Reformat SimpleText Document

[indago]

When I reformat a SimpleText document to a Microsoft Office 2001 Word
document, where does the form come from? I would like to reformat this
blank document to my liking.

 

[Beth Rosengard]

Hi Indago,

Not sure I totally understand your question but I think you're asking: What
are blank new documents in Word based on and how is it formatted. If I've
got your meaning right, then it's called the Normal template. One way to
change the default settings in Normal is to open it directly, make the
changes you want, save, and close. All blank documents that you open
subsequently will now be based on the changed Normal template.

In Word 2001, the Normal template is located here: Applications>Microsoft
Office 2001> Templates> Normal.

For more on the Normal template and other Word 2001 issues, see here:
<http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/TroubleshootWord2001.htm>

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

Beth Rosengard
MacOffice MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/index.htm>
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Entourage Help Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org>

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

Yeah, we all would

I am afraid Word "guesses" the format using built-in defaults we can't
change.

On the Format>Autoformat menu, there's an option to indicate whether the
document is a general document, a letter, or an email. This selection
alters how it guesses, but that's the only option you have.

Sorry: This was one of those silly "Tick a Box" features jammed in by
Marketing back in the days when people still took Marketing seriously and
computer companies were locked in a game of "Mine's bigger than yours".

We told them at the time that it would never work properly, and that to get
it even useable would require so much development they would double the cost
of the product. They told the developers they had to have it anyway, so
you're looking at the result... A three-dollar solution to a million-dollar
problem

There's a much better solution on the way. It's generically known as "XML",
and by Microsoft as "dot Net". Dot Net DOES work, it *is* a million dollar
solution, and it's a lot bigger than just "formatting and reuse".

The key idea behind XML is that everything is expressed in plain text, and
tagged with a label to say what it is. When you get a document, no matter
what it was created with, you can say how YOU would like it formatted, and
if you're keen, change it around so you get to say which bits of it you want
to use, where, and how.

Since there are persistent rumours that XML is about to appear on the Mac,
now is a great time to hit the MSWISH website and say what you would like it
to do

Cheers

When I reformat a SimpleText document to a Microsoft Office 2001 Word
document, where does the form come from? I would like to reformat this
blank document to my liking.

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 4 1209 1410

 

[indago]

050313 0228 - John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh] posted:

Yeah, we all would

I am afraid Word "guesses" the format using built-in defaults we can't
change.

On the Format>Autoformat menu, there's an option to indicate whether the
document is a general document, a letter, or an email. This selection
alters how it guesses, but that's the only option you have.

Sorry: This was one of those silly "Tick a Box" features jammed in by
Marketing back in the days when people still took Marketing seriously and
computer companies were locked in a game of "Mine's bigger than yours".

We told them at the time that it would never work properly, and that to get
it even useable would require so much development they would double the cost
of the product. They told the developers they had to have it anyway, so
you're looking at the result... A three-dollar solution to a million-dollar
problem

There's a much better solution on the way. It's generically known as "XML",
and by Microsoft as "dot Net". Dot Net DOES work, it *is* a million dollar
solution, and it's a lot bigger than just "formatting and reuse".

The key idea behind XML is that everything is expressed in plain text, and
tagged with a label to say what it is. When you get a document, no matter
what it was created with, you can say how YOU would like it formatted, and
if you're keen, change it around so you get to say which bits of it you want
to use, where, and how.

Since there are persistent rumours that XML is about to appear on the Mac,
now is a great time to hit the MSWISH website and say what you would like it
to do

Cheers

Thank you for the info...