How can I make the shortcut Ctrl+N instantly create a new document based on normal.dotm? I tried using Customize Keyboard to assign Ctrl+N to FileNew but this made Ctrl+n show me the choice of templates. Thanks for any help

The default for Ctrl+N is to create a new blank document, which is always based on Normal.dotm.
You can set it back as shown below:
Screenshot 2024-12-10 085417.png

This recently came up on the Microsoft Answers forum as well.


In the English-language installation of Word, this should be the default.
The command you want is FileNewDefault, not FileNew.



What happens if you start Word in Safe mode?
Open Office apps in safe mode on a Windows PC - Microsoft Office

This worked for me - thank you very much. I was looking under category "File tab" but as your pic shows it's under "All commands".