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Old 05-17-2019, 11:08 AM
skeezix skeezix is offline Problem Opening Older Docs with My Newer "My Template.DOT" Windows 10 Problem Opening Older Docs with My Newer "My Template.DOT" Office 97-2003
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Default Problem Opening Older Docs with My Newer "My Template.DOT"

Before 2019 I created several documents using the template Normal.dot. When I closed those documents the styles that I used were saved in the document.

Starting in 2019 I changed some of the styles in Normal.dot, saved the template as My Template.dot, changed the name of Normal.dot to Normal (Backup).dot and then created some new documents using My Template.dot.

When I start Word 2000 and select File > New... I see that Normal.dot is no longer listed among the templates. I see Normal (Backup).dot in its place along with My Template.dot. This can be seen in the attached image.

Now when I open a document that I created before 2019 the document opens using the styles that were saved in that document instead of the styles that are in My Template.dot.



No matter if I open a document that was created before 2019 or one that I created after 2019, and then click File > Properties, the Summaries tab shows Normal.dot as the template in use.

How can I make those documents that I created before 2019 automatically use My Template.dot instead of using the styles that were saved in those documents?
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File Type: jpg 2019 My Template_dot.jpg (43.3 KB, 25 views)
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Old 05-17-2019, 11:13 PM
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Lugh Lugh is offline Problem Opening Older Docs with My Newer "My Template.DOT" Windows 10 Problem Opening Older Docs with My Newer "My Template.DOT" Office 2016
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It's over 15 years since I used Word 2000, so only some rough suggestions—pending a response from a more expert poster.

Copy 'My Template.dot' and rename the copy to 'Normal.dot';
If there's somewhere in the template properties to 'automatically update all documents', you should select that.
I recommend you make a backup copy of the folder(s) with your old docs though, so you can reverse anything that goes wrong.

Alternatively, open each doc and find the 'Attach template' function in the menus. Attach My Template.dot to the doc, and select something like 'automatically update styles'. Then save the doc.

PS Normal.dot is around somewhere, when you delete or rename it, Word will automatically recreate it next time Word is opened.
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Old 05-18-2019, 05:38 AM
skeezix skeezix is offline Problem Opening Older Docs with My Newer "My Template.DOT" Windows 10 Problem Opening Older Docs with My Newer "My Template.DOT" Office 97-2003
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Hmmm. I thought that I did that (copy My Template.dot and then rename it to Normal.doc) but maybe I just dreamt that I did...

>>PS Normal.dot is around somewhere, when you delete or rename it, Word will automatically recreate it next time Word is opened.<<

Yeah, I found where it was hiding. I'm thinking that I didn't really perform the Rename step. I'll give it a try.

Oh, and I found "Automatically update..." too.

Thank you for your help. I appreciate your reply.
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Old 05-18-2019, 11:15 PM
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Lugh Lugh is offline Problem Opening Older Docs with My Newer &quot;My Template.DOT&quot; Windows 10 Problem Opening Older Docs with My Newer &quot;My Template.DOT&quot; Office 2016
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skeezix View Post
(copy My Template.dot and then rename it to Normal.doc)
Just in case it's not a typo: it's Normal.DOT, not .doc
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Old 05-21-2019, 05:44 AM
Charles Kenyon Charles Kenyon is online now Problem Opening Older Docs with My Newer &quot;My Template.DOT&quot; Windows 10 Problem Opening Older Docs with My Newer &quot;My Template.DOT&quot; Office 2016
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What is showing in your FileNew dialog as Blank Document is the normal.dot template. It does not show up by name in that dialog.

(This is true for all versions of Word that use the Classic File New dialog including Word 2010.)

Beginning with Word 2013 the normal.dotm template is shown along with Blank document if the Custom Templates location is set to be the same folder as the User Templates folder.
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Old 05-21-2019, 05:47 AM
Charles Kenyon Charles Kenyon is online now Problem Opening Older Docs with My Newer &quot;My Template.DOT&quot; Windows 10 Problem Opening Older Docs with My Newer &quot;My Template.DOT&quot; Office 2016
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skeezix View Post
Hmmm. I thought that I did that (copy My Template.dot and then rename it to Normal.doc) but maybe I just dreamt that I did...

>>PS Normal.dot is around somewhere, when you delete or rename it, Word will automatically recreate it next time Word is opened.<<

Yeah, I found where it was hiding. I'm thinking that I didn't really perform the Rename step. I'll give it a try.

Oh, and I found "Automatically update..." too.

Thank you for your help. I appreciate your reply.

You should NEVER take another template or document and save it as your normal template. Only Word can create a fully functional Normal Template.
The Normal Template should never contain text, even in a header or footer.
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Old 05-21-2019, 05:58 AM
Charles Kenyon Charles Kenyon is online now Problem Opening Older Docs with My Newer &quot;My Template.DOT&quot; Windows 10 Problem Opening Older Docs with My Newer &quot;My Template.DOT&quot; Office 2016
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skeezix View Post
***
Starting in 2019 I changed some of the styles in Normal.dot, saved the template as My Template.dot, changed the name of Normal.dot to Normal (Backup).dot and then created some new documents using My Template.dot.

***

Now when I open a document that I created before 2019 the document opens using the styles that were saved in that document instead of the styles that are in My Template.dot.

No matter if I open a document that was created before 2019 or one that I created after 2019, and then click File > Properties, the Summaries tab shows Normal.dot as the template in use.

How can I make those documents that I created before 2019 automatically use My Template.dot instead of using the styles that were saved in those documents?
  1. For Word versions 2007 and later, the basic template is normal.dotm, not normal.dot. Since display of filename extensions is hidden by default, this can be confusing. That extension display setting is a Windows setting, not a Word setting.
  2. While the "Automatically Update" styles to the template can be useful, it should be left turned off for most documents after an initial update.
    What happens when I send my document to someone else? Will Word mess up my formatting?
    Why has my page layout changed when I open my document on a different machine? by Suzanne Barnhill, MVP
  3. You can set things so that a different template than the normal template is the default for new documents. That different template can contain text.
    Letterhead AddIn(s) - Default New Document
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Old 05-21-2019, 03:29 PM
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Lugh Lugh is offline Problem Opening Older Docs with My Newer &quot;My Template.DOT&quot; Windows 10 Problem Opening Older Docs with My Newer &quot;My Template.DOT&quot; Office 2016
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles Kenyon View Post
The Normal Template should never contain text, even in a header or footer.
Thanks for that, Charles.

Fyi, your page has a small horizontal scroll in a full-screen browser at 1920 resolution width, minus browser & screen furniture like always-visible Taskbar on the left side. It also does not reflow when browser is made smaller—ie that causes a bigger horizontal scroll.
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