so many menu issues!

[Ken Stone]

Do a search for 'menus' in this newsgroup and you see inumerable posts
about wierd menu bugs extending over many versions of Word. Why hasn't
MS fixed this?

KS

 

[Jim Gordon]

Hi Ken,

Because most of the problems with menus involve Office 2001 or earlier. The
trouble seems to be very rare in Office X, so it appears that Microsoft has
fixed it, although not retroactively.

-Jim Gordon
Mac MVP

All responses should be made to this newsgroup within the same thread.
Thanks.

About Microsoft MVPs:
http://www.mvps.org/

Search for help with the free Google search Excel add-in:
<http://www.rondebruin.nl/Google.htm>

 

[Ken Stone]

Because most of the problems with menus involve Office 2001 or earlier. The
trouble seems to be very rare in Office X, so it appears that Microsoft has
fixed it, although not retroactively.

Not for me. I use Office X and I have been having more menu items
disappear than on any previous version. Always fixed by deleting Normal
template but then personalized defaults need to be rebuilt. Uggh.

Ken

 

[J.E. McGimpsey]

Not for me. I use Office X and I have been having more menu items
disappear than on any previous version. Always fixed by deleting Normal
template but then personalized defaults need to be rebuilt. Uggh.

Couple of suggestions:

1) Save a copy of a good Normal template, with your personalizations
somewhere convenient. That way you can copy it when you trash
Normal, preserving your defaults.

2) A little more work, but worth it for me: I have a add-in (i.e., a
template that's stored in the Office:Startup:Word folder) that
disables all the default toolbars, builds new ones, modifies the
menus,sets *all* my preferences, sets up the VBE, and contains my
basic styles. Takes about 2 extra seconds to start up, but
everything works the way I want it, every time. While I have a
backup, I've never had that add-in corrupt, in Word 98, 2001 or v.X.
I also have an add-in with the majority of my standard macros. That
also has never corrupted.

Neither of those addresses the real problem - why your Normal
template is corrupting. I've only had it happen a few times, and
never in v.X, so I'm not sure what's going on. Is there any
consistency to it at all (e.g., after modifying menus/toolbars,
after opening docs from WinWord, etc)?

 

[Ken Stone]

Is there any
consistency to it at all (e.g., after modifying menus/toolbars,
after opening docs from WinWord, etc)?

I am not a heavy user so I could not say whether it follows any
particular action. But I will keep that in mind and post a message if I
find a consistant preceding event.

ken

 

[Dayo Mitchell]

I recently discovered Clive Huggans 'Bend Word' document, and along
with the great suggestions on the MVP site I feel like I am finally
getting Word under control. However, unlike previous versions
(stationery), it seems like any new templates I create can ONLY be
opened via the slow and clumsy Project Gallery. I can open them OK by
directly clicking on them, but then they open as the template itself,
and not as 'document.1' based on that template.

Thx (and thanks to all the MVPs -- this site is great!)

Ed Gallaher

Hi Ed,

Re your immediate annoyance, it is very easy to record a macro to open a new
[MyTemplate] doc, and then add a keyboard shortcut for that macro, or put
the macro on the toolbar right next to the new blank doc icon. The macro
icon will be a long string of text, but right click, properties, click
drop-down menu next to the icon, in order to edit the icon.

Or, I haven't tried this myself, but I would assume that once the macro
exists, it could also be put on a menu, if you have a lot of templates that
you don't want cluttering your toolbars.

DM

 

[Dayo Mitchell]

Note to others coming in:

This conversation really started (in "so many menu issues") with two
suggestions by JE McGimpsey which I have added back in (I snipped this stuff
in my message, but Ed is reacting to it, I think).

Ed, my instinct is that Startup Templates are more complicated than
recording macros, but that might just be me. I'll be happy to learn more re
global templates as well.
DM

JE McGimpsey wrote:
1) Save a copy of a good Normal template, with your personalizations
somewhere convenient. That way you can copy it when you trash
Normal, preserving your defaults.

2) A little more work, but worth it for me: I have a add-in (i.e., a
template that's stored in the Office:Startup:Word folder) that
disables all the default toolbars, builds new ones, modifies the
menus,sets *all* my preferences, sets up the VBE, and contains my
basic styles. Takes about 2 extra seconds to start up, but
everything works the way I want it, every time. While I have a
backup, I've never had that add-in corrupt, in Word 98, 2001 or v.X.
I also have an add-in with the majority of my standard macros. That
also has never corrupted.

I recently discovered Clive Huggans 'Bend Word' document, and along
with the great suggestions on the MVP site I feel like I am finally
getting Word under control. However, unlike previous versions
(stationery), it seems like any new templates I create can ONLY be
opened via the slow and clumsy Project Gallery. I can open them OK by
directly clicking on them, but then they open as the template itself,
and not as 'document.1' based on that template.

Thx (and thanks to all the MVPs -- this site is great!)

Ed Gallaher

Hi Ed,

Re your immediate annoyance, it is very easy to record a macro to open a new
[MyTemplate] doc, and then add a keyboard shortcut for that macro, or put
the macro on the toolbar right next to the new blank doc icon. The macro
icon will be a long string of text, but right click, properties, click
drop-down menu next to the icon, in order to edit the icon.

Or, I haven't tried this myself, but I would assume that once the macro
exists, it could also be put on a menu, if you have a lot of templates that
you don't want cluttering your toolbars.

DM

Thanks for the reply.

(I am on a Mac Pismo; 40 GB HD; 1 GB RAM; Mac OS X 10.2.8; Word X with
all the updates installed.)

