Sharing autotext

[Kevin Sargeant]

We have a small network and need to share a global
template with multiple autotext entries. I know how to
set up the global template and point to it on each
individual PC. What I don't know is how to update the
global template when each user needs to add more autotext
to the template.

When you create a new autotext entry, Word automatically
places it in the normal template. Is there a way to save
the autotext entry into the global template without
having to go through the organizer routine?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Apologies if this
is not the correct forum.

Kevin Sargeant

 

[Jay Freedman]

Hi, Kevin,

New autotext is automatically put in Normal.dot if you use Insert > AutoText

New (or its Alt+F3 shortcut). Instead, go to Insert > AutoText > AutoText

and set the "Look in" box to the global template. Then the new autotext will
be stored in that template.

If you need to use autotext entries from both Normal.dot and the global
template in the same document, you'll have to go back to the dialog and
change "Look in" to "All active templates" again; otherwise the F3 shortcut
and the Insert > AutoText menu will recognize only the entries in the
selected template.

 

[Charles Kenyon]

If the template is being shared, it is likely that only the first person to
start Word will be able to save the changes, though. You may have to have
your users send you suggestions and do the updates yourself.
--

Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory:
<URL: http://addbalance.com/word/index.htm>

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide)
<URL: http://addbalance.com/usersguide/index.htm>

See also the MVP FAQ: <URL: http://www.mvps.org/word/> which is awesome!
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[Jay Freedman]

[answered in e-mail and posted to microsoft.public.word.formatting.longdocs]

Hi, Kevin,

I've finally gotten a chance to try this, and it doesn't work for more than
one user. As Charles says, only the first Word user who grabs the shared
template is allowed to save changes to it. The second and later users get
the message

This file is in use by another application or user
(<path and filename>)

and then they're prompted to save the template to a different name.

For the single user, though, changing the "Look in" box will indeed set the
destination of the AutoText > New or Alt+F3 command to the global template
instead of Normal.dot, until you change the box back to either Normal.dot or
"All active templates".

Another oddity is that the global template isn't available in the "L

 

[Jay Freedman]

Dang, got interrupted by an Outlook reminder popup and hit Send too soon...
As I was saying:

Another oddity is that the global template isn't available in the "Look in"
box until it already has at least one AutoText entry stored in it. Another
case of the developers throwing in more logic than necessary. :-(