Word 2011 normal.dotm template

How can this template be modified? I'd like to delete some styles.
When the template is opened, it just creates a New Word file.

This is a Microsoft question - please try in the Office for Mac forums.

Similar Messages

  • Custom Word 2010 Normal.dotm file not applying

    I have replaced the Normal.dotm file with a file with out letterhead information on it. On some computers its not applying though. I saved the letterhead file as Normal.dotm and have replaced the Normal.dotm file on their computer but when they open Word
    it still opens a blank document. If I replace it on my computer it loads the letterhead file and the same with other users. Its just a select few that ignore the new Normal.dotm file.
    I can prove that the file has the letterhead text by renaming the file on their computer and then opening it. When I do this it opens with the letterhead text.
    Free computer help and tips http://www.onlinecomputertips.com

    A part of the problem you are seeing is that Word creates its own normal.dotm file when it can't find one where it is supposed to look.
    Here is a link to the Microsoft take on sharing the normal template.
    You Cannot Share the Normal.dot[m] File Among Multiple Users This is an older article but nothing it says has changed. That is how Word works. When I first was setting up a
    LAN using Word, I tried sharing the normal template as well. It is intuitive to do so; but it does not work. The more users you have the more problems it can cause. It is likely that you have had problems with sharing normal.dotm but not recognized that the
    problems were caused by that.
    The normal template is intended to be a personal workspace/resource and should not be overwritten from a main source. It should be stored in the user templates folder (which also should not be a shared folder). You certainly can create a customized normal.dotm
    template and distribute it as a starting point but there is little reason to do so.
    Overwriting someone else's normal.dotm template is a bit like opening the drawers in their desk and rearranging them, tossing out items if you don't know their purpose. I learned long ago to not be going through my secretary's drawers!
    If you want to standardize your documents you can do that with a combination of
    Workgroup Templates and
    Global Templates. Global templates will let you share custom building blocks, macros, ribbon and QAT modifications. You can even use them to share styles although usually that is better
    done through document templates.
    It is quite possible to have a different template than the normal template be the basis for the blank document you see when you start Word or for when you use Ctrl+N. There are examples of this on my downloads page.
    Downloads - Microsoft Word - Add-Ins - Tutorials - Letterhead - Templates
    Charles Kenyon Madison, WI

  • Regarding Words default normal .dotm

    Hi All,
    Is there a method to restore words default normal.dotm file  as soon as the add in loads? and delete the existing user created .dotm file? using c# or vba?
    Regards,
    Apoorva

    Thanks Eugene , the scenario is that if I deploy my add in on another user's system and they have customised their normal.dotm file, I want to delete their normal.dotm as soon as my add in loads.
    Can you please elaborate on how i can accomplish this using System.IO namespace classes with my current ribbon add in solution?  this
    is what i have tried so far,but no use, it still uses the old normal .dotm file instead of creating a new one.
    private void Ribbon1_Load(object sender, RibbonUIEventArgs e)
                string fileName = "Normal.dot";
                var targetPath = Path.Combine(Environment.GetFolderPath(
        Environment.SpecialFolder.Templates));     //users/appdata/roaming/microsoft/templates
                string destFile = System.IO.Path.Combine(targetPath, fileName);
                if (System.IO.File.Exists(destFile))
                    // Use a try block to catch IOExceptions, to
                    // handle the case of the file already being
                    // opened by another process.
                    try
                        System.IO.File.Delete(targetPath);
                    catch

  • Word 2010 normal.dotm

    Several client make use of the normal.dotm as they start Word 2010, The configuration in Word 2010 loads a normal.dotm on a networkshare.
    I have made a change to the normal.dotm that is changed fonttype and size. Several clients show that change when they start Word but several clients show another font. The font is on al clients because it is Arial so that cannot be the cause. it looks like
    several clients do not load / read the \\fileshare\normal.dotm correctly.
    When i load the \\fileshare\normal.dotm manually thru file - open , then the font is changed accordingly what i have set, but the same file is in the setting of word to load at startup but then it is not the right font....
    When i start Word 2010 and choose file - open in the left above corner one can choose templates. The location of that template is different then the one set in the settings of Word.
    How can this be, what is wrong?
    freddie

    A part of the problem you are seeing is that Word creates its own normal.dotm file when it can't find one where it is supposed to look.
    Here is a link to the Microsoft take on sharing the normal template.
    You Cannot Share the Normal.dot[m] File Among Multiple Users This is an older article but nothing it says has changed. That is how Word works. When I first was setting up a
    LAN using Word, I tried sharing the normal template as well. It is intuitive to do so; but it does not work. The more users you have the more problems it can cause. It is likely that you have had problems with sharing normal.dotm but not recognized that the
    problems were caused by that.
    The normal template is intended to be a personal workspace/resource and should not be overwritten from a main source. It should be stored in the user templates folder (which also should not be a shared folder). You certainly can create a customized normal.dotm
    template and distribute it as a starting point but there is little reason to do so.
    Overwriting someone else's normal.dotm template is a bit like opening the drawers in their desk and rearranging them, tossing out items if you don't know their purpose. I learned long ago to not be going through my secretary's drawers!
    If you want to standardize your documents you can do that with a combination of
    Workgroup Templates and
    Global Templates. Global templates will let you share custom building blocks, macros, ribbon and QAT modifications. You can even use them to share styles although usually that is better
    done through document templates.
    It is quite possible to have a different template than the normal template be the basis for the blank document you see when you start Word or for when you use Ctrl+N. There are examples of this on my downloads page.
    Downloads - Microsoft Word - Add-Ins - Tutorials - Letterhead - Templates
    Charles Kenyon Madison, WI

  • Having problems with my Microsoft Word 2011 for macbook

    Hello,
    Every time I open up the Microsoft work 2011 on my macbook this error message keeps showing up. 
    "The Open XML file Normal.dotm cannot be opened because there are problems with the contents of file name might contain invalid characters (for example, \ /)."
    And then right below it, it says: Details: No error detail available
    So now my questions is why is it doing that? And can you please help me and tell me step by step on what I need to do.
    Also is their a refresh button for Microsoft Word for a macbook?

    You would be better served if you asked questions about Word for the Mac on a different forum:
    http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/mac/forum/macword
    This forum is for PC based IT users and not too many PC users are familiar with the Mac. I happen to be one that is however.
    George Summers has already suggested renaming your Normal template, but first I think you should remove any prior version of Office for the Mac (if there is one) that is on this machine. There are ways to have multiple versions of Office on the same machine,
    but if you don't really need the prior version you should remove it.
    Create a new user id on the machine and open Word from it. Hopefully you don't get the same error message. Then go to Word > Help and run the Check for Updates function until it tells you that your software is fully updated. Finish up by running the Disk
    Utility app located in Applications/Utilities and Repair Permissions on your Primary Drive, which is usually Macintosh HD. Then restart your system.
    Login under your user id and before starting anything use Finder>Go>Go to folder... and paste this string into the text box.
    ~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates and in there should be the Normal.dotm template. If it is not there look for it as George as pointed out from Word>Preferences>File Locations and remove it. It should be in
    the User Templates folder and if it is in a different location this can be causing the problem, which can be fixed but for now, your objective should be to get Word running as Microsoft had expected to run.
    When you are done with this, post your update on the Answers forum that I shared with you and mark this thread as closed.
    Kind Regards, Rich ... http://greatcirclelearning.com

  • Publishing Word templates and the Normal.dotm

    01smicha wrote:
    Does the gpo use the 'update' method? That should stop any changes made by the user from sticking around for too long.
    Hi, thanks for your input - im not familiar with the gpo setting for that, only when running from a command prompt. Where would I find this ?
    Looking at the gpo (I didn't do this by the way) it runs a bat file that does and xcopy of the folders that contain the normal.dotm

    Hello fellow Spice folks!So in a firm of approx. 200, we use a normal.dotm file, pushed out by GPO, for company styles, AutoText templates etc. When a change to the template is needed, we (or I) update the master copy, and let the GPO copy it back to client machines.Problem with this is quite often the client version of the normal.dotm gets corrupt, grows in size from people saving data to it some how (from the 730kb template to 2 or 3mb) causing issues when opening word and pissing of the users, and in turn me ! This method seems pretty barbaric to me, given that a firm I worked with 3 years ago used the same technique to publish company styles and saw same problems.What technology / method do you employ to distribute a shared company style to your client machines ?If I like it , I want it too !
    This topic first appeared in the Spiceworks Community

  • Word cannot open the existing global template Normal.dotm. What can I do?

    Word cannot open the existing global template Normal.dotm. What can I do?

