Modifying default toolbar

[GKC]

I'm embarrassed to ask this question but I'm having no luck.

I won't bore you with detail but I'm in the process of fixing the many
screw-ups caused by loading the latest MS security patches.

The one I'm having trouble with....
MS Word (Office 97) frequently froze the computer immediately after
installing the patches.

I decided to solve the problem by removing Office 97 and installing Office
XP. This worked except that every time I load Word, I get the error message
"The Create Adobe PDF monitor cannot be found. Please reinstall Adobe PDF" I
can't find my Adobe Writer 5.0 CD, so I removed it and installed Adobe Maker
6.0. (I thought that this would solve the problem.) I didn't. I still get
the same error message.

Next, I assumed that the "PDFWriter" toolbar was the problem. I also don't
want the PDFMaker 6.0 toolbar on screen. Therefore, I tried to remove them.
(delete PDF Writer and uncheck PDFMaker 6.0"). When I exit Word, I get a
message telling me "Word cannot save the changes to the global template
because it was opened with read only access." I have read all the help
files, searched the net and MSKB and can't find step by step instruction for
modifying the "normal.dot: file. Here is what I have tried:
- changed the read only attribute of normal.dot
- saved a new template (normal1.dot) deleted the original normal.dot
template and renamed the
normal1.dot as normal.dot
- I found a "normal.dot" template in 3 locations. I tried all three.
- as per help file, went to Tools/Styles and Formatting/right click
"normal"/add to template/OK

Regardless of what I try, every time I reload Word, I still get the same
error message, the PDFWriter toolbar still exists and the PDFMaker 6.0 is
still on screen.

How do I exorcize this beast!

Thanks,
G

 

[Beth Melton]

You can 'exorcize the beast' by removing the PDFMaker.dot add-in from
the Office\Startup folder.

As for your Normal.dot message, do you also use Norton AV? The "Office
Plug-in" option in Norton is notorious for creating havoc in Office
documents to the point of preventing you from opening previously
created documents. Try disabling the add-in in Norton Options under
the Miscellaneous section and see if that resolves the problem.

Also note your reference to adding the Normal Style to the template -
this allows you to create a new default for the Normal style, such as
font, paragraph alignment, line spacing, etc.

And you should have only one Normal.dot available to Word. You should
delete/rename all Normal.dot files and allow Word to create a new one.
This may not resolve your current Normal.dot issue but it will prevent
future problems.

Additionally, I'm curious to know which patch you installed and
additional details on the problems you encountered. I have Office 97
installed and am current on all Office/Windows patches and haven't
encountered any problems.
--
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/

 

[GKC]

Thanks Beth,
Removing the PDFWriter dot add-in from the Office\Startup folder resolved he
PDFWriter problem. Thanks. I learned something.

I ultimately removed PDF Maker 6.0 and got rid of the toolbar icons.

You asked for additional details on my security patch updates:
I have Win 2000, Office 97 and installed the following updates:
KB817606: Security Update (Windows 2000)

KB822679: Security Update (Windows 2000)

K'B823182: Security Update (Windows 2000)

KB823559: Security Update (Windows 2000)

KB824105: Security Update (Windows 2000)

KB824141: Security Update (Windows 2000)

KB824146: Security Update (Windows 2000)

KB825119: Security Update (Windows 2000)

KB826232: Security Update (Windows 2000)

KB828035: Security Update (Windows 2000)

Q828026: Security Update (Windows 2000)

Windows 2000 SP4


My problems are really too numerous to detail. However, it seems that for
every problem that I find and fix, I either cause or find another problem.
Immediately after the update, I discovered 2 problems:
- Using Word 97 would frequently lock up the computer
- Pivot software (to rotate an LCD monitor into portrait mode) will not
automatically shut down when the computer is shut down (I still haven't
resolved this one)

One problem seems to have lead to another:
- jpg files will not open in preview mode in Windows Explorer (fixed with
registry edit)
- Adobe PhotoDeluxe now is producing error messages about the clipboard
(????)

All in all, I've about had it with MS security updates. I think that I have
spent far more time fixing these problems that I would ever have spent
fixing problems caused by a potential breech of security.

Thanks again,
Gary

 

[Beth Melton]

Hi Gary,

Unfortunately the only item I am comfortable with helping diagnose is
the problem with Word locking up. All of the others appear to be
Windows issues. :-(

If Word is still locking up then are there any specifics behind when
it occurs? For example during print/preview, save? What patches do you
have installed for Word? Take a look under Help/About for this
information.

--
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/