Templates behaving badly

[christophercbrewster via OfficeKB.com]

I'm having problems with documents and templates. I make changes to a style,
click "Add to template", everything looks right and I save everything, but
when I reopen the document, I've lost those changes. I'm not a newbie and
have done a lot with templates but I can't find what is causing this. In one
case, the faulty style (which happens to be List Bullet 2) appears two or
even three times in the style list. I can delete the extra ones but they
reappear when I reopen, and the correct formatting has been lost. The style
definition shows "no style" for "based on". What else could be affecting this?
Another thing that goes wrong is the "Header" style, which loses left-justify
and goes to centered. Can a whole template inherit from another whole
template? Or maybe is there a poltergeist originating in Redmond?

--
Christopher Brewster
Lockheed Martin, Eagan MN

Message posted via OfficeKB.com
http://www.officekb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/ms-word-general/201004/1

 

[Stefan Blom]

If you open the template as a document, via the Open dialog box, then can you save changes to styles? If so, my guess is that a poorly designed add-in is preventing you from saving the template correctly. (Did you install something recently?)

If the "style list" means the Styles and Formatting pane, note that it shows recently used styles at the top, which explains why you are seeing a style twice. It doesn't explain why a style would appear three times, though. It might be a case of template corruption, I suppose; see http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/CorruptDoc.htm for assistance.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

If "formatting" is being displayed, you may see a style as many times as
you've added even the most trivial font formatting to a single character in
a paragraph.

I recently was working on a document that had a lot of direct formatting. In
an attempt to sort it out, I turned on the display of formatting (usually
disabled) and was appalled by the long list of Body Text + Italic, Body Text
+ Bold, etc., for every time a single word in a paragraph had been
italicized or bolded or whatever. The Styles and Formatting task pane became
totally unusable, and it was impossible to get any idea of what I was
dealing with. I ended up displaying the Style Area instead.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[christophercbrewster via OfficeKB.com]

Thanks. I did seem to get an improvement when I worked directly on the
template (though I'm not sure the trouble is really gone-- it has a way of
popping up again).

But there's another thing I forgot to mention. Some macros that I've been
using for years don't run from their assigned hotkeys. The assignments in
Normal.dot look the same as always. I printed out my key assignments, and the
failing key assignments say "The macro named TEMPLATEPROJECT.NEWMACROS.
MYCOOLMACRO does not exist". I think when they first failed, I tried to
reassign them, so this could be the result of the later stage. Any idea
what's happening here?

If you open the template as a document, via the Open dialog box, then can you save changes to styles? If so, my guess is that a poorly designed add-in is preventing you from saving the template correctly. (Did you install something recently?)

If the "style list" means the Styles and Formatting pane, note that it shows recently used styles at the top, which explains why you are seeing a style twice. It doesn't explain why a style would appear three times, though. It might be a case of template corruption, I suppose; see http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/CorruptDoc.htm for assistance.

I'm having problems with documents and templates. I make changes to a style,
click "Add to template", everything looks right and I save everything, but

[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]

and goes to centered. Can a whole template inherit from another whole
template? Or maybe is there a poltergeist originating in Redmond?

 

[Stefan Blom]

If "formatting" is being displayed, you may see a style as many times as

you've added even the most trivial font formatting to a single character in
a paragraph.

Good point.

 

[Stefan Blom]

I believe this supports my initial suspicion that the issues are being caused by an add-in. See http://word.mvps.org/faqs/customization/CheckIfAddinsInstalled.htm.

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Thanks. I did seem to get an improvement when I worked directly on the
template (though I'm not sure the trouble is really gone-- it has a way of
popping up again).

But there's another thing I forgot to mention. Some macros that I've been
using for years don't run from their assigned hotkeys. The assignments in
Normal.dot look the same as always. I printed out my key assignments, and the
failing key assignments say "The macro named TEMPLATEPROJECT.NEWMACROS.
MYCOOLMACRO does not exist". I think when they first failed, I tried to
reassign them, so this could be the result of the later stage. Any idea
what's happening here?

If you open the template as a document, via the Open dialog box, then can you save changes to styles? If so, my guess is that a poorly designed add-in is preventing you from saving the template correctly. (Did you install something recently?)

If the "style list" means the Styles and Formatting pane, note that it shows recently used styles at the top, which explains why you are seeing a style twice. It doesn't explain why a style would appear three times, though. It might be a case of template corruption, I suppose; see http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/CorruptDoc.htm for assistance.

I'm having problems with documents and templates. I make changes to a style,
click "Add to template", everything looks right and I save everything, but

[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]

and goes to centered. Can a whole template inherit from another whole
template? Or maybe is there a poltergeist originating in Redmond?

 

[christophercbrewster via OfficeKB.com]

I have to fess up that I wrote an add-in, and I don't guarantee it's perfect,
but it has not been active (that is, an "X" in the checkbox) for quite a
while, well before the problems I've described. Can even an inactive add-in
cause trouble? The only add-in that's active is rhd.dot.

