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What is a template? How to
make a template? What is Normal.dot?
A template is a
preformatted document that serves as a model for
other documents or a predesigned document for a
particular purpose. For example, a memo template
would enable you to generate a memo with header
information and formatting already done.
In Word 2002 +
you are shown the new file task pane when you choose
File => New. If you click on General Templates in
the task pane, you get to the File => New dialog.
All styles in
the template are created in the document and will
stay with the document even if the attachment is
later broken.
Autotext
entries, Macros and Toolbars in the template are
available to the document so long as the document
remains attached to the template, but are not
normally transferred into the document. (Documents
cannot hold Autotext entries but can have macros and
toolbars.)
If you move the
document to a different computer that doesn't have
the template, the attachment will be broken. You can
change the template attached to a document using
Tools => Templates and Add-Ins.
2. How to get a different
header/footer on the second (and subsequent)
page(s)?
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The header/footer
instructions are stored in the last
paragraph marker of the section. Each
section can have up to three
different headers and three different
footers. Every document has at least one
section but can have more. The number of
header/footer sets for each section is
controlled in
File
è Page Setup
è Layout (tab)
by checking either
or both of the options:
__ Different odd and
even
__ Different first
page
in the headers and
footers frame.
If you have already
set a header or footer and then checked
"different first page," the
header/footer you set previously will
become the header/footer for the second
and subsequent pages. If you check
“different odd and even,” you can set
yet another header/footer for the odd
pages that follow page two.
Using headers and
footers is the best way to construct a
letterhead template, with the letterhead
itself in a header with headers/footers
set for "different first page."
Something similar is done when setting
up preprinted letterhead as well. |
Step-by-Step Instructions
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If your
template is only one page but the
document is multiple pages, you will
want to set up the header/footer for all
pages or for the second and subsequent
pages before setting a different
header/footer combination for the first
page. (The header/footer for all
pages becomes the header/footer for
second and subsequent pages when you
select the option for a different first
page.)
To do this, first
(with your template being only one
page), . . .
Switch to the
Header/Footer View pane.
View
è Header and Footer
The Header and
Footer toolbar will pop up and your
insertion point (cursor) should be in a
box with a dashed border that says
"Header." (If it says "First Page
Header" don't worry, we'll get to that
in a bit. Keep reading.) If you are in
"Normal" or "Web" view when you tell
Word that you want to view Headers and
Footers, you will be switched to Page
Layout (Print Layout) view and any text
on your regular page will either turn
gray or disappear. When you close the
Header and Footer toolbar, you'll be
switched back to the view you started
from.
Create the Header
for All Pages or for Second and
Subsequent Pages
If you want anything
to appear in the header for all pages or
for the second and subsequent pages, put
it in here (in the window designated
"Header").
Create the Footer
for All Pages or for Second and
Subsequent Pages
If you want
something in the footer for all pages or
for the second and subsequent pages,
click on the "Switch Between Header and
Footer" button on the Header and Footer
toolbar.
This will take you
to a box at the bottom of the page that
says "Footer."
Create a Different
(or No) Header / Footer for the First
Page
Click on Page Setup
on the toolbar.
This will display
the Page Layout Dialog Box.
Check the box for
"Different First Page" and then click on
OK to close that dialog. Now the header
box will say "First Page Header" and
anything you typed in the "Header" box
before will be gone!
Type what you want
to go in the header on the first page of
your document, then click on the Switch
button and type in anything you want in
the first page footer.
Save your template.
When your template is used to create a
document, if the document extends onto a
second page, the headers / footers you
originally typed will appear on the
second and subsequent pages.
What If It Says
"First Page Header" When I Said It Would
Say "Header" in the Box's Border?
Then type in the
material for the header / footer to go
on the first page. Click the "Close"
button on the Header and Footer Toolbar
and insert a manual page break. That
will move your insertion point into Page
2.
If you now use
View
=> Header and Footer
the same toolbar
will pop up, but this time the caption
in the dashed border of the box will be
"Header." Type what you want for your
second and subsequent page header here,
switch to the footer and type that for
the second and subsequent page.
Click Close on the
Header/Footer Toolbar and use backspace
to delete your page break.
Save your template.
