#1
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Word trying to connect to template, but not connected in Dev tab
Users outside our organization are reporting that a document we distributed is sluggish, due to the file trying to link back to the template. But there's no such explicit link: in the "Templates and Add-ins" dialog box, "Automatically update document styles" is NOT ticked. The document was originally created from a template that resides on a network drive, not a local one. Is this "phoning home" behavior somehow by design?
Couple questions:
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#2
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First point: On opening a document, Word always tries to connect to (that is, load into memory) the most recently attached template. (This has nothing to do with the "Automatically update styles" setting, which has a different function: https://wordmvp.com/FAQs/MacrosVBA/UpdateStyles.htm.) For your purposes, the "Automatically update styles" box should never be checked.
Second point: Before you allow external users to open the document, you should use the Templates & Add-Ins dialog to attach your Normal.dotm template in place of the originating template. When an external user opens the document, it should attach their Normal.dotm (http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide...s.htm#attached). This will not replace the document's styles (copied from the originating template at creation time) if the "Automatically update styles" box is not checked. None of this should involve messing with the document's XML. |
#3
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I agree with the previous poster in all particulars. When a Word document opens, it will search for its template in at least three locations.
Which template is attached if there are multiple templates with the same name I use a macro to attach my documents to my normal template when they are created from custom templates. Code:
Sub AttachNormalTemplate() ' attaches Normal template ' Written by Charles Kyle Kenyon on December 1, 2011 ' Dim sTemplatesPath As String Let sTemplatesPath = Application.Options.DefaultFilePath(wdUserTemplatesPath) With ActiveDocument Let .UpdateStylesOnOpen = False Let .AttachedTemplate = sTemplatesPath & "\Normal.dotm" End With End Sub |
#4
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Thank you, Jay and Charles, for your replies; I've learned something new about how Word deals with templates. I've never thought to attach a Normal template to a file before sending because our organization has successfully sent countless thousands of docs created from custom templates that come back without issue. This post was prompted by a one-time-only problem, so I don't ordinarily mess with the XML but did so this time only to get rid of the server-based template link that was causing the issue.
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#5
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Quote:
The attached template, its folder, or its share is missing. The attached template has been moved. The attached template has been renamed. A linked file referenced by the document is missing, has been moved or renamed. When a Word template is missing, Windows will try to locate the missing template multiple times. The process of locating a missing template may cause a Word document to take longer than expected to open. In your case, the template is 'missing' because it's inaccessible via the client's network. If the document doesn't need to be linked to that template, the simplest workaround is to re-attach it to Word's Normal template before distributing it. Alternatively, simply disconnecting from any networks, including the internet, while opening the file can improve performance.
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Cheers, Paul Edstein [Fmr MS MVP - Word] |
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