Prompted to save template… (Word 97/SR-2)

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Lately, our firm has been experiencing trouble with templates. After we create a new document based on the template and go to close the newly saved document, it then asks us if we want to save changes made to *.dot (where * is the name of the template). However, there was not a change made to the template. We create a new document from the template by either choosing File – New from the menu bar or by running a previously created macro. Does anyone know what’s going on? Any advice is appreciated!

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Yes, we know all too well what’s going on ’cause we all have experienced it. What a pain. Here’s the truth:

You *are* changing the template. And trying to find it can be a bear. But the fix is pretty easy.

You will need to modify the AutoExec or the AutoNew sub in the template to include

thisdocument.saved = true

If you dont’ have an AutoExec or AutoNew sub in the template, you’ll need to create one and put that line in it.

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Also you may be changing the NORMAL.DOT, which may be asking to save to.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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You’re right Dave, and the fix for that is to uncheck the box in Tools>Options>Save, Prompt to save normal template.

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Kevin,

Respectfully, I disagree. This is a “fix” akin to throwing out the smoke alarm because it keeps making this annoying sound when there is smoke.

The fix is to figure out where the changes to normal are coming from and either accept the changes or stop them from being made.

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There are valid reason for the normal to be updated: user creates a macro, moves, adds or deletes a toolbar button, etc. If the user is doing such, the prompt is rather annoying. It’s not an alarm of anything akin to a house fire. It’s a reminder to change the batteries every time you make changes and exit Word.

In the poster’s case, the users appear to have not changed anything manually, so the prompt (did we ever determine that it was the Normal save prompt???) indicates some change to Normal made by code — that is a problem.

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Hi Kevin,

It is like the smoke alarm, to me. It is seldom that the smoke alarm signals danger. It signals what it signals – smoke. However, it can signal danger and it is for those times that we have it and put up with the other times when it goes off even though not needed.

I have added the Save Changes to Normal command to my file menu and use it when I deliberately make changes to normal.dot. Most users are not aware of things that they do which can change normal.dot. When it is adding an AutoText entry, consequences of automatic saving without an alert would be minimal. When it is deleting a menu or changing a built-in style, though, the problems that can be caused go up a notch. The point of the query in these situations is to alert the regular user that a change has been made and to make sure that this is something that really is desired. The query can be avoided easily by directly saving the changes when a deliberate change is made.

Then we do get to code.

There are lots of folks out there writing Add-Ins, some commerical software, by well-respected software companies, that willy-nilly make changes to normal.dot that cause problems much greater than an alert. There are also viri that target normal.dot. Those both can be of fire proportions.

So, I stand by my analogy that turning off the query is akin to tossing out the smoke alarm. Not a wise move in our security-conscious times.

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Ok, I have no problem with that. I like the idea of the toolbar button to save normal after deliberate mods.

In a situation like ours where realtime virus checking runs on all servers, mail servers and PCs, the smoke alarm going off all the time is like Peter crying wolf — there are no viruses, it’s just the user unknowingly changing something. User’s are then not only not alerted to anything important, they are irritated by what to them is nothing but an useless message. And when they get the prompt to save normal, they have no idea why the prompt is there or what the heck to do with it. My initial careful approach — showing the prompt — (for which you would have been proud of me) was met with disdain. I was instructed by management to keep that message from displaying.

This situation, therefore, underscores a rule I think we both agree with: don’t let any code modify a user’s Normal.dot. Then the only changes that could occur are simply the changes a user makes. If a virus does get in, it’s not going to be defeated by a user who by force of habit always clicks Yes to the save normal prompt.

I have modified third-party commercial Word add-ins so that they work without making changes to normal.dot. If I can do it, they should have done it in the first place. One thing that really bugs me is their adding their toolbar changes to normal. Gee wiz, if the app needs a toolbar, just put up your own and leave the existing toolbars alone.

