asks me to save normal.dot

Recently, WordXP 2002 has been asking me to save normal.dot each time I shut
the program down. It will do this even if I have changed no settings, or
even opened a document to edit. I think this started up after a security
update. Any way I can get it to stop?

LuDean

If you're using Symantec/Norton AntiVirus, try disabling the
Office Plugin that comes with it. See
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=329820 "How to use Office
programs with the Norton AntiVirus Office plug-in" and
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/as...514521033.aspx
"Word prompts me to save changes to the Normal.dot template" for
more information.

LuDean Marvin wrote:

Recently, WordXP 2002 has been asking me to save normal.dot each time I shut
the program down. It will do this even if I have changed no settings, or
even opened a document to edit. I think this started up after a security
update. Any way I can get it to stop?

LuDean

For this problem in general, see “Word prompts me to save changes to the
Normal.dot template”
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/as...514521033.aspx

But if this problem just started when the time changed, go ahead and say yes
once, and you won't be bothered again. For reasons unknown, this crops up
every time the time changes.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"LuDean Marvin" wrote in message
...
Recently, WordXP 2002 has been asking me to save normal.dot each time I
shut
the program down. It will do this even if I have changed no settings, or
even opened a document to edit. I think this started up after a security
update. Any way I can get it to stop?

LuDean

The message "Changes have been made that affect the global template -
normal. Do you wish to save those changes?" is an important warning. It
suppplements your virus detector and handles other potential problems. Its
display means that changes have been made, whether you intended to make
changes or not. You can also get it when your template has been altered by a
poorly written Add-In program or by a virus.

The reason for the message being shown repeatedly is almost always a poorly
written Add-In. The Norton AV Office Plug-In seems to be the most frequent
offender recently, but that can change as some other poorly written program
comes on the market.

Other offenders include the MS Works Suite Add-In, EZ-Photo, Scansoft, and
Adobe Acrobat. These all install Add-Ins that mess with your normal.dot when
they shouldn't do so and don't need to do so. Some of these are .dot files,
others are installed. See URL:
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/CheckIfAddinsInstalled.htm for
instructions on seeing what Add-Ins you have. (Having Add-Ins is not a bad
thing. I run Word with 15 Add-Ins, most of which I wrote myself.)

Start with the Add-Ins I've noted. If you have any of them, decide whether
they are worth the annoyance they are causing you. Probably they are not.
Disable any that are not worth the candle. Restart Word and see if your
problem is gone.

If not...

If you start Word using
Start = Run: Winword.exe /a
you'll end up with Word out of the box loading without your saved normal.dot
file, with no macros and no Add-Ins. You may notice that it loads much more
quickly than you are used to seing. When you close it, you won't get the
"normal.dot" prompt. Doing this may fix the problem, by itself, but probably
will not. Generally, it is a diagnostic, not a fix.

So, what you need to do is disable all of your Add-Ins (don't delete them).
Start by moving .dot files out of your Word Startup folder, one-by-one, with
Word closed. Restart Word and see if that Add-In caused the problem. If not,
put it back in and take the next one out. (You can put them in a sub-folder
of your Startup folder.) If none of them are the problem, move to the .com
Add-Ins that have to be uninstalled.

If your offender is not on my list, please write back and let us know which
one caused your problems.

Write to the company that put out the Add-In with a complaint, and possibly
a bill for your time.

Hope this helps,
--
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

See also the MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/ which is awesome!

My criminal defense site: http://addbalance.com
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.


"LuDean Marvin" wrote in message
...
Recently, WordXP 2002 has been asking me to save normal.dot each time I
shut the program down. It will do this even if I have changed no
settings, or even opened a document to edit. I think this started up
after a security update. Any way I can get it to stop?

LuDean

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 17:46:40 -0500 from Charles Kenyon
:
The reason for the message being shown repeatedly is almost always a poorly
written Add-In.

Or a poorly written Microsoft Word. It's also caused by the change to
or from Daylight Saving Time. In that case, answering Yes once makes
it stop.

--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com/

Thansk for your suggestion. As it turns out, it was the "Read in Microsoft
Reader Add-in" that was causing the problem. I have posted a new message in
the Reader newsgroup to see if anyone there has a fix for it.

LuDean


"Charles Kenyon" wrote in message
...

The message "Changes have been made that affect the global template -
normal. Do you wish to save those changes?" is an important warning. It
suppplements your virus detector and handles other potential problems. Its
display means that changes have been made, whether you intended to make
changes or not. You can also get it when your template has been altered by
a poorly written Add-In program or by a virus.

The reason for the message being shown repeatedly is almost always a
poorly written Add-In. The Norton AV Office Plug-In seems to be the most
frequent offender recently, but that can change as some other poorly
written program comes on the market.

Other offenders include the MS Works Suite Add-In, EZ-Photo, Scansoft, and
Adobe Acrobat. These all install Add-Ins that mess with your normal.dot
when they shouldn't do so and don't need to do so. Some of these are .dot
files, others are installed. See URL:
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/CheckIfAddinsInstalled.htm for
instructions on seeing what Add-Ins you have. (Having Add-Ins is not a bad
thing. I run Word with 15 Add-Ins, most of which I wrote myself.)

Start with the Add-Ins I've noted. If you have any of them, decide whether
they are worth the annoyance they are causing you. Probably they are not.
Disable any that are not worth the candle. Restart Word and see if your
problem is gone.

If not...

If you start Word using
Start = Run: Winword.exe /a
you'll end up with Word out of the box loading without your saved
normal.dot file, with no macros and no Add-Ins. You may notice that it
loads much more quickly than you are used to seing. When you close it, you
won't get the "normal.dot" prompt. Doing this may fix the problem, by
itself, but probably will not. Generally, it is a diagnostic, not a fix.

So, what you need to do is disable all of your Add-Ins (don't delete
them). Start by moving .dot files out of your Word Startup folder,
one-by-one, with Word closed. Restart Word and see if that Add-In caused
the problem. If not, put it back in and take the next one out. (You can
put them in a sub-folder of your Startup folder.) If none of them are the
problem, move to the .com Add-Ins that have to be uninstalled.

If your offender is not on my list, please write back and let us know
which one caused your problems.

Write to the company that put out the Add-In with a complaint, and
possibly a bill for your time.

Hope this helps,
--
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

See also the MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/ which is awesome!

My criminal defense site: http://addbalance.com
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.


"LuDean Marvin" wrote in message
...
Recently, WordXP 2002 has been asking me to save normal.dot each time I
shut the program down. It will do this even if I have changed no
settings, or even opened a document to edit. I think this started up
after a security update. Any way I can get it to stop?

LuDean