Your suggestion may be possible, but it is getting to be tooooo many
layers. First one must understand styles, then one must understand
templates, then one must understand the organizer to be able to copy
and re-use styles from one template to the other.

Now you are suggesting writing a macro to access the templates, then
storing the macro on the toolbar, then re-naming the long macro string
. . . . . . . . . . . !!!

Let's begin with a simple request.

Suppose I create a nice "Ed Gallaher's Normal Template" (EGNT). It
will include styles, toolbars (consistent with Clive's suggestions,
etc.).

I want it to open EGNT as the default when I 'open new document'. In
addition, I don't want it to disappear whenever Normal is corrupted,
replaced, or re-installed.

Do I just place this template in the Word Startup folder? Any special
name requirements?

After I've got this working, I'll come back to the forum with further
questions.

Also, can someone explain Global templates once again, slowly? I've
seen bits and pieces on this topic, but something is still missing.
Will my EGNT be a global template?

TIA

EJG

 

[Dayo Mitchell]

Ed, since no one is picking up your request re global temples, I'll offer my
opinion. To keep it simple, I think you should go with JE's suggestion #1.

In your case, customizing Normal will probably work fine for you, especially
since you say you want your customizations to come up *every* time. The
great advantage of templates is really when you are creating different types
of documents that require varying default settings.

So save backup copies of Normal periodically when it is working well, and
after every change. If you have to remove and reinstall, or delete a corrupt
Normal, rename one of those backup copies Normal, put it in the Templates
folder, and roll right along. If that doesn't work, use the Organizer to
copy over everything (toolbars, macros, autotext, styles) into a newly
created Normal.

Caveats: you cannot copy keyboard shortcuts in the Organizer, so if for some
reason you can't just reuse an OldNormal, you may have to recreate your
keyboard shortcuts. If you have to go to a backup, you may lose any
customizations you've made since that backup was made. Depends on how often
you make backups.

DM

Note to others coming in:

This conversation really started (in "so many menu issues") with two
suggestions by JE McGimpsey which I have added back in (I snipped this stuff
in my message, but Ed is reacting to it, I think).

Ed, my instinct is that Startup Templates are more complicated than
recording macros, but that might just be me. I'll be happy to learn more re
global templates as well.
DM

JE McGimpsey wrote:
1) Save a copy of a good Normal template, with your personalizations
somewhere convenient. That way you can copy it when you trash
Normal, preserving your defaults.

2) A little more work, but worth it for me: I have a add-in (i.e., a
template that's stored in the Office:Startup:Word folder) that
disables all the default toolbars, builds new ones, modifies the
menus,sets *all* my preferences, sets up the VBE, and contains my
basic styles. Takes about 2 extra seconds to start up, but
everything works the way I want it, every time. While I have a
backup, I've never had that add-in corrupt, in Word 98, 2001 or v.X.
I also have an add-in with the majority of my standard macros. That
also has never corrupted.

:

<snip>
I recently discovered Clive Huggans 'Bend Word' document, and along
with the great suggestions on the MVP site I feel like I am finally
getting Word under control. However, unlike previous versions
(stationery), it seems like any new templates I create can ONLY be
opened via the slow and clumsy Project Gallery. I can open them OK by
directly clicking on them, but then they open as the template itself,
and not as 'document.1' based on that template.

<snip>
Thx (and thanks to all the MVPs -- this site is great!)

Ed Gallaher

Hi Ed,

Re your immediate annoyance, it is very easy to record a macro to open a new
[MyTemplate] doc, and then add a keyboard shortcut for that macro, or put
the macro on the toolbar right next to the new blank doc icon. The macro
icon will be a long string of text, but right click, properties, click
drop-down menu next to the icon, in order to edit the icon.

Or, I haven't tried this myself, but I would assume that once the macro
exists, it could also be put on a menu, if you have a lot of templates that
you don't want cluttering your toolbars.

DM

Thanks for the reply.

(I am on a Mac Pismo; 40 GB HD; 1 GB RAM; Mac OS X 10.2.8; Word X with
all the updates installed.)

Your suggestion may be possible, but it is getting to be tooooo many
layers. First one must understand styles, then one must understand
templates, then one must understand the organizer to be able to copy
and re-use styles from one template to the other.

Now you are suggesting writing a macro to access the templates, then
storing the macro on the toolbar, then re-naming the long macro string
. . . . . . . . . . . !!!

Let's begin with a simple request.

Suppose I create a nice "Ed Gallaher's Normal Template" (EGNT). It
will include styles, toolbars (consistent with Clive's suggestions,
etc.).

I want it to open EGNT as the default when I 'open new document'. In
addition, I don't want it to disappear whenever Normal is corrupted,
replaced, or re-installed.

Do I just place this template in the Word Startup folder? Any special
name requirements?

After I've got this working, I'll come back to the forum with further
questions.

Also, can someone explain Global templates once again, slowly? I've
seen bits and pieces on this topic, but something is still missing.
Will my EGNT be a global template?

TIA

EJG

 

[Arno Wouters]

However, unlike previous versions
(stationery), it seems like any new templates I create can ONLY be
opened via the slow and clumsy Project Gallery. I can open them OK by
directly clicking on them, but then they open as the template itself,
and not as 'document.1' based on that template.

I solved this problem in the following way:

1) Create a template and save it (as template) in the My templates
folder

2) Create a document based on this template and save it *as stationary*
wherever you need it

Create new documents based on this template by double clicking the
stationary