I don't want a new untitled doc, thanks!

[Tim Streater]

How can I prevent Word 2008 from giving me a new empty doc every time I
click its icon in the Duck? All I do is dismiss it. And then I find I
can't even look for a setting to effect this, as the Prefs entry in the
App menu is mysteriously dimmed.

 

[CyberTaz]

That is the protocol in OS X for programs such as Word & a wide variety of
others. Clicking the Dock icon will produce a new document every time if the
program is already running unless a document is already open. You cannot
change that behavior ‹ except possibly by way of a Terminal hack which might
cause more problems than it's worth.

In order to avoid it, use the Command+Tab method of switching or *returning*
to the open app rather than clicking the Dock icon [which has the equivalent
effect of "re-launching" the program].

As for Word's Preferences being dimmed there is nothing mysterious about it
at all Word is a document-centric application so its Preferences cannot
be modified unless there is a document open... But there is no Preference
for what you're looking for, anyhow, as explained above.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Tim Streater]

That is the protocol in OS X for programs such as Word & a wide variety of
others. Clicking the Dock icon will produce a new document every time if the
program is already running unless a document is already open. You cannot
change that behavior ‹ except possibly by way of a Terminal hack which might
cause more problems than it's worth.

Hmm, Photoshop Elements 6 and Preview don't appear to do this.

In order to avoid it, use the Command+Tab method of switching or *returning*
to the open app rather than clicking the Dock icon [which has the equivalent
effect of "re-launching" the program].

Interessant. Thanks, I was unaware of that trick.

As for Word's Preferences being dimmed there is nothing mysterious about it
at all Word is a document-centric application so its Preferences cannot
be modified unless there is a document open... But there is no Preference
for what you're looking for, anyhow, as explained above.

You mean there are no prefs for the App? I find that mysterious.

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Tim;

Hmm, Photoshop Elements 6 and Preview don't appear to do this.

Photoshop [Elements or otherwise] & Preview are not "document-centric"
apps... Try it with TextEdit, Pages, Numbers, Excel, PPT, etc. which are

In order to avoid it, use the Command+Tab method of switching or *returning*
to the open app rather than clicking the Dock icon [which has the equivalent
effect of "re-launching" the program].

Interessant. Thanks, I was unaware of that trick.

And if you have several apps open you don't have to Tab through them all to
get to the one you want. Just keep the Command key held while you
press/release Tab then click the desired app's icon.

No sarcasm, but you'd be surprised what "tricks" are there to be found if we
take some time to learn about what the OS has to offer ‹ Apple actually
refers to them as *features*

You mean there are no prefs for the App? I find that mysterious.

That's not what I wrote... "Preferences cannot be modified unless there is a
document *open*". IOW, there are literally dozens of Preferences available
but you have to have a document open in order to get to them.

Many of the preference settings are stored in the template on which the
current document is based. Accordingly those preference settings are not
read until a document is opened. If there is no document open there is no
template identified so Word would have no idea what settings should be
observed let alone where to store any changes so it won't allow the
Preferences to be accessed.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Tim Streater]

Hi Tim;

Hmm, Photoshop Elements 6 and Preview don't appear to do this.

Photoshop [Elements or otherwise] & Preview are not "document-centric"
apps... Try it with TextEdit, Pages, Numbers, Excel, PPT, etc. which are

Bob,

No doubt but it's just as irritating. The number of times this approach
is useful to me is vanishingly small. And TextWrangler looks quite
document-centric but allows me to control this behaviour.

That's not what I wrote... "Preferences cannot be modified unless there is a
document *open*". IOW, there are literally dozens of Preferences available
but you have to have a document open in order to get to them.

Many of the preference settings are stored in the template on which the
current document is based. Accordingly those preference settings are not
read until a document is opened.

It's entirely reasonable for options which relate to a particular doc.

If there is no document open there is no
template identified so Word would have no idea what settings should be
observed let alone where to store any changes so it won't allow the
Preferences to be accessed.

Well as I recall there always *used* to be many non-document-related
settings. Perhaps these have all gone away. How about the Save options,
for example. Are you saying I shouldn't expect to be able to set these
on an app-wide basis, as I might want to?

 

[Michel Bintener]

Well as I recall there always *used* to be many non-document-related
settings. Perhaps these have all gone away. How about the Save options,
for example. Are you saying I shouldn't expect to be able to set these
on an app-wide basis, as I might want to?

Hi Tim,

there are some application-wide settings, but many settings are, as Bob has
already pointed out, template-specific. My guess is that instead of
implementing two different sets of preferences, one global and the other one
template-specific, the developers at Microsoft thought it might be less
confusing for the user to have only one set of preferences, which is only
accessible with an open document window.

 

[Tim Streater]

Hi Tim,

there are some application-wide settings, but many settings are, as Bob has
already pointed out, template-specific. My guess is that instead of
implementing two different sets of preferences, one global and the other one
template-specific, the developers at Microsoft thought it might be less
confusing for the user to have only one set of preferences, which is only
accessible with an open document window.

Michel,

Fine except how to tell which group a pref actually sits in?

 

[CyberTaz]

<snip>

Fine except how to tell which group a pref actually sits in?

<snip>

If you go into Word> Preferences & nose around a little I believe you'll
find the answers you're looking for... Pay attention to the messages that
appear at the bottom of the Preferences Pane when you point to or select any
of the items on a page. If you have any further need for clarification
you'll usually find it in Word Help.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac