Hi Charles,

I suspected that might be the control in question, but I had my doubts, due to:

a) the different verbiage ("refresh styles from the template upon opening" vs. "automatically update document styles"); and

b) your description: "you apparently have the document set to ... " [etc.]. Your description sounded like a radio button or checkbox that had been inadvertently selected/checked, while my "Automatically update document styles" box wasn't checked.

Not blaming you, mind you ... just explaining my (Word novice's) way of thinking! ;-)

At any rate, I've checked the "Automatically update" box following your latest reply. But that alone didn't seem to accomplish my goal. (The doc still re-opened with different spacing in the text boxes.) So I renamed one of my styles "Text Box" and modified it accordingly, then applied that style to all my text boxes.

Seems to have fixed it!

(Just FWIW, I've used Word casually for 10-15 years, but I'm using it more intensely than ever in my current role as a tech writer. I pick up tips and tricks from associates or via "Word Help," and just joined this forum as well. But I estimate that I'm only using Word to 50-60% efficiency, so I'm taking a series of intensive Word classes in the next few months to get a more comprehensive grasp on how Word works.)

So, thanks again for your help ... looking forward to learning more!
Frank