Not this time, no
But for next time you can: Get your Normal Template the way you like it,
then copy it and save it as "Normal Backup".
You can also try this: Get your Normal Template the way you like it, then
CHANGE ITS NAME. Word must be closed when you do this, and it will create a
new version of Normal when it next starts.
Now, move the re-named template to your Word>Startup folder. Don't try to
move it in first: if Word picks it up under the name Normal Template it will
get a tummy-ache and you will get a headache.
Each time Word starts, that template will now load as a Global Add-In. This
should achieve your desired effect: making your customised keystrokes
available to all other documents, while keeping your customised template out
of harm's way so it does not get corrupted by the various things that get
written to Normal during the course of standard operation. Normal is a
scratch-pad for the individual user, it is constantly changing: Word uses it
as the lender of last resort when it is looking for information.
Once you understand Templates, they become a very powerful resource. To get
started, check the topic "About templates". Microsoft is often infuriating
in the way that it hides any information that requires us to grasp more than
one idea at a time, and this makes it really REALLY difficult to find good
information on Word.
Perhaps the best article for Mac users is this one:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;240216
That's written around Word 2000 for the PC, which behaves very similarly to
Word X/2004 in this respect. You might also check the Word 2003 version of
the same article: in Word 2004 we're closer to Word 2003 than Word 2000:
we're ahead in some areas and behind in others. In this area, we're more
like 2000. Of course, you need to replace the front half of their file
paths with a Mac equivalent.
And you need to know that we do not have "non-file-templates". Actually,
that's technically not quite correct: we "do" have one, and it's Normal
template, but as soon as we start Word, it creates the thing as a file. On
the PC, Word creates a file for any of the installed templates only if the
user changes something in it.
You also need to replace any mention of "Registry" with "Preference".
Windows has a single preference store named The Registry, in Mac the same
information is stored in a very large number of separate files.
Essentially what they are saying is that Word looks "outwards from the text"
for anything that it needs (including macros, keystrokes and AutoTexts). It
basically searches in the following sequence and uses the first copy it
finds of whatever it is looking for:
1) The document that you are working on
2) The Attached Template for that document (for most users, this does not
exist most of the time)
3) Global templates and add-ins (in the order they are listed in the
Tools>Templates and Add-ins dialog)
4) The Normal Template
5) The Microsoft Word Preferences.
When you get into this, it's worth knowing that templates behave a bit like
cascading style sheets: the availability of any given keystroke in the
current document depends on which template it is stored in. However, unlike
CSS, the templates are "exclusive" not "additive". The effect is very
similar, however, there is a subtle difference: Word stops looking at the
first one it finds in the sequence.
So if you customise Shift + F3 to be "Repeat Search" in your Normal
template, but have customised it to be something else in the template
attached to the document, the document template overrules Normal and you
will get "Something Else" instead of Repeat Search. When you switch to a
different document, your keystrokes will change, depending on whether or not
the next document has an attached template, and if so, which one! For that
reason, it's a good idea to ensure that:
* your keystroke and menu and toolbar customisations are always stored in a
Global template (which means it's easiest to store then in Normal)
* macros and styles, which tend to be document-TYPE specific, are best in
an Attached Template
* Things such as variable product names which are DOCUMENT specific, are
best in the document itself.
There are no hard and fast rules: a lot depends on how you individually
work. For example, my Normal Template represents literally thousands of
hours of work going back to 1992. It has a value to me far in excess of
$100,000.00. You may not be surprised to hear that I back it up every
night!
A friend of mine never customises any part of Normal. She has a batch
script on her desktop that automatically trashes Normal every time Word
starts playing up on her. I can think of a few respected contributors to
this group who adopt the same strategy. And one who would subject me to an
exorcism if he heard me say that...
Hope this helps
It is a normal template problem. Now the problem is how highly I
customized the command keys. I believe there is no easy way to keep
those, is there?
Mike
--
Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.
John McGhie <
[email protected]>
Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 4 1209 1410
