Template Becomes Unattached

[Guest]

I have created a template for a document with complicated numbered outline
and styles formatting and attached it to several documents. I always uncheck
the automatically update box after the document has been updated with the
styles. Randomly, Word decides to unattach the document from the template,
not every time I open them, only sometimes, and the font style will revert to
another font, not specified in the template. When I re-attach the template,
the styles go back to what they should be. Any idea why this is happening?
I've done this in several other instances with other documents attached to a
different template without this problem occurring, it is only happening with
this particular template. I've recreated the template and re-attached it,
and the same thing happens.

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

Is the template located on your computer, or elsewhere on a network? If the
latter, then perhaps a network drive is not available.

If the former... I've never seen this occur, unless the location of the
template changes or if the template is renamed. I assume from the fact that
you're puzzled that neither of these are the case.

What version of Word is this?

When you check to see what template is attached... is it Normal.dot? Some
other template?

Possibilities that occur to me...

a virus is affecting your documents

an add-on or a macro is responding to a keystroke or some other event
and is attaching Normal.dot to the document.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your response Herb. The template is located on a network,
however, I have several of these templates in similar formats attached to
different documents, and which are also on the network in different folders,
and I've not ever had this problem with the other documents/templates. For
the one I'm having trouble with, I'm always able to locate the template on
the network and re-attach it, but it just will not stay attached or hold the
styles at least. Not sure how to tell if the network drive is not available.

When I open it to re-attach the template, it says it's attached to the
template I want it to be attached to, not Normal.dot or any other template,
however, it's not holding the styles from that template, so my assumption is
that it has become unattached (and when I re-attach it, the correct styles
appear in the document), but this could be a false assumption. Perhaps there
is something else going on here. I don't know of any macros associated with
the template, as I don't know how to use them, really, and I created the
template.

Finally, I'm using Office 2003. Any other ideas?

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

Hmmm... do you have "local" (on your own computer) versions of the same
templates? If so, I wonder if occasional network lags could be causing the
documents to revert to a local version of a template (with different
formatting and with the Automatically Update... setting enabled.

I would try enabling the Automatically Update setting with the network-based
template attached, and leaving Automatically Update enabled... perhaps with
an experimental document. Does that prevent the problem from occurring?

 

[Guest]

Thanks again, Herb. I did a search, and do not have any local versions of
that document on my hard drive. I'll try what you suggested and see if that
works. I've just heard about and experienced problems in the past when
leaving the automatically update box checked. I will try again and see if
that works. Thanks for all of your input.