Word 2003 is not able to save Normal.dot

[PsYcHo 1]

I have recently installed the Microsoft Office 2003 in my Acer Aspire laptop after getting tired of MS Office 2007. I was using the also MS Office 2003 before using Office 2007. I think that MS Office 2003 is much comfortable than Office 2007. I am having Windows XP (Professional) as my Operating System. Now the problem is when I make a customization to Word like if I change the margins or fonts, etc. it doesn't get sticks to that setting. The next time when I launch Word, it's back to its (original) defaults. In short the Word 2003 is not able to save Normal.dot . Please help me to solve this problem.!!

[Eric B]

I think that the Normal.dot is not getting created. Then I would like to suggest you, try to force creation of a Normal.dot by saving it as a template. Normally you don't have to do this since it gets created by default at "C:\Documents and Settings\..\Normal.dot". I think that in your case it is not getting created automatically, so try to create that manually. Maybe after creating the Normal.dot manually the Word will able to get saved to it.

[Glenny]

The problem of Word 2003 not getting saved to Normal.dot can come if there is some damage in your application. I think that your MS Office 2003, might have got corrupted due to some reasons giving this error. The MS Office 2003 usually gets corrupted if you are shutting down your OS improperly or due to Virus infection. So first try to scan your system with an updated anti virus and then you can reinstall the application. First try to detect and repair any problem in the MS Office. If the repairing is not working then you can go for the re-installation of the MS Office.

[ThoMas321]

Have you installed the Acrobat 7.0 in your system?? Several times it had happened that Microsoft Word doesn't retain preferences after you install Acrobat 7.0 usually if the operating system is Windows XP. The solution for this is, if you are creating the custom settings in Word very frequently, then press the Shift key and choose File > Save. You will have to ensure that it is available in your other Word documents whenever you create a custom settings. Word saves all custom settings to the normal.dot file. Installing Acrobat or Acrobat Elements 7.0 can prevent Word from automatically saving these changes.

[chroma]

I was having the similar issue when I installed the Acrobat 7 in my Windows XP. All I did is added the button Save All to the Tool Bar, and then I have to click it each time when I create a macro, preference, or custom setting. You can do the following steps to add the Save All button to the Tool bar in Word :

• First choose the Tools and then select the Customize options.
• Then click on the Commands tab.
• Select the file required from the list of categories and then from the list of commands select the Save All.
• Lastly click on OK and then close.

Hope that adding the Save Button will solve your problem too.

[