Normal.dot increases in size

[Guest]

Word 2003. I give a user a clean copy of normal.dot (one that has our
customisations in it, and that everyone gets a copy of). It is 29KB.
We put the file in the correct location (that Word looks for under Tools |
Options | File Locations | User Templates.)
She opens Word, then closes Word without making any changes or doing any
typing.
The normal.dot template has increased in size to forty something KB's.
She repeats opening and closing Word, and normal.dot is now 63KB. The next
time it is 80KB.

We have swept for viruses and found none. I am meeting with her on Tuesday
11 April, and would appreciate any ideas about what could be making the
template increase in size.

Setting Tools | Options | Save | Prompt to Save would help, but would not be
a proper fix.

Thanks in advance.

 

[garfield-n-odie [MVP]]

Is the Word 2003 Redaction Addin installed? If yes, try
uninstalling it, and see if the problem persists. If no,
schedule a meeting two weeks from now to discuss the issue again.

 

[Charles Kenyon]

First issue is one you didn't ask about. You should not have an "our
normal.dot." Normal.dot is designed to be individual, not shared. You can
share your customizations without imposing a particular normal.dot on your
users. See http://addbalance.com/word/movetotemplate.htm for step-by-step
instructions on moving / sharing / copying / backing-up customizations
including AutoText, AutoCorrect, keyboard assignments, toolbars, macros,
etc.

Second, make sure the option to prompt before saving changes to normal.dot
is turned on. This should always be turned on. Tools > Options > Save

That will let you know when the change is being made and is a vital
diagnostic. It gives the user the chance to cancel or stop the change.

I suspect an Add-In. Add-Ins can be helper files that have been written by
third parties or users to make changes to the Word Interface, supply macros,
etc. If they are not well written, they will change normal.dot. These will
_not_ all show up under Tools > Templates and Add-Ins. See
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/CheckIfAddinsInstalled.htm for
information on how to find the ones that do not show up.
--

Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


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