Maybe I have turned off a smoke alarm (I had no choice), but at least we have a good sprinkler system.

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Hi Chas

I’d like to do that too and I’m wondering how you did it. In the customize toolbars area I found a savetemplate command, but it was for the currently open template and specifically *not* normal.dot

I have W97 SR-2

Thanks for your help, Dave

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It had been a while. Turns out it was a macro:

Sub SaveNormalMacro()
'   Written April 20, 2000 by Charles Kyle Kenyon
'
    If normalTemplate.Saved = False Then
        normalTemplate.Save
    End If
End Sub

Works like a charm. I put it on the file menu (along with the SaveTemplate command) and gave it the cryptic caption of “Save Normal &Template.”

Changes, of course, are stored in my main global, not in normal.dot. And, as always, when making changes to a built-in menu, the macro was first added to a shadow menu on a custom toolbar and then copied to the real file menu.

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Hi Chas

Thanks for your time, figured it was a simple macro. I just haven’t put the time into learning to write much vba.

I respect you as a souce of good prudent computing info, and look around your site from time to time. Can you point me to any references to this-

Thanks again for your efforts and knowledge sharing, Dave

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Actually, I don’t think any changes are being made to either the normal.dot or the actual template we’re using. It’s just a simple letterhead template, and when it’s used by attorneys (who get prompted to save the template), I know they are not making any changes to the template or using autotext, creating macros, etc. (no offense to any attorneys…). I am going to try checking out the AutoNew as Kevin suggested – thanks to everyone for the advice.

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I would check the startup folder for global templates & add-ins that cause a change in the normal template. I personally don’t like anything that automatically causes a change in the normal template and I always leave the prompt on.

One of the causes of that prompt could be a virus! While there may be innocent explanations, which I would check out first, it’s one reason to have the option ticked. My

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If there are no changes, you don’t get the question.

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Does the prompt refer to Normal.dot or to another template used for creating documents? Let’s settle that point.

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The prompt is not referring to the normal.dot. It is referring to another template we have created for our users (a letterhead template saved locally to c:program filesmicrosoft officetemplates). As I indicated before, nothing is being manually changed to the template (like creating a macro, using autotext, styles, customizing the toolbar, etc.) – some of the people using it wouldn’t know the first thing about doing that. The other strange thing – everything has been fine until recently. It seems to be happening at “hit-or-miss” times, and to random users.

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Does the template in question have any code?

Have you checked users’ Normal.dots for code (possibly, as Phil suggests, a virus)?

Keep in mind what Charles said, if a user gets that prompt, the template is being changed.

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Things that can change a template –

modify a style and save change to template.
add autotext
record a macro
keyboard customization
menu customization

All or some of these may be done by well-meaning macros in your templates. Others may be done by users without them realizing that is what they are doing. I would suspect your AutoNew macro.

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You are not alone!

I have just reinstalled word onto a new XP machine and am seeing the same thing. I read all of the work arounds and none seem to work. Please let me know if you get an answer – I will do the same.

Simon

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Hello – Thank you all for your advice and suggestions. It turns out, however, that because we have DocsOpen Linking installed on our computers, the “monikers8.dot” template that is saved into the Startup folder, was the culprit all along. Once we narrowed the problem down to those machines that have Docs linking installed, we removed the monikers8.dot template and the problem was solved! Now we just have to figure out what to do about linking….! Thanks again. See attached document for further information.

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I suspect the Monikers8.dot template is running a bit of code that sets .Saved = True for Normal.dot, and that if you can root out that code (at the risk of losing support for the template from the vendor), you will solve the macro-not-saving problem.

Under WORLDOX, every time you start Word, certain global options are turned off (e.g., list recently opened documents). Because the macro does not set .Saved = True for Normal.dot after making these changes, every time you close Word you are told that there are changes to the Normal template and asked if you want to save them. Very irritating. So the intentions behind the code in Monikers8.dot may well have been good

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