network template

[KWarner]

Following the advice found on this group, I will XCopy the master copy of a
template from a networked J: drive to the users local template folder on
Computer A's C: drive at logon. When the document is created from computer A
and saved to the networked H: drive, will the user be able to re-open the doc
on the H: drive from computer B (the referring template will be in computer
B's user template folder), or will the document be looking for the template
in computer A's template folder?
In other words, users need to be able to create a document from a template
from any networked computer and then re-open from a different computer when
the the template is stored locally (even though the template will be stored
on all computers that the user is on).

 

[Gordon Bentley-Mix]

The answer is, "It depends..."

The surest way to find out is to test it. Create a document on Computer A,
making a note of what Word says the attached template is (Tools | Templates
and Add-Ins... --> Document template), and save it in the shared location.
Now open the document on Computer B and see what the attached template is
there. Next, navigate to the location specified on Computer B and see if it
is a valid location and if the template is there.

Of course, even this is no guarantee unless you can be absolutely certain
that the template will be found in _exactly_ the same location on _every_
computer. And to make things even more interesting, if Word cannot find the
specified "attached template" it gives you no indication until you click on
the "Attach..." button in the "Templates and Add-ins" dialog box.

What's more, depending on your network setup, you may encounter problems if
one user creates the document and a second user opens it - either on the same
or a different machine. This is because, if your network uses roaming
profiles, then the path to the attached template may include information on
the user's profile, which is retained in the document and not automatically
updated when another user opens the document.

For example, if I create a document based on a template called
"MyTemplate.dot", which is located in "C:\Gordon\Templates", then Word will
say that the attached template is "C:\Gordon\Templates\MyTemplate.dot". If I
send this document to Bill (or Bill opens it from a shared location), even if
Bill has the same template in his 'User templates' folder (e.g.
"C:\Bill\Template\MyTemplate.dot"), Word will not automatically use Bill's
template and will not advertise the fact that the template cannot be found
until Bill opens the "Templates and Add-ins" dialog box and clicks on the
"Attach..." button.

(Note that the above example is based on Word 2003 but applies similarly to
other versions of Word.)

Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to this problem. You could try
using Workgroup templates on a shared drive, but I have seen strong arguments
against this approach posted in this newsgroup previously. Otherwise, you
will need to investigate alternate solutions. One such solution that I have
used successfully is a global add-in that works around the problems discussed
above (by querying the document to determine what the attached template is
and then searching the local machine for it), but I cannot guarantee that
this solution will work for you, as I do not know the exact reason for your
inquiry. Why exactly is it important that the user have access to the
template on which a document is based? An AutoOpen macro perhaps...?
--
Cheers!
Gordon

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

 

[KWarner]

Thanks for your advice. It sounds like it should work as expected as
long as everyone follows a few simple guidelines. This template is a form for
people in my department who may or may not be computer savvy (most of them
are not). I have tried to make it as painless to use as possible. All they
have to do is fill in the form and hit the publish button (a button in my tab
on the ribbon). It will then save the document to the appropriate folder with
the correct name, save a pdf copy on the department drive, and send out a
notification e-mail to the appropriate parties.
The template has a bunch of macros in it that need to run, so it's
important that the template stay attached to the document throughout its life.
Once the document is created, it will be saved to the users H: drive
(home network drive). They will then have access to it no matter which
machine they are using. Only they will have access to it (this is a sensitive
document that should not be updated by anyone other than the document
creator). A pdf copy will be made available to the department. Only machines
in the department will have the templates installed and those templates will
all be installed (and updated when someone logs on via the registry local
machine/run key), to the same place (c:\program files\ms office\templates).
I have finished creating the template and it works beautifully. I have
had several people testing it to report any bugs or unusual/unexpected
behavior. I haven't had a chance to test it with one user opening the same
document from different machines yet, but I will do that before it goes live
in 11 days.
I assume that if someone tries to open and save the document from a
machine that does not have the template installed, it will save without the
attachedTemplate. The document is password protected to entering form content
only, and so I assume that I will have to reattach the template manually if
this scenario happens.

Thanks again for your help,
Kevin

 

[Gordon Bentley-Mix]

Kevin,

Based on your detailed description, I have no doubt that it will all work
perfectly. Good luck!
--
Cheers!
Gordon

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