How To Find Normal Template In Word On Mac

The normal template is central to your apply of Word. Information technology holds many of your defaults and your ain customizations or modifications to Word. It is possible that something exterior of it does non allow you save changes yous make to information technology without opening it directly. In that location are times when the simplest way to alter defaults in Microsoft Discussion is to open the Normal.dot or Normal.dotm template. Other times you demand to notice it so you lot tin can open up the containing folder and rename the template for diagnostic piece of work. The normal template will ever be found in the user templates folder, which has different default locations in different versions of Word and different operating systems. That location can be changed in the Discussion options by the user.

How to Open the Normal template in any version of Give-and-take (except 2008)

To open up the normal template in any version of Word on whatever PC that uses vba y'all tin do the following.

Open Word.

Open the vba Editor by Pressing Alt+F11 together. (Trouble using Alt+F11?)

At the lesser of the vba Editor window is something called the Immediate window. (Press Ctrl+Grand to actuate this window if y'all don't see it.) Click in that Firsthand window.

Type the following (or re-create it from here and paste information technology):

application.NormalTemplate.OpenAsDocument

Press Enter

Shut the vba Editor.

Yous are now in the Normal.dot template (Word 97-2003) or Normal.dotm template (Give-and-take 2007-2019)

Brand your changes and relieve it. If you are curious about where you can find it in the future, use Save As and look at where Discussion is planning on saving it.

Your Discussion programme simply uses ane Normal template. Your computer may have more one but Discussion simply uses 1. If there is more than 1 such template on your computer, this (vba) is the simply way I know of to be sure that the Normal template you open up is the i your version of Word is using! If you have multiple versions of Discussion on your reckoner, each should have its own template.

Note that you should never put any text in the Normal template.

This includes headers, footers and page numbers!

How to Find the User Templates Folder and Normal template.

Many diagnostics require that you rename the normal template. Sometimes, something in the normal template is causing issues in your use of Word. It is located in your user templates folder. Note, some advisors mistakenly tell you to delete the normal template. Renaming information technology will accomplish the same purpose: Word volition create a new fresh normal template the next time it starts. Even so, if there are valuable customizations in the normal template like macros, AutoText entries, or styles, if it is renamed rather than deleted, those customizations can be recovered. If you take non inverse any of the defaults in your Give-and-take normal template, there may not be i. (This is unusual, but possible.)

By default, the normal template (and user templates files) are stored in the following location:

Commencement with Function 2013 (Office 365) the default folder location for most user-created templates has been moved to a subfolder of the user's Documents folder: Custom Role Templates. Withal, the location of the normal template volition notwithstanding exist in the user templates folder which remains the default folder unless changed by the user. That is, the location of the normal template will withal be in the folder designated every bit the user templates folder, but that binder will be different from the folder property most user templates which is now called the Custom Part Templates folder. Confused? Thank you, Microsoft.

Note you can change the location of user templates files. That is washed in advanced options. If you have washed and so, you need to check at that place for your location.

If you rename or delete your normal template, it will not be recreated by Word until such time as you lot make a change to your defaults. If you have an Add-In that prevents saving changes to the normal template, then it will non be created. Word will operate fine without a Normal template, using its defaults.

To notice the normal template in any version of Word (except 2008) on any operating system you can do the following.

Open Word.
Open the vba Editor by Pressing Alt+F11. (Problem using Alt+F11?) (Opt+F11 on the Mac)
At the bottom of the vba Editor window is something called the Immediate window. (Press Ctrl+Thousand to actuate this window if y'all don't see it.) Click in that Firsthand window.
Type the following (or copy it from hither and paste it):

debug.print application.NormalTemplate.Path
Press Enter
The location of your normal template for your Word installation shows just below what you typed. If you copy this and paste it into the location bar in Windows Explorer, you volition be taken to the folder containing the normal template.

In Windows, you can as well use Windows Search function.

The normal template will virtually always exist establish somewhere within the User profile. Finding it using Windows is a bit more complicated and depends on the operating system y'all are using. The thing is that by default the Templates binder used by any version of Give-and-take (other than Discussion 2013/365) is a hidden system folder. In a regular search, Windows skips such folders. You demand to admission the search options and tell Windows to look in hidden and system folders. Generally, yous are able to access these options after you lot complete a search with no results.

In Windows 8.1 the Advanced Options are available immediately:

Opening the Normal template afterward you find it:

If y'all found the normal template in a binder so you could open that template, remember that you need to use File > Open within Give-and-take to open up it or, from Windows, right-click on the icon and select Open from the context menu. If you double-click on information technology, you will create a new document, not open it. This is truthful of all templates in Microsoft Word .

How to "dirty" the Normal Template then that changes to AutoTexts, macros, and Styles put in Normal from other Files will be saved.

Some changes made to the template are not reflected as a "change" by Word such that pressing Ctrl+S (or using File > Save) volition save them. Yous tin can force the "changed" or "dirty" state by doing the following:

Type whatever letter. Use the backspace fundamental to erase it. Exercise not use Undo or Ctrl+Z. And then printing Ctrl+S to save.

* Trouble using Alt+F11?

If the Alt+F11 combination to open the VBA editor isn't working here are some possibilities.

Y'all are pressing the keys in sequence and Word is grabbing the Alt press to bring up its tooltips.

Your keyboard requires you to too press an Fn shift key at the same time.

You are on a Mac and need to use Opt+F11.

Some other program exterior of Word is hijacking the use of office keys. This tin be a laptop BIOS or tin be another utility program similar SnagIt.

The first is well-nigh likely and you can tell if that is what is happening if the tooltips pop upwardly on the ribbon. Encounter below. Pressing Alt a second time gets rid of them so yous want to printing Alt+F11 together.

If information technology is an outside plan, yous need to go to that program'due south setup and change the apply of Function Keys. Come across Function Keys in Word 97-2016.

A workaround for getting to the Visual Basic Editor without the keyboard shortcut is to use the Visual Bones button on the Developer Tab.

Return to Questions List

Send e-mail

Changes / suggestions / ideas can be sent to Charles Kenyon .

Hit Counter Folio views since 13 April 2004

Many people visit this site and utilise the data it contains.
It costs money to go along on line and endeavour to update.
If yous have received assistance hither
please consider making a donation if you lot can.

Thank you lot. ckk

FAQ provided as an adjunct / hobby as a part of my web site as a criminal defense force lawyer.