When does Word access a specified template?

[bufossil]

I am using Word 2007.

I create user guides for software. The template we use ("userguide.dot") is
saved and stored on a server that is located in another state. (For example,
I work in Kansas, and the physical location of the server on which the
template is stored is in Michigan.)

When I open the Word document on my local PC, a window pops up that shows me
the path to the template on the server in Michigan that Word is accessing in
order to open the document. For example, the window says...

Opening: \\<Michiganserver>\<sharedrive>\path\path\path\userguide.dot

However, when I send the Word document to an analyst for a SME review, the
analyst (who does not have access privileges to the server in Michigan) can
open the Word document without using the template--and the document seems to
be formatted and looks just fine.

Can someone explain why Word uses the "userguide.dot" template in Michigan
when I open the file, but Word does not use the "userguide.dot" template when
my business analyst associate opens the file?

Thank you!

Tim

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

See http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/templaterelations/index.html

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

 

[bufossil]

Thank you Suzanne, the article by Shauna was informative. Unfortunately, the
article did not answer my question.

Question: Why does Word 2007 access the template on the remote server when I
open the document, but it does not access the template on the remote server
when my SME opens the document?

Thank you in advance for sharing any ideas.

Tim

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

It seems to me you've answered your own question: your business associate
does not have access to the server where the template is stored.

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

 

[bufossil]

Well, actually, my question is not answered. If Shauna's article is correct
(and I assume it is), then all links to the template on the remote server
should be severed, with the exception of macros and autotext entries. In my
case, I use autotext entries in headers and footers, which are included in
the template. So, I assume that Word is still linked to the template on the
remote server to fetch the autotext entries.

The question that isn't answered is this: If Word must link back to, and
access, the template on the remote server to obtain the autotext entries for
the headers and footers when I open the document, then what is the source of
that same autotext information when the SME opens the document and does not
access the template on the remote server? (In other words, if Word can
retain all autotext information in a document that is severed from its
template, then why is it linking to that template when I open it?)

My purpose in solving this puzzle is to take a small step in the direction
of making certain our templates are not changed inadvertently. (Our pristine
templates have been unintentionally changed in the past, for reasons that are
still unknown to us.)

Thank you again for your ideas.

Tim

 

[Jay Freedman]

The critical question is this: When your SME opens the document, does it
have to get anything (e.g., AutoText entries) from the template? Or were the
AutoText entries inserted in the header and footer when you created the
document, in which case they're now just ordinary text/graphics within the
document?

If there are AutoText fields in the document header & footer, and if those
fields are updated by the SME, they'll probably display an error message
that the specified AutoText entries don't exist. A similar error would
appear if there's an AutoOpen macro in the document itself (which would be
unusual) that tries to insert the AutoText entries. Of course, if there's an
AutoOpen macro in the template, but the template isn't available, then
nothing happens.

One thing to look at is: When the SME reviewer opens the document, if he
looks at the Templates and Add-Ins dialog, what does it show as the attached
template? It's probably his Normal.dot. That's what Word does when the
original template isn't available.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[bufossil]

Thank you Jay and Suzanne. You both provided interesting information that
helped fill the information void I had!

Tim