I just updated my Normal.dot file with several changes and I would like to apply those changes to all of my Word documents.




Is there a way I can do that without opening each Word document, clicking Format>Style...>Organizer... and copying all of the styles from the Normal style sheet over to the document?


That will be a lot of work due to the number of documents I have.

• Macros to Copy Styles from the Normal Template
• Batch Folder Process Add-In by Greg Maxey
• Document Batch Processes by Graham Mayor, MVP

Are you sure you really want to do this?
Are you using your documents as the basis for new documents? If so, you should probably be using Templates instead. Templates in Microsoft Word

Every document will need to be opened, updated and saved for this to happen but it doesn't have to be done manually and may not be even be required to happen via a batch macro.

At its simplest you could add this macro to your Normal.dotm template (It has to be placed in the ThisDocument module). This will then run automatically as YOU open any existing document to import the style definitions from YOUR Normal template.
It doesn't matter that thousands of documents don't have the right styles if EACH one is updated as it is opened. Over time, you will gradually update them as each one is opened and you won't realise they aren't all already updated.

Now, having said all that I will now recommend you reconsider if Normal.dotm is what you truly want applied in all cases. I am a true believer in the power of templates and Normal.dotm is rarely the basis for styles in my documents. I STRONGLY recommend that users make use of different templates for different purposes - style definitions should vary according to the document type eg letters/memos/reports/user guides/posters because each document type requires different layouts. The disabled line in the code above provides an alternative option that might be a better fit for your requirement. If the document has Normal as its 'Attached template' then it has the same effect as the enabled line of code but if a purpose-built template was used then you won't be breaking with this alternate code.

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Andrew Lockton
Chrysalis Design, Melbourne Australia

Thank you for your replies.


I retired in 2006 and I now use Word 2000 at home. I want all of my Word docs to look the same, so I just use normal.dot and don't bother with different templates.