    Word cannot open the existing global template Normal.dotm. What can I do?

  • Have replaced the normal.dotm in Windows 8 in %appdata%\Microsoft\Templates\ and in %appdata%\Microsoft\Word\Startup. None of my customizations have come over. Keeps reverting to default. Where else can I look?

    None of the above helps. Brand new computer and I want my normal.dotm to populate. Have copied it into all the know locations but when I open word it is still the default template which has none of my autotext, or toolbars.

    Hello,
    The first path (%appdata%\Microsoft\Templates\) looks correct. I have tried this on my own computer and that works for me. Not sure what’s the root problem, but please follow my steps exactly below and try again to see if it works this time:
    1.Navigate to %appdata%\Microsoft\Templates\
    2.Rename existing Normal.dotm to a different name, say Normal.dotm.old.
    3.Copy your own Normal.dotm file to %appdata%\Microsoft\Templates\
    Please then close and restart Word to see if it works this time.

  • Changes to Normal.dotm in Word 2007

    Hello,
    I have created a new "Blank Template.dotm" which essentially is a blank document that prompts users to enter in document properties, etc. The template works fine in Word 2007 (Office 2007 SP3). The requirement is to make this document the normal.dotm;
    default work template when opening.
    What I have discovered is that when taking the "Blank Template.dotm" and renaming it to "normal.dotm" the same template does not work. A user is not prompted for the document properties and when printing, the headers and footers are filled
    with document reference errors.
    Additionally, when I say "prompted for the document properties" what I mean is the document properties feature in work;
    Click on Word Ord | Prepare | Document Properties
    Can anyone shed some light on this? I can share a copy of the template if required.
    Thanks!

    A basic problem is that it is virtually impossible for an ordinary person to create a template to substitute for the normal template in Word.
    I'm not saying impossible; I am saying I would not try it. The normal template produced by Word has a number of components that are not part of other templates produced by Word. This was more true in earlier versions of Word but remains the case in the Ribbon
    versions. See
    Normal Template for more on this.
    Is there any reason your code cannot be in a
    Global Template other than the normal template?
    The Add-Ins at http://addbalance.com/word/download/LetterheadAddin.zip gives an example of an Add-In that runs code whenever Word starts and whenever a new document is created.
    In addition, there is an option in Word to prompt for these properties. Why not just reset that option?
    http://www.quepublishing.com/articles/article.aspx?p=731710&seqNum=10
    I believe the command is:
    Application.DisplayDocumentInformationPanel=True
    If that is placed in an AutoExec macro in a global template it may do what you want.
    Otherwise Jay Freedman provided the following macro which only acts on the first save:
    Sub FileSave()
        ' Simulate the "Prompt for document properties" option of 2003.
        ' When the document is saved for the first time, open the
        ' Properties dialog.
        On Error Resume Next
        If Len(ActiveDocument.Path) > 0 Then
          ' The document has already been saved at least once.
          ' Just save and exit the macro.
          ActiveDocument.Save
          Exit Sub
        End If
        ' This is the first save. Show the dialog.
        Dialogs(wdDialogFileSummaryInfo).Show
        ' Now save.
        ActiveDocument.Save
    End Sub
    Charles Kenyon Madison, WI

  • MS Word 2011 for Mac toolbar missing and cannot get back. tried disabling toolbars, deleting Normal.dotx to no avail. Sometimes just pops up for no reason. Also reinstalled Office.  Any ideas please?  Driving me nuts as cannot use shortcut icons

    I have MS Word 2011 installed on my iMac running Lion.  Have overcome the problem of the hidden Library but still unable to see toolbar with the shortcut icons such as Format paster.  Have researched and tried deleting normal template.  no joy. reinstalled Office. no joy. unchecked standard and formatting toolbars and rechecked and a blank line appears where toolbar icons should be.  Sometimes they magically appear after a few minutes!  Often not.
    this is driving me nuts so please any ideas

    That's awesome G4 dude, thank you.
    I've had this problem since upgrading to the latest release of word 2011. Thre used to b a losenge in the top right corner, when this dissappeared it lost the toolbar strip. Really frikkin' annoying it was. Thanks for the tip!
    So can someone tell Microsoft about this problem? their forums are as useless as their desktop help files.
    J

  • I have a window asking: do you want to replace the existing Normal.dotm? what should i do? I'm on OSX 10.7.5 with Office 365 14.3.2 for mac 2011.

    I have a window asking: do you want to replace the existing Normal.dotm? what should i do? I'm on OSX 10.7.5 with Office 365 14.3.2 for mac 2011.

    That is not what I said.
    Normal.dotm is a template, not a .doc file. It is the template that every new document is based upon, IF you changed any of the template settings (font size or other attributes) then you will be prompted to save the changes.
    Did you? (or is this an old Windows Template)

  • Cisco CuciLync and Normal.dotm file of MS Word 2010

    Hello, I came across a crazy problem with the Cisco CuciLync (version 8.5.4) plugin and Microsoft Word 2010 (32Bit). I have 5 Word documents (in the .docx file format) at the same time on my computer (with Windows 7 Enterprise Edition 64bit). The Word documents have about 5-10 pages of content. I start to modify the first Word document, save these changes, now I switch to a 2nd Word document, make some changes there and save it. If I close now 1 of the 5 open Word documents, I get the following 2 error messages "This file is in use by another application or user. C:\Users\user_name\...\Normal.dotm" and  "Changes have been made that affect the global template, Normal.dotm. Do you want to save those changes?" If I disable now the Cisco.ClickToCall in Microsoft Word, I do the same modifications, I do not get these error messages. Can anybody help me with this issue? Any idea where it comes from? Please find attached a Screenshot of the error messages from Microsoft Word. Best regards, Marc Hoffmann

    You should try asking in the Office for Mac forums since your question is about Word. http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/mac

  • How do I delete my templates from Word 2011 in OSX 10.8.5

    How do I delete my templates from Word 2011 in OSX 10.8.5?  I cannot find user/library in the finder.  Please help.

    They will be in the MS Templates folder located in the MS Office folder in your Applications folder.
    Exposing the /Home/Library/ Folder
    Pick one of the following methods:
    A. This method will make the folder visible permanently. Open the Terminal application in your Utilities folder and paste the following at the command prompt:
    chflags nohidden ~/Library
    Press RETURN.
    B. Click on the Desktop, press the OPTION (⌥) button, select Library from the Finder's Go menu.
    C. Select Go To Folder from the Finder's Go menu. Paste the following in the path field:
    ~/Library
    Press the Go button.

  • MAC Word 2011 forum

    Where are the MAC forums for Word 2011. I cannot get to the normal.dotm file and need help?
    Jeffrey C. Chappell

    Hi Jeffrey,
    Try to browse to the folder /Users/ username/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/ and see if you can find the Normal.dotm file.
    Also, here is the dedicated forum for Office for Mac, you can post your question there:
    http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/mac/forum/macoffice2011?tab=Threads
    Regards,
    Ethan Hua
    TechNet Community Support
    It's recommended to download and install
    Configuration Analyzer Tool (OffCAT), which is developed by Microsoft Support teams. Once the tool is installed, you can run it at any time to scan for hundreds of known issues in Office
    programs.
    Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help, and unmark the answers if they provide no help. If you have feedback for TechNet Support, contact
    [email protected]

  • Word 2011 Toolbar disappeared after upgrading to Mountain Lion

    Having searched this this forum for help on this problem, I did not find the answer that finally solved this problem for me. So here is the answer in case anyone else is looking. Note that you have to do this for each user account set up on the Mac.
    If having issues with viewing your standard toolbar this is usually caused by corruption in your preferences. To reset your preferences to resolve your issue.
    Steps to remove the Normal template:
    1. Click on the Apple
    2. Click Force quit
    3. Quit all running programs except for Finder
    4. Click on Go (in the menu bar)
    5. Click Home/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates
    6. Drag Normal.dotm to the trash
    Steps to remove Word 2011 preferences:
    1. Click on the Apple-Force Quit
    2. Quit everything except Finder
    3. Click on Go (in the menu bar)
    4. Click Home/Library/Preferences
    5. Drag com.Microsoft.Word.plist to the trash
    6. Drag the Microsoft folder to the trash
    7. Empty the trash
    8. Open Word to a blank document
    9. Test your toolbar

    I was having the same problem after I completely tore down my Macbook Pro mid-2010 in order to replace the keyboard.  (Phew!)  After re-asssembling, everything was working again except for the screen brightness buttons (F1,F2).  I figured it was a bad keyboard, but after zapping the p-ram, the brightness buttons now work as they should.  Thanks for the tip!

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