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3. How to change the default
font from Times New Roman 10 pt or 12 pt to
something else?
1) Open a new
document.
Call up the Font
dialog box:
Format
è Font
set your
preferred font and click on the " Default" button
(lower left of dialog box)
4. Page X of Y doesn't work!
This is a common
problem faced by many Word users. Make sure that
your Microsoft Office Application is current on the
Service Packs, Patches or Office Updates. You may do
so by going to
http://office.microsoft.com/OfficeUpdate/default.aspx
and clicking on “Check for Updates” link in the
Office Updates section.
5. How to insert a date? Why
does it (not) change when re-opening the document?
The easy (but
probably wrong) way to put a date in your document
is Insert --> Date and Time.
If you don't
check "Update Automatically," it is the same as
typing the date yourself (except harder). If you do
check "Update Automatically," it will update when
you print (if you have the setting under printer
options as "Update Fields," which is the default).
You can manually force an update by putting your
insertion point in the date and pressing the [F9]
key.
If you want to
put a date in a template that updates to the current
date when a document is created based on the
template, or want to change the format or do other
things with the date field, you will want to use
Insert --> Field --> Date and Time instead. Using
the options here, you can either pick a format or
type your own characters (called a picture) for the
format. The options for the type of date include:
{ DATE } - The
date you are looking at the document. Always today
(although it may not show on screen as today until
you update the field).
{ CREATEDATE } -
The date the document was created (or saved using
Save As).
{ PRINTDATE } -
The date the document was last printed.
{ SAVEDATE } -
The date the document was last saved.
The above are
the field codes that will be inserted for you using
I nsert
è Field
è Date and Time without using any options. If
you choose options, they can include the following
"pictures:"
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Picture
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Displayed Date
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\@ "MMMM d,
yyyy" |
August 1, 2001
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\@ "MMM dd,
yyyy" |
Aug 01, 2001
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\@ "MM/dd/yy"
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08/01/01
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\@
"dddd, MMMM d" |
Tuesday, August
1 |
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\@ "ddd, MMM. d,
yyyy" |
Tue.,
Aug. 1, 2001 |
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\@ "MM/dd/yy
hh:mm:ss am/pm" |
08/01/01
10:36:12 PM |
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\@
"d" \* ordinal |
1st
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\@
"d" \* ordtext |
first
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6. How to get rid of that
paperclip?
To keep it from
being a nuisance but still have it available:
Call up the
Office Assistant Help
è Microsoft Word Help.
Click on the
Options button.
Uncheck the
following boxes:
__ Respond to F1
key
__ Display
Alerts
__ Using the
mouse more effectively
__ Keyboard
Shortcuts
__ Using
features more effectively
__ Show tip of
the day at Start Up
You will
probably want to leave the one about wizards
unchanged and leave the one about programming
checked. Click on the OK button.
When you have
done this, the Office Assistant will no longer delay
you when you start Word by offering some tip you may
already know. If you press F1, you will get the
traditional Windows help screen with Contents,
Index, and Find (W97) or (W2k) the Word IE help
screens. If you want the Office Assistant, click on
the question mark icon on the Standard toolbar or
select Help
è Microsoft Word Help .
7. Why doesn't Word's fonts
list show all of the fonts that are installed in
Windows?
It is probably
because of your selection of a default
printer in Windows. At one time Word loaded all
fonts that were loaded in the operating system, but
that slowed down starting Word without much benefit
since most fonts are never used. Now, it loads those
fonts that are recognized by the default printer
(still more than most people use).
If you change
printers for any job in Word, that changes the
default printer for that session of Word. When you
restart Word, the default printer will be the
default printer as set in Windows.
8. How to best use the Master
Document feature?
Don't use it. It
has serious bugs and will corrupt your entire
document at the most inconvenient time possible.
(This advice to not use Master Documents is
reported as correct through Word 2000, SR-2.) John
McGhie puts it succinctly when he says that there
are two kinds of Master Documents: Those that are
corrupt and those that will be corrupt soon.
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/General/WhyMasterDocsCorrupt.htm
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/General/RecoverMasterDocs.htm
Keep in mind
that Word will handle fairly large documents,
assuming you have the processor and RAM to deal with
it. Second, there are reasonable work-arounds
available. See the MVP
websites for additional ideas. (Look especially
at Cindy Meister's
site.)
