Normal.dot already in use

[Roger Marrs]

I am getting a dialog box stating that Normal.dot is already in use by
another user or application. I only get this message if I already have a
word document open and then launch Word from a third party application.
When I try to close the word document launched from the third party
application, I get the dialog box about Normal.dot. I've been running the
third party application for several months without any problems. So I'm
wondering whether there is some setting within Word that I modified that I
shouldn't have that has caused this problem.

Roger Marrs

 

[Roger Marrs]

The third party software is also being used by about 15 other people in my
office and none of them are experiencing this problem with Normal.dot, which
also makes me think the problem is cause by some Word setting on my machine.

Roger

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Is this not the same issue we've already solved?

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Roger Marrs]

No, this is a different issue. Word tells me that Normal.dot is in use.
This happens even though Normal.dot is not in my startup folder. Normal.dot
is in the default .../Word/Templates folder.

Our office has a file folder on a shared network drive where a Word Document
Template file is stored. In Options > File Locations everyones Word
application is set to that file folder on the shared drive as the location
for the startup folder. It's my understanding that in order to make a
template file available as an add-in, then the file path for the Startup
Folder has to be set to the location where that document template is saved.

Out of 15 + users, only I have problems with Normal.dot being in use when I
use Word.

Now that I've corrected the file path for my user templates, my settings in
File Locations are the same as every other user in the office. Everyone in
the office launches Word from the same third party software. I am the only
person who gets the "Normal.dot is in use" message. It's really
frustrating.

Roger

 

[Uncle Joe]

The MVPs are best equipped to answer your question about
Normal.dot since I've never had problems with it. But you've
piqued my curiosity because all your posts mention that all
your 15+ users launch Word from a mysterious third party
application. What is this third party application?

 

[Stephen Glynn]

I used to work for a company that makes bespoke software to manage
business processes in finance and litigation, both of which obviously
involve some people in writing a lot of letters.

We didn't try to reinvent the wheel by attempting to write our own
word-processing programmes, particularly since we knew our customers
would already have one that they'd paid a lot of money for; we asked
them what they used (usually Word) and set our applications up to launch
it whenever a letter was needed. It's common -- and very sensible --
practice.

Steve

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Are you using Word as your email editor in Outlook?

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Graham Mayor]

Looking back at your other thread - are you trying to share normal.dot
between users? This is not the way to use normal.dot. Normal.dot is an
individual user file. If Word tells you an individual normal.dot file is
locked then either it is already in use or it is locked by an orphan file -
see http://www.gmayor.com/what_to_do_when_word_crashes.htm

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Roger Marrs]

I was using Word as the Outlook editor. I changed that setting in Outlook.
However, if I have another Word document open, then I still get the
"Normal.dot in use" message as described above. When Word was my Outlook
editor, I got the "Normal.dot in use" message even if I didn't already have
another Word document open.

 

[Roger Marrs]

No, this Normal.dot file is the one located in my own ...Word/Templates
folder.

 

[Roger Marrs]

The application I'm referring to is a case management system running off an
Oracle database. We create documents that pull data out of the database and
we are using Word as the editor for those documents. The application has a
document processor that handles the replacement of merge codes in a form
document with data from the database. One or more Word documents are then
opened with the merge function already completed. Sometimes we create a set
of documents as part of our business process, so it's not uncommon for the
document processor to kick out 2, 3 or 4 separate Word documents. They are
created just fine, but after the merged document is saved and I try to close
it, I get the "Normal.dot is in use" message.

I'm the only user having this problem with Word.