually
remove the COM add-in.

COM are added via the Registry rather than the Startup folders so any
additional functionality they add will not be visible in your
Tools/Macros list.

To determine whether or not you are using COM Add-In you can 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
- Close the Customize dialog
- Click the "COM Add-Ins" command and if the ScanSoft add-in has a
tick in the check box, remove the tick and see if that rectifies the
problem.
For more information on COM Add-Ins, see this article:
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Customization/CheckIfAddinsInstalled.htm

If that isn't it then it could be your Normal.dot contains some
'leftovers' from the add-in. For example it's not uncommon for them to
remove the built-in File/Open command and replace it with their own so
you may want to recreate your Normal.dot.

Locate Normal.dot and rename it to OldNormal.dot. Word will create a
new one upon starting. (Either use Windows Search to locate Normal.dot
or in Word find your User Templates location by going to
Tools/Options/File Locations)

If this resolves the problem, any customizations can be copied to the
new Normal.dot via the Organizer (Tools/Templates and Add-Ins) Once
this is complete OldNormal.dot can be discarded. If the problem still
exists then you can delete the new Normal.dot and rename your
OldNormal.dot to Normal.dot.

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/

 

[Graham Mayor]

Normal.dot is a hidden file in the folder defined at tools > options > file
locations > user templates. Only Word can create normal.dot, which it will
do if the original is renamed.

--
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Graham Mayor - Word MVP


<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[MikeatIPS]

This is good info. Learned something new here.

I did find the ScanSoft COM add-in, and it was checked! However, unchecking
it did not solve the problem (I also rebooted afterward just as another
check.).

I could not locate a Normal.dot file, no matter which method I used to find
it! How would I create one?

Thanks for all your assistance.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

You can't create Normal.dot; to find it you need to display (or search)
hidden files and folders, as the folder it is in is hidden in Windows XP.