The general rule
might better be phrased "Don't edit Master
Documents!" You can use the feature to generate
something to print. You can use it to get Word to
split up result documents from
mail merge into separate files. But when you are
finished with the Master Document, it should be
deleted before it corrupts your subs.
9. What are some common errors
that people make using Word?
a. Editing a
document on a floppy disk.
Word normally
stores all sorts of backup material on the disk
directory of any document being edited. Even though
you have plenty of room on a floppy, chances are
good that you will eventually trash a document
simply by using Word to edit it while it is stored
on the floppy. Copy the document to your hard drive,
do the editing there, and copy it back to your
floppy when you are done. You can even put together
a macro to do this. There is a macro built into
WOPR that does this.
b. Working with
paragraph markers and tab markers hidden.
Word’s
formatting is tied into paragraphs and the actual
formatting commands are located in the paragraph
markers (¶) at the end of each paragraph. Things
like margins (called indents), line spacing, fonts
are all there. There is a difference between five
blank spaces and a tab even though they may look the
same on your screen (if you are not displaying them)
and on your paper.
c. Using master
documents.
This isn't
really a common error in that few people try to use
Master Documents. I guess the common part of the
error is in assuming that Microsoft wouldn't put
such a time bomb in its program and actually
encourage people to use it!
Editing a
document on a floppy can mess up that document, but
if it will fit on a floppy it isn’t too huge a
project – maybe only a couple of hundred pages and a
month’s work. How about the 900-page manual you’ve
been working on for the past six months? That’s
right, the one with 26 chapters, 230 figures, 53
tables, an index and two appendices, ... the one on
which your next promotion is riding? That won’t fit
on a floppy . . . so to really mess it up, you can
use the
Master Document feature.
d. Not learning
to use styles and templates.
If all you are
doing is typing a letter or two, and you don't care
a lot how it looks, you can afford to ignore styles.
Otherwise, you are wasting a lot of time and energy.
10. The message keeps popping
up when I close Word: Do you want to save changes to
the global template - Normal.dot?
The message
"Changes have been made that affect the global
template - normal. Do you wish to save those
changes?" is an important warning. It means that
changes have been made, whether you intended to make
changes or not. You can also get it when your
template has been altered by a poorly written Add-In
program or by a malicious virus. You should get this
when you make changes or any other program makes
changes.
Getting this
every time you close Word is annoying. While it is
possible to turn this prompt off, you do not want to
do so. Turning this off is like taking the batteries
out of your smoke detector because it keeps buzzing!
The reason for
the message being shown repeatedly is almost always
a poorly written Add-In. The Norton AV Office
Plug-In seems to be the most frequent offender
recently, but that can change as some other poorly
written program comes on the market.
Other offenders
include the MS Works Suite Add-In, EZ-Photo,
Scansoft, Adobe Acrobat, and Microsoft's MetaData
remover. These all install Add-Ins that mess with
your normal.dot when they shouldn't do so and don't
need to do so. Some of these are .dot files, others
are installed. See
How to find out whether any Word Add-ins have been
installed for instructions on seeing what
Add-Ins you have. (Having Add-Ins is not a bad
thing. I run Word with 15 Add-Ins, most of which I
wrote myself.)
Start with the
Add-Ins I've noted. If you have any of them, decide
whether they are worth the annoyance they are
causing you. Probably they are not. Disable any that
are not worth the candle. Restart Word and see if
your problem is gone.
If not...
If you start
Word using
Start => Run: Winword.exe /a
you'll end up with Word out of the box loading
without your saved normal.dot file, with no macros
and no Add-Ins. You may notice that it loads much
more quickly than usual. When you close it, you
won't get the "normal.dot" prompt.
So, what you
need to do is disable all of your Add-Ins (don't
delete them). Start by moving .dot files out of your
Word Startup folder, one-by-one, with Word closed.
Restart Word and see if that Add-In caused the
problem. If not, put it back in and take the next
one out. (You can put them in a sub-folder of your
Startup folder.) If none of them are the problem,
move to the .com Add-Ins that have to be
uninstalled.
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