standard toolbar not appearing

[kelmaon]

Hi, I'm using word 2004 and i've got a minor problem that is
nevertheless very frustrating.

My 'standard' toolbar isn't appearing, even when the View > Toolbars
menu says it should be, and the other toolbars are also acting
strangely and getting in the way. Has anyone else experienced this
problem? Word has been perfectly fine until recently, this has only
just started occuring.

I've tried turning the toolbar on and off, as well as quitting the
program and restarting the computer, neither of which have worked. I
have a screenshot of what my toolbars look like at the moment, if it
helps at all. Is there an alternative to completely reinstalling the
program?

Thanks in advance,
simon

 

[JE McGimpsey]

I've tried turning the toolbar on and off, as well as quitting the
program and restarting the computer, neither of which have worked. I
have a screenshot of what my toolbars look like at the moment, if it
helps at all. Is there an alternative to completely reinstalling the
program?

Reinstalling the program is almost always a complete waste of time on a
Mac. Applications just don't get corrupted very frequently. In this case
it would probably be especially futile since it's much more likely that
your Normal template (where standard toolbars are stored) has become
corrupted.

The first thing to try is choosing Tools/Customize/Customize
Toolbars/Menus... In the Toolbars pane, select Standard (so that it's
highlighted, not just checked). Click Reset.

If that doesn't bring it back, close Word. Navigate to your MUD folder
(typically

~ocuments:Microsoft User Data

where ~ is your home directory). Rename the template named "Normal" in
that folder. Open Word - your standard toolbar should be back, as Word
has recreated the Normal template.

If you had customizations that you wanted to preserve, use the Organizer
to copy them from your renamed Normal template to the new Normal
template.

 

[kelmaon]

thanks for all of the advice.
i've tried everything but nothing seems to have worked. the normal
template is replaced as you say it should be, but it still doesnt fix
the problem - the same problem is present even in the new normal
template. as for the preferences file, ive tried searching where your
troubleshooting guide told me to but there is nothing there. i can't
find anything in the library or ms office folder. spotlight also draws
a blank. im a bit puzzled as to the fact that i cant find *any*
preference files for word anywhere (although i might just have to try
harder). any suggestions?
thanks,
simon

 

[UncleClyde]

When you use Spotlight, make sure it is set to search "Computer", "Home" or
your primary hard drive by name. If it is set to "Servers" or a specific
folder (such as "Applications") the prefs won't be found because the wrong
location will be searched or the search starts in the wrong branch/level of
the filing system.

If your search is global enough, just typing in word.pref should be more
than enough to locate the file.

HTH |:>)

On my eMac with 10.4.3 the MS Word plist is in the Preferences folder
of the Library folder of the Users folder and more Microsoft
preferences are in the Microsoft folder in that same Preferences
folder.

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Clyde-

Just to make sure any confusion is avoided, the file in the

~/Library/Preferences folder is: com.microsoft.word.plist

And the one in the

~/Library/Preferences/Microsoft folder is: com.microsoft.word.prefs.plist

Regards |:>)

 

[Beth Rosengard]

And just to make sure you all know the difference between the two ...

The one in Preferences/Microsoft (the second one noted below) is the "true"
Word preferences .plist. If you're testing or trashing Word prefs, this is
the file you want.

The other, which lives directly in the Preferences folder, actually belongs
to the OS. It is responsible for things like reminding the OS of the state
of the application when you closed it. There's no point in trashing this
file; it's just a memory aid for the system and has nothing to do with the
inner workings of Word.

--
***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>

 

[kelmaon]

again, thanks for all of the help everyone. sorry i didnt reply sooner,
but i just tried finding the preferences file again and it appeared, i
trashed it and reopened word and now everything works perfectly. my
problem was that i searched spotlight for "word preferences" (which
didnt turn up the abbreviated filename) and my manual search only
included the imac>library>preferences folder rather than the
imac>users>library>preferences folder (i had no idea that the
preferences files were mostly buried in this alternate preferences
folder, so thanks for pointing that out clyde, taz and beth)
also, it might be worth mentioning for us less-adept users in your
troubleshooting guide (which is great, btw) that the preferences file
is sometimes 'hidden' in this separate library folder.

thanks for all of the help and congratulations are due to everyone for
providing such a great service. i didn't really expect great results
when i posted this at first so ive been overwhelmed by the response
i've received - it was far better than what i had hoped for.
cheers
simon