Do you not understand the difference between a document and a template? That difference is a fundamental one in Word! See: http://wordprocessing.about.com/od/u...blwordtemp.htm

It seems you're trying to create something like an invoicing system, where each new document is allocated a number that stays with that document for life. For that, see, for example:
https://www.msofficeforums.com/word/...html#post19265
and:
https://www.msofficeforums.com/word/...html#post34444
and:
https://www.msofficeforums.com/word/...html#post34511
Note that the attachment in the second & third links show how to implement the code using a template (all three links are to parts of the same thread).

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

Thanks I thought I did know the difference, but I wasn't sure about where the code should reside because there is few places I could place it in on the left hand side of the vba window when opened and not sure which. like ..+normal, (project document1) and +project(template).
thanks for your quick response