Getting message about saving changes to normal.dotm in Word 2010

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Most of the time when I exit Word 2010, I get an error “The file is in use by another application or user (C:Usersbates_000AppDataRoamingMicrosoftTemplatesNormal.dotm)” then “Changes have been made that affect the global template, Normal.dotm. Do you want to save those changes?”. Word won’t shut down without dealing with these messages and it is very annoying to have to click through them nearly every time I close out.

I saw in another thread on this site (http://windowssecrets.com/forums/showthread//158300-always-getting-message-about-saving-changes-to-normal-dotm-in-Word-2013?p=932429#post932429)

Look under the Developer Tab and look under both Add-Ins buttons. If, as I suspect, there are Add-Ins, disable any having to do with bluetooth. Does that fix this problem?

This deals with the “changes have been made” message.

The first message “already in use” may have to do with file permissions for the user templates folder. The default location for that folder is as a subfolder of your User Documents folder. It would be named “Custom Office Templates.” With Word closed, look in that folder for a file named:

~$Normal.dotm

The “~$” at the beginning of this filename indicates that it is a Windows “locking file” to prevent multiple users from accessing a file at one time. These are sometimes orphaned or left behind by an unexpected shutdown.

Delete that file.

I checked my Add-Ins but I don’t have anything related to Bluetooth and I’ve been unable to locate the “Custom Office Templates” folder. I’ve searched for that folder as well as the ~$Normal.dotm file but both searches came up empty. I have hidden files turned on. I get the error often enough that I’m getting really worried that my file may be corrupt. It’s over 1700 pages long and I cannot lose it! I’ve got it backed up but if the file itself is damaged I’m screwed.

I began receiving the error message AFTER upgrading to Windows 10. Could that have something to do with it?

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The Custom Office Templates is only with Office 2013 (and later?) and turns out to not be where the normal template is usually stored anyway.

See Add-Ins in Microsoft Word for ideas.

Normal Template in Word – How to Open or Find

Any Add-In could be the culprit, the page on them tells how to check by disabling all of them at startup. That is a diagnostic step, not a solution.

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The only .COM add-in I have is for Adobe so I’m not really sure what to do. I disabled all add-ins like the article suggested but I still got the message when I tried to close out of my documents. Also, I put the check in the box for “Save Changes to the Normal Template” but then every single time I closed out of the document I got the message asking me if I wanted to save changes. Is it supposed to do that every time the document is closed (even if I only opened a blank document and then immediately closed it)?

I’ve attached a screenshot showing all my add-ins. I really don’t have any idea what I’m doing. I’m usually fairly savvy with this stuff but this is beyond me and I’m terrified I’m going to screw it up.

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It may be that the template itself is corrupt. Delete normal.dotm and restart Office. A clean version of the template will be created.

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If you have any macros or other resources saved in normal.dotm, rename it rather than deleting it.

How to find the normal template.

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Ok, after renaming naming normal and starting word so it could create a clean version of the template, how would I get my macros and styles from the renamed normal into the clean version? Other than recreating them? Or is that the best, safest option?

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Ok, I don’t know what happened but I’ve not had the errors in several days. I didn’t delete or rename Normal. I was working on another issue and was told to turn off Fast Start but just did that today but the errors haven’t been happening for at least 2 days now. So **Knock on wood** hopefully it’s fixed.

However, in case the issue comes up again, I would like to know if after renaming naming normal and starting word so it can create a clean version of the template, how would I get my macros and styles from the renamed normal into the clean version? Other than recreating them? Or is that the best, safest option?

Thanks for your help and patience with me!

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There are a number of ways to transfer macros. Normal is not the best place for permanent storage, it is more of a scratch pad. I prefer to keep mine in either a separate Global Template or in the document template.

One way to copy macros and styles is to use the macro organizer. You would open the old (renamed) normal.dotm file and move the macro project to the new normal.dotm or some other location. All recorded macros will be stored in the “project” newmacros in the Normal.dotm template.

Likewise, for Styles, you would use the Styles tab of the organizer. See this page for more on copying Styles using the Organizer.

Otherwise, you would need to use the vba editor (Alt+F11).

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Ok, I’m truly confused LOL. I thought macros and styles were automatically put in the Normal template?

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They are put there by default. That is not the only (or best) place to store them.

For styles it is generally the best place (other than a document template) to store them. Note that I added a link to my previous post about using the Organizer to copy styles.

For macros, you can store them as you record them in the normal template, the active document, or that document’s template (if you are using a document template). I work on multiple computers. If I want to have macros available on other computers, I put them in a global template. The most powerful macros are generally not recorded, but written.

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LOL, I’m doing good to record a macro. There’s no way I could learn to write one. I’ve tried looking at the vba editor before and all I got for my effort was confused and a headache

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Here are some resources to help you.

[*]Creating a macro with no programming experience using the recorder
[*]How to modify a recorded macro
[*]Getting to grips with VBA basics in 15 minutes
[*]Distributing macros to other users
[*]Macros and VBA (Visual Basic for Applications)

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Ok, thanks! I’ll study these and all the other links you’ve provided and hopefully everything will make a lot more sense to me I honestly don’t know what happened but the errors stopped. It’s crazy. I was getting them constantly throughout the day everyday for the past couple weeks since upgrading to Windows 10 and then suddenly they stop.

I do remember that I started Word with the add-ins disabled, closed out of it, and then immediately reopened it with add-ins enabled. I did it that way because frankly I had no idea what I was looking for or what to do. I’d tried following the instructions in the links provided but wasn’t feeling well that day and having problems concentrating so gave up. But ever since then, no errors **Knock on wood**.

So I guess we can close this thread or mark it solved or how ever it’s done here. Since it doesn’t seem to be doing it anymore. I don’t want to keep bugging everyone.

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