But concerning my hotkey assignments, the macros are in my Normal.dot.
There's a box that says "Save changes in", but it doesn't let me specify
where the macros actually are, and for some reason the system isn't looking
for them in Normal.dot (at least this is what the message seems to indicate).
I gather that TEMPLATEPROJECT implies the system was looking for the macro in
the current document. I don't see how to correct this.

I believe this supports my initial suspicion that the issues are being caused by an add-in. See http://word.mvps.org/faqs/customization/CheckIfAddinsInstalled.htm.

Thanks. I did seem to get an improvement when I worked directly on the
template (though I'm not sure the trouble is really gone-- it has a way of

[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]

--
Christopher Brewster
Lockheed Martin, Eagan MN

Message posted via OfficeKB.com
http://www.officekb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/ms-word-general/201004/1

 

[Stefan Blom]

Inactive add-ins shouldn't cause trouble, no. Have you tried moving rhd.dot out
of the Startup folder? If so, did it make a difference?

As far as the macros are concerned, see if you can locate them in the Macros
dialog (Alt+F8) or in the Visual Basic Editor (Alt+F11).

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

I have to fess up that I wrote an add-in, and I don't guarantee it's perfect,
but it has not been active (that is, an "X" in the checkbox) for quite a
while, well before the problems I've described. Can even an inactive add-in
cause trouble? The only add-in that's active is rhd.dot.

But concerning my hotkey assignments, the macros are in my Normal.dot.
There's a box that says "Save changes in", but it doesn't let me specify
where the macros actually are, and for some reason the system isn't looking
for them in Normal.dot (at least this is what the message seems to indicate).
I gather that TEMPLATEPROJECT implies the system was looking for the macro in
the current document. I don't see how to correct this.

I believe this supports my initial suspicion that the issues are being caused
by an add-in. See
http://word.mvps.org/faqs/customization/CheckIfAddinsInstalled.htm.

Thanks. I did seem to get an improvement when I worked directly on the
template (though I'm not sure the trouble is really gone-- it has a way of

[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]

and goes to centered. Can a whole template inherit from another whole
template? Or maybe is there a poltergeist originating in Redmond?

--
Christopher Brewster
Lockheed Martin, Eagan MN

Message posted via OfficeKB.com
http://www.officekb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/ms-word-general/201004/1

 

[christophercbrewster via OfficeKB.com]

Stefan-- Not sure what you mean; the macros are indeed in Normal.dot, viewed
in the VBA editor or the macro dialog. And when I'm assigning hotkeys, the
macros are listed but the assignment doesn't work.

I looked in the Startup folder, plus all the locations in Tools>Options>File
Locations, and rhd.dot wasn't in them. It's kind of a company requirement so
the system might be getting it from the network. (I think that issue is above
my pay grade.)

Inactive add-ins shouldn't cause trouble, no. Have you tried moving rhd.dot out
of the Startup folder? If so, did it make a difference?

As far as the macros are concerned, see if you can locate them in the Macros
dialog (Alt+F8) or in the Visual Basic Editor (Alt+F11).

I have to fess up that I wrote an add-in, and I don't guarantee it's perfect,
but it has not been active (that is, an "X" in the checkbox) for quite a

[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]

--
Christopher Brewster
Lockheed Martin, Eagan MN

Message posted via OfficeKB.com
http://www.officekb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/ms-word-general/201004/1

 

[Stefan Blom]

So the macros haven't gone missing at least. If you assign a keyboard shortcut
to a macro and then go back into the Customize Keyboard dialog box (say after
restarting the computer), is the shortcut then no longer listed? If so, that
indicates you are being prevented from making certain changes on the system.
It's probably intentional--something the network administrator has set up.

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Stefan-- Not sure what you mean; the macros are indeed in Normal.dot, viewed
in the VBA editor or the macro dialog. And when I'm assigning hotkeys, the
macros are listed but the assignment doesn't work.

I looked in the Startup folder, plus all the locations in Tools>Options>File
Locations, and rhd.dot wasn't in them. It's kind of a company requirement so
the system might be getting it from the network. (I think that issue is above
my pay grade.)

Inactive add-ins shouldn't cause trouble, no. Have you tried moving rhd.dot
out
of the Startup folder? If so, did it make a difference?

As far as the macros are concerned, see if you can locate them in the Macros
dialog (Alt+F8) or in the Visual Basic Editor (Alt+F11).

I have to fess up that I wrote an add-in, and I don't guarantee it's perfect,
but it has not been active (that is, an "X" in the checkbox) for quite a

[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]

and goes to centered. Can a whole template inherit from another whole
template? Or maybe is there a poltergeist originating in Redmond?

--
Christopher Brewster
Lockheed Martin, Eagan MN

Message posted via OfficeKB.com
http://www.officekb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/ms-word-general/201004/1