No Word Settings in 2004?

[René Logeais]

I don't seem to be able to find the Word Settings for Word 2004.
Normally, they would be in the Preferences folder, but I don't see them
(although I can see Excel Settings, Entourage Settings, PowerPoint
Settings and Microsoft Office Settings).
It's a bit annoying because trashing those settings cures a lot of ills
in Word (and having a saved set of uncorrupted settings is a time saver).
I know that with Office 2004, Microsoft has moved the Normal template
from the Preferences to Documents, but even there I don't find the
settings.


René

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

It should be in a Microsoft folder inside the preferences folder.

~/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist

I suspect you are looking at the wrong files, MS changed all the names from
Office X to Office 2004. If you still see "Excel Settings" etc, I'm
guessing you are running Office X and Office 2004 side-by-side?

See also:
http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/DamagedPrefs.htm
(hit refresh a few times in Safari, or use a different browser)

Side note, just for the archives: Normal template used to be in
Applications/MS Office/Templates, not in Preferences. Now it is in
~/Documents/MS User Data

 

[René Logeais]

OK, that's what I suspected; and I do have Word X installed so that
makes sense now.

~/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist

I suspect you are looking at the wrong files, MS changed all the names from
Office X to Office 2004. If you still see "Excel Settings" etc, I'm
guessing you are running Office X and Office 2004 side-by-side?

Side note, just for the archives: Normal template used to be in
Applications/MS Office/Templates, not in Preferences. Now it is in
~/Documents/MS User Data

Oooopps, my bad! It was indeed in the templates folder.

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

So are you all set now? You can find everything you need?

I do know that the ~/library/prefs/microsoft folder is a lot emptier on
first installation than after you've been using the program for a while, so
if you have *never* launched Word 2004, the .plist file for it may not exist
yet.

 

[Clive Huggan]

René,

You might find it worthwhile to make a once-off move to a single, more
convenient location (the Microsoft User Data folder) for the settings
folders. (Having only one folder to back up reduces the likelihood of making
a mistake if you don¹t use automatic backup software, or if you want to do a
manual backup immediately after making some major changes to settings.)

Further information is on pages 50-51 of some notes on the way I use Word
for the Mac, titled "Bend Word to Your Will", which are available as a free
download from the Word MVPs' website
(http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/Bend/BendWord.htm).

[Note: "Bend Word to your will" is designed to be used electronically and
most subjects are self-contained dictionary-style entries. Be sure to read
the front end so you can use the document to best advantage and select the
right settings for reading it.]

Cheers,

Clive Huggan
Canberra, Australia
(My time zone is at least 7 hours different from the US and Europe, so my
follow-on responses to those regions can be delayed)
============================================================

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============================================================

 

[Beth Rosengard]

Hi Clive & René,

I would not recommend moving settings or prefs files to the MUD! If you
ever have to uninstall/reinstall Office, the prefs won't get uninstalled,
which means you won't get a clean reinstall (and that's the whole point).
And you'd have to leave aliases of the prefs files in the original location
or they'd be recreated anyway. Too confusing.

Also, if you later install a new version of Office, you'll probably confuse
the installer and end up with a munged installation. Not a good idea.

Do you do it that way, Clive?

--
***Please always reply to the newsgroup!***

Beth Rosengard
MacOffice MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/index.htm>
(If using Safari, hit Refresh once or twice ­ or use another browser.)
Entourage Help Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org>

René,

You might find it worthwhile to make a once-off move to a single, more
convenient location (the Microsoft User Data folder) for the settings
folders. (Having only one folder to back up reduces the likelihood of making
a mistake if you don¹t use automatic backup software, or if you want to do a
manual backup immediately after making some major changes to settings.)

Further information is on pages 50-51 of some notes on the way I use Word
for the Mac, titled "Bend Word to Your Will", which are available as a free
download from the Word MVPs' website
(http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/Bend/BendWord.htm).

[Note: "Bend Word to your will" is designed to be used electronically and
most subjects are self-contained dictionary-style entries. Be sure to read
the front end so you can use the document to best advantage and select the
right settings for reading it.]

Cheers,

Clive Huggan
Canberra, Australia
(My time zone is at least 7 hours different from the US and Europe, so my
follow-on responses to those regions can be delayed)
============================================================

* A SUGGESTION -- WAIT FOR CONSIDERED ADVICE: If you post a question, keep
re-visiting the newsgroup for several days after the first response comes
in. Sometimes it takes a few responses before the best or complete solution
is proposed; sometimes you'll be asked for further information so that a
better answer can be provided. Good tips about getting the best out of
posting are at http://word.mvps.org/FindHelp/Posting.htm (if you use Safari
you may see a blank page and have to hit the circular arrow icon -- "Reload
the current page" -- a few times).

* AVOID SPAM: To avoid spam directed at contributors of newsgroups, you can
set up a "send-only" dummy e-mail account. Full guidelines are at
http://www.entourage.mvps.org/tips/tip019.html

============================================================

It should be in a Microsoft folder inside the preferences folder.

~/Library/Preferences/Microsoft/com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist

I suspect you are looking at the wrong files, MS changed all the names from
Office X to Office 2004. If you still see "Excel Settings" etc, I'm
guessing you are running Office X and Office 2004 side-by-side?

See also:
http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/DamagedPrefs.htm
(hit refresh a few times in Safari, or use a different browser)

Side note, just for the archives: Normal template used to be in
Applications/MS Office/Templates, not in Preferences. Now it is in
~/Documents/MS User Data

 

[Clive Huggan]

Beth,

In essence, the originals are moved to the Microsoft User Data folder and
aliases are put in their place. So Word sees what it expects. The notes in
"Bend Word to Your Will" are very explicit on this, so there's not much room
for confusion.

I've never had to re-install Word, albeit I'm a very intensive user of it,
but if/when I install the next version I will first temporarily remove the
aliases and move the settings files back into their original place. But
even if that were not done, I am fairly confident that Word would simply
replace the present aliases with new "originals", and would therefore not
look further. I'd then follow my notes again.

My notes were the result of a lot of discussion with, IIRC, John McGimpsey
and Paul Berkowitz. Maybe they will comment too.

Cheers,

Clive
=======