Template Assignment Problem

[George Lee]

I am trying to programmatically change the assigned template:

sourceDocument.AttachedTemplate =
"\\CorporateServer1\SubDirectory\CorporateTemplate.dot"

The problem is sometimes the template gets changed and sometimes it doesn’t,
with a pattern I can’t figure out. Is there a reason a template would not be
changed or a bug to workaround?

 

[Klaus Linke]

I am trying to programmatically change the assigned template:

sourceDocument.AttachedTemplate =
"\\CorporateServer1\SubDirectory\CorporateTemplate.dot"

The problem is sometimes the template gets changed and sometimes it doesn't,
with a pattern I can't figure out. Is there a reason a template would not
be
changed or a bug to workaround?

Hi George,

Not sure...
Sometimes it takes a long time to locate the template on the server, so
maybe it's some timeout problem.

You might try to debug the problem with something like this:

Dim Start
Start = Timer
Dim sTemplate As String
sTemplate = "\\CorporateServer1\SubDirectory\CorporateTemplate.dot"

' Test if template is found:
If Dir(sTemplate) = "" Then
MsgBox sTemplate & " not found!", vbCritical
Exit Sub
End If

' Try more than once if necessary, up to one second:
Do
sourceDocument.AttachedTemplate = sTemplate
If Timer - Start > 1 Then
MsgBox "Current attached template: " & _
sourceDocument.AttachedTemplate.FullName, _
vbCritical, "Template not found?"
Exit Sub
End If
Loop Until (sourceDocument.AttachedTemplate = MID(sTemplate,
InStrRev(sTemplate, "\") + 1))

Regards,
Klaus

 

[George Lee]

Thanks. It never occurred to me as a timing problem. I did incorporate this
into the code.

In addition, just observing the problem, it looks also like a naming thing
such as if the new template has the same name as the one being replaced. For
example, I made a copy of the template and put it on the network location.
However, if I change the attached template location (either programmatically
or through the Word dialog), it resets to the owning folder path name.

 

[Klaus Linke]

Thanks. It never occurred to me as a timing problem. I did incorporate
this into the code.

In addition, just observing the problem, it looks also like a naming thing
such as if the new template has the same name as the one being replaced.
For example, I made a copy of the template and put it on the network
location.
However, if I change the attached template location (either
programmatically
or through the Word dialog), it resets to the owning folder path name.

Not sure I'm following you, and I'm an idiot about network/Windows issues
anyway.
Maybe it's an issue with mapped drives? What you see as a local drive might
really be on the server (or vice versa) ...

Klaus

 

[Shauna Kelly]

Hi George

I'm not sure I'm following you either. But I wonder if you have a file with
the same name as your template on your local machine. Word stores, but
ignores, the location of a template. Let's say you have a document that was
based on \\myserver\\myshare\\x.dot. And you have a template named x.dot in
your local UserTemplates file. When you open the document, Word looks
through the list of places it likes to look for templates. And it finds
x.dot in your User Templates folder. That's the one it will now regard as
attached to the document, and ActiveDocument.AttachedTemplate.FullName will
now report that the document is attached to the template in your User
Templates folder.

Hope this helps.

Shauna Kelly. Microsoft MVP.
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word

 

[George Lee]

That's exactly it. If I ever later attach a template of the same name, it
will always use the original location. How is that not a bug? Is there a
workaround?

 

[Jonathan West]

I am trying to programmatically change the assigned template:

sourceDocument.AttachedTemplate =
"\\CorporateServer1\SubDirectory\CorporateTemplate.dot"

The problem is sometimes the template gets changed and sometimes it doesn’t,
with a pattern I can’t figure out. Is there a reason a template would not
be
changed or a bug to workaround?

I would strongly recommend you never set the attached template to a network
location. Always store templates locally.

If the server becomes unavailable, there is a bug in Word that means it can
take several minutes to open a document based on a template located on the
server. There are other good reasons not to put templates on the network.
e.g. limiting network traffic, improving response times in Word, ease of
updating templates.


--
Regards
Jonathan West - Word MVP
www.intelligentdocuments.co.uk
Please reply to the newsgroup
Keep your VBA code safe, sign the ClassicVB petition www.classicvb.org

 

[Shauna Kelly]

Hi George

When Word opens a document it doesn't use the template in the original
location. It uses the first template it finds with the right name. And it
looks for that template in specific places in a specific order. Just now I
can't find any current documentation from Microsoft on what that order is.
And in any case, it depends on the version of Word (this is the info for
Word 2000: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/220502.)

The workaround is simple: don't have more than one template with the same
name in any of the following places: User Templates folder, Workgroup
templates folder, the folder that contains the document or the folder that
holds the template that you want to attach to the document.

And for what it's worth, I agree with Jonathan. This might be useful:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/830561/

Hope this helps.

Shauna Kelly. Microsoft MVP.
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word

 

[George Lee]

I understand that. Even so, is there a workaround for the template naming
problem?

 

[Russ]

Questions for the group:
Is it really possible to *share* a template .dot file on a network. I know
Windows can share .dll files among many programs simultaneously. When you
attach a template, is it the same as Windows opening a file and locking out
other users, which would mean only one user at a time? So maybe Word just
opens the file long enough to read and apply the template data when attached
and then tries to release the .dot before someone else needs it? Do you have
to make the .dot on the server a 'read only' file?

 

[Shauna Kelly]

Hi Russ

Yes, it is possible for users to share a template .dot file on a network.
This is possible because of the two ways that a template interacts with a
Word document. When a Word document is created, it inherits certain things
from its parent template. When a Word document is open, the template to
which it is attached makes certain things available to the document (note:
"makes available to", not "stores in"). See the following for more info:
What is the relationship between a Word document and its template?
http://www.ShaunaKelly.com/word/templaterelations/index.html

In the normal course of events, if you have a template on the local machine,
you might have open several documents that are attached to that one
template. Similarly, several users can each have open several documents that
are all attached to one template on a server.

If you want to prevent users from making changes to a template stored on a
server, then you should mark it as read only.

However, there are several disadvantages to setting up an organization so
that users share a template:
(a) if the network goes down, no-one can do any work
(b) if a user unplugs the laptop and takes it home, or to the local coffee
shop, or to a meeting room, or on to a plane, then they can't do any work
(c) if the name of the network share changes, Word will take ages to open
the document (see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/830561/)
(d) updating the template can be difficult.

The best solution is a logon script to copy new or updated templates to the
local machine.

Hope this helps.

Shauna Kelly. Microsoft MVP.
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word

 

[Russ]

Shauna,
Yes, I think I was fishing for answers for why it was bad to actively *use*
a template on the server. Thanks for the information.
I agree; using a script to download the new master template version to the
local machine is best.

 

[Jonathan West]

Hi Russ

Yes, it is possible for users to share a template .dot file on a network.
This is possible because of the two ways that a template interacts with a
Word document. When a Word document is created, it inherits certain things
from its parent template. When a Word document is open, the template to
which it is attached makes certain things available to the document (note:
"makes available to", not "stores in"). See the following for more info:
What is the relationship between a Word document and its template?
http://www.ShaunaKelly.com/word/templaterelations/index.html

In the normal course of events, if you have a template on the local
machine, you might have open several documents that are attached to that
one template. Similarly, several users can each have open several
documents that are all attached to one template on a server.

If you want to prevent users from making changes to a template stored on a
server, then you should mark it as read only.

However, there are several disadvantages to setting up an organization so
that users share a template:
(a) if the network goes down, no-one can do any work
(b) if a user unplugs the laptop and takes it home, or to the local coffee
shop, or to a meeting room, or on to a plane, then they can't do any work
(c) if the name of the network share changes, Word will take ages to open
the document (see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/830561/)
(d) updating the template can be difficult.

A few more reasons...

e. I've known VBA code in templates to work differently when the template
was open from two different users compared to how it works when there is
just one user holding it open. The problem is not predictable nor common,
but when it does occur, it is reproducible.

f. network templates are generally slower to open than locally-stored ones.

g. You are loading the network with unnecessary traffic which reduces the
bandwidth available for other applications that really must use the network.

h. If the template gets corrupted (it can happen from time to time), it is
corrupted for all users. At least with a locally stored template only one
user is affected until you get a good copy back onto that PC.

 

[George Lee]

This is a great discussion and I appreciate the help. However, while I
understand most of this ideas, the fact is, it's not my choice where the
template is or how people access it.

My immediate issue is how to assign a template in a different location but
having the same name? Is there a reg entry that needs to be deleted?

 

[Russ]

Quote
In addition, just observing the problem, it looks also like a naming thing
such as if the new template has the same name as the one being replaced. For
example, I made a copy of the template and put it on the network location.
However, if I change the attached template location (either programmatically
or through the Word dialog), it resets to the owning folder path name.

Unquote

Are you saying that in your Word, not someone else's, you save a copy to the
network. Later in your Word, in a new document, you try to attach the
network copy, but your Word sees your local copy first? Maybe you need to
restart your Word.
Or I would just move your original developing template out of your Word's
normal paths for Templates. You can change those paths manually or through
code for your Word.
Everybody else who is on the network and who doesn't have a copy stored
locally probably doesn't have a problem opening that network copy, other
than the reasons given earlier in this thread. The other people should have
a script that downloads the new version from the network onto their machine,
which has the template paths are set up to look locally and not on the
network.

 

[George Lee]

Try it yourself. Create two templates named the same but in different
folders. Attach one template and save the document. Now, try attaching the
other template. It should revert to the first saved one. It doesn't seem to
matter where the files are, or even if its on a network location.

 

[Russ]

Ah, Now I see what you a saying.
A quick reply, I haven't tested.
Maybe if you record a macro to see how to use the organizer
To uncheckbox a document's currently opened attached template and then
attach the other template.
You didn't want both attached at the same time, did you?

 

[rhana]

On Jul 6, 2:46 am, "Shauna Kelly"

Yes, it is possible for users to share a template.dot file on a network. [snip]

In the normal course of events, if you have a template on the local machine,
you might have open several documents that are attached to that one template.
Similarly, several users can each have open several documents that
are all attached to one template on a server.

If you want to prevent users from making changes to a template stored on a
server, then you should mark it as read only.

However, there are several disadvantages to setting up an organization so
that users share a template: [snip]

The best solution is a logon script to copy new or updated templates to the
local machine.

Hi, Shauna,

I've created several Word templates that currently reside on our
departmental
server. I need to keep them there for ease of maintenance and
compliance reasons.
However, I'd like to explore your suggestion to create a script to
copy the
templates to my users' local machines. Can this be done in Word VBA;
for example, when the user launches Word (Normal.dot) or opens a
document based on one
of the templates (myTemplate.dots), the template is automatically
copied to the local machine?
Or must this be done on the Windows server side, as part of our
network's Windows logon script?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you (or anyone else here) can
offer.
My apologies if I should be asking this in a different forum. (Windows
Server admin?)

Rhana Cassidy
Production Editor, N&NM Technical Publications
Motorola

P.S. I've found your posts and articles incredibly helpful as I've
been writing
macros for my templates. Thanks!

 

[Shauna Kelly]

Hi Rhana

Messing with users' normal.dot files is not generally a good idea.
Normal.dot should be the individual user's preserve.

However, your fundamental idea (download the files when the user first
starts Word) is possible. Put the relevant code in a .dot file and put the
..dot file in the user's Word Startup folder (the folder identified at Tools

Options > File Locations > Startup). There is info here on how to get code

to run automatically when Word starts:
http://word.mvps.org/faqs/MacrosVBA/PseudoAutoMacros.htm

It is more usual, however, to get the IT guys to write a script that runs
when the user logs on to the network.

There are several good reasons for this. Here are two examples:
(a) Consider the user who brings the laptop into the office and connects to
the network. Does some work, but does not open Word. Disconnects the laptop
from the and takes it to the coffee shop. If you had waited until the user
opened Word to copy down the templates, then this user has not received the
latest templates. If you do it at logon, the user can't avoid getting the
updated templates.

(b) A user can always stop Word running macros. So the user can avoid
getting the new templates if you rely on code running within Word.

Hope this helps.

Shauna Kelly. Microsoft MVP.
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word

On Jul 6, 2:46 am, "Shauna Kelly"

Yes, it is possible for users to share a template.dot file on a network. [snip]

In the normal course of events, if you have a template on the local
machine,
you might have open several documents that are attached to that one
template.
Similarly, several users can each have open several documents that
are all attached to one template on a server.

If you want to prevent users from making changes to a template stored on
a
server, then you should mark it as read only.

However, there are several disadvantages to setting up an organization so
that users share a template: [snip]

The best solution is a logon script to copy new or updated templates to
the
local machine.

Hi, Shauna,

I've created several Word templates that currently reside on our
departmental
server. I need to keep them there for ease of maintenance and
compliance reasons.
However, I'd like to explore your suggestion to create a script to
copy the
templates to my users' local machines. Can this be done in Word VBA;
for example, when the user launches Word (Normal.dot) or opens a
document based on one
of the templates (myTemplate.dots), the template is automatically
copied to the local machine?
Or must this be done on the Windows server side, as part of our
network's Windows logon script?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you (or anyone else here) can
offer.
My apologies if I should be asking this in a different forum. (Windows
Server admin?)

Rhana Cassidy
Production Editor, N&NM Technical Publications
Motorola

P.S. I've found your posts and articles incredibly helpful as I've
been writing
macros for my templates. Thanks!

 

[RhanaJoy]

Hi Rhana

Messing with users' normal.dot files is not generally a good idea.
Normal.dot should be the individual user's preserve.

However, your fundamental idea (download the files when the user first
starts Word) is possible. Put the relevant code in a .dot file and put the
.dot file in the user's Word Startup folder (the folder identified at Tools
to run automatically when Word starts:http://word.mvps.org/faqs/MacrosVBA/PseudoAutoMacros.htm

It is more usual, however, to get the IT guys to write ascriptthat runs
when the user logs on to the network.

There are several good reasons for this. Here are two examples:
(a) Consider the user who brings the laptop into the office and connects to
the network. Does some work, but does not open Word. Disconnects the laptop
from the and takes it to the coffee shop. If you had waited until the user
opened Word to copy down the templates, then this user has not received the
latest templates. If you do it atlogon, the user can't avoid getting the
updated templates.

(b) A user can always stop Word running macros. So the user can avoid
getting the new templates if you rely on code running within Word.

Hope this helps.

Shauna Kelly. Microsoft MVP.http://www.shaunakelly.com/word

Hi, Shauna,

Yes, this does help. I wasn't quite sure of the difference between
downloading templates on Word startup and on login. Since our
templates don't change very often, I think I'll take the easy way out
and just e-mail them to the staff when needed. It seems so low-tech,
though.

Thanks again.

Rhana Cassidy