Microsoft Office Forums

Go Back   Microsoft Office Forums > >

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 03-12-2019, 06:01 PM
Peterson Peterson is offline Word trying to connect to template, but not connected in Dev tab Windows 10 Word trying to connect to template, but not connected in Dev tab Office 2016
Competent Performer
Word trying to connect to template, but not connected in Dev tab
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 141
Peterson is on a distinguished road
Default 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:


  • Must all Word files created from templates be done so with the template saved locally, to prevent this from happening?
  • Does Word basically assume that if a document was created with a local template, it won't try to "phone home" when the doc is shared but will assume you do if it detects a network path?
  • So far, the only way I've been able to fix the issue is to mess with the XML (settings.xml.rels) -- is there another way?
Thank you
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 03-12-2019, 06:46 PM
jjfreedman jjfreedman is offline Word trying to connect to template, but not connected in Dev tab Windows 10 Word trying to connect to template, but not connected in Dev tab Office 2016
Advanced Beginner
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: https://jay-freedman.info
Posts: 39
jjfreedman is on a distinguished road
Default

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.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 03-12-2019, 07:41 PM
Charles Kenyon Charles Kenyon is offline Word trying to connect to template, but not connected in Dev tab Windows 10 Word trying to connect to template, but not connected in Dev tab Office 2016
Moderator
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
Posts: 9,081
Charles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant futureCharles Kenyon has a brilliant future
Default

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
It has worked in every ribbon version of Word to date. I had an earlier version that attached to Normal.dot instead.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 03-13-2019, 08:16 AM
Peterson Peterson is offline Word trying to connect to template, but not connected in Dev tab Windows 10 Word trying to connect to template, but not connected in Dev tab Office 2016
Competent Performer
Word trying to connect to template, but not connected in Dev tab
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 141
Peterson is on a distinguished road
Default

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.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 03-13-2019, 02:04 PM
macropod's Avatar
macropod macropod is offline Word trying to connect to template, but not connected in Dev tab Windows 7 64bit Word trying to connect to template, but not connected in Dev tab Office 2010 32bit
Administrator
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Canberra, Australia
Posts: 21,956
macropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond reputemacropod has a reputation beyond repute
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Peterson View Post
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?
When you open a Microsoft Word document when connected to a network, it may take longer than expected to open if the document has a template attached or linked and one of the following conditions is true:
• 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.
__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Problem with saving Word file that is connected to Excel files that uses Powerpivot tables, charts Paul-NYS Office 2 08-24-2016 06:00 AM
Word trying to connect to template, but not connected in Dev tab How to connect Word with Excel? blackarrow Word 1 08-08-2016 04:43 AM
In Word 2013, How Do I Create Multiple Dropboxes That Are Connected/Related? ayemac Word VBA 11 03-30-2016 02:18 PM
Word trying to connect to template, but not connected in Dev tab How to find spreadsheet connected to merge template infomaven11 Mail Merge 1 09-18-2014 03:02 PM
Mail Merge question: Using fields connected to a CSV file in Word 2007 Mr_Luke Mail Merge 0 06-18-2010 10:11 AM

Other Forums: Access Forums

All times are GMT -7. The time now is 03:27 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
MSOfficeForums.com is not affiliated with Microsoft