You one of the questions, I think. Can you:
1) create a new document, based on the normal.dot template,
2) save that document and close Word,
3) starting Word 2002 up,
4) attach one of your problem templates to it, updating styles?
Any crashing problems with that attempt?
Any chance that your problems are on the Pentium 2 machines only? I suspect
they may be choking on Word 2002. (I run Word 2000 on one but didn't try
2002 on it.)
Your documents are relatively small so that shouldn't be the problem. It
sounds like they've undergone a lot of editing. It also sounds like you are
saving them as templates and basing documents on them to be saved as
templates, and so on. This is not necessarily bad but it is important that
you start with a clean product.
I suspect numbering list template problems, but that is an area where I am a
complete neophyte. I just follow Dave Rado, John McGhie, and Shauna Kelly's
instructions and hope. So far it has worked well. (Also for simple templates
I tend to just use SEQ fields.)
See: How to create numbered headings or outline numbering in your Word
document
<URL:
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/numbering/OutlineNumbering.html>. This
is based on ...
Word's Numbering Explained
<URL:
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Numbering/WordsNumberingExplained.htm>
How to Create a Template, Part II
<URL:
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Customization/CreateATemplatePart2.htm>
Seven Laws of Outline Numbering
<URL:
http://www.microsystems.com/fra_sevenlawsofoutlinenumbering.htm>
The following are some discussions on the Microsoft newsgroups on numbering:
Nightmare on ListNumbering Street <URL:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&th=9e790fa7ed2886b3,18&ic=1>
The Joy of Lists <URL:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&th=811287ebce8fc203,15&ic=1>
Relinking ListTemplates <URL:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&th=2350746054c838e,12&ic=1>
Outline numbering: restart doesn't restart <URL:
http://groups.google.com/[email protected]#p>
Format Doesn't "Hold" <URL:
http://groups.google.com/[email protected]#p>
(above list compiled by Dave Rado, Word MVP)
ListNumbering Street Revisited <URL:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&safe=off&th=57df77857e4993ce>
See the latest numbering discussion I've seen, especially post #4 which
contains Dave Rado's concise instructions for setting up heading numbering.
<URL:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&ic=1&th=bce07d7714769f5c>
I've never heard of numbering problems causing crashes (except maybe from
the splat of someone jumping out of a high window after one-too-many
problems). And I don't have a clue why it would be different in Word 2003. I
am hoping that someone else will jump in to assist you further. Your answers
to my questions should give them more grist for their problem-crunching
mills.
--
Charles Kenyon
See the MVP FAQ: <URL:
http://www.mvps.org/word/> which is awesome!
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.
Oscar said:
Charles:
Thanks for the reply. You've asked a lot of questions, I'll do my best to answer them.
Yes. One DOT file with definitions for all the styles that are used. After
this the idea is to make another DOT file to "attach" to change fonts for a
different audience.
Using the menu: Tools/Templates and Add-Ins. In the dialog, Templates tab,
using Attach button and navigating to the "common" dot. Also turning on
Automatically update document styles. This is where some of the recent
"freezing" has occured. The hour glass appears and that's all she wrote for
Ms. Word. The first signs of freezing (several days ago) was when trying to
change the Styles and Formatting categories at the botom of the Task Pane.
Then it was impossible to even use the Styles dropdown list on the toolbar.
Everntually these files would not even open in Word 2002 (XP).
Only in Word 2002 (XP). Word 2003 is completely immune to all the
problems. Our problems is that these files MUST be editable in 2000 and
2002. We tried to SAVEAS a new doc in 2003, that didn't help 2002 any. Then
we saved s RTF from 2003 and then saved that as 2003 DOC. That looked like
the solution 2 days ago. But we're still inheriting some instability and
others users we are sneding these files to are having intermittent lockups
and then total non-opeing files (they are using Word 2002).
Yes. They are mosty outlined paragraphs, usually 3-4 levels deep, but up 6
levels deep with customized numbering/alpha.
It depends if you save them from 2003 (less than half the size) or 2002 (150-500k).
Yes, there are less than twenty paragraph and character styles. For this
first DOT, we're only using Arial, Times New Roman and Symbol fonts.
Minor amount of bolding and italics.
Yes, we can attach Normal (we renamed ours and let Word build a new, clean
Normal, last week.) and other DOTs from other jobs. Up to today, we could
attach any DOT (and automatically update the styles) without it locking. Our
only problems were trying to access the Styles menus. Then other users
started to complain of crashes and eventually the files would not open at
all. That's why we started to use Word 2003. And it looked like it was
working.
But now all the DOTs that were made directly from any of these documents
are causing Word 2002 to lock up when "attaching" the DOT file...but ONLY if
you turn ON Automatically update document styles.isolate things they may have in common?
Common DOTs were attached (we've been thru dozens of new/used/resaved
versions of the DOTs). The files came from various outsides sources, but we
developed the DOT and the styles and applied them, here. Other files came
from the same sources, but do not share the same DOT. They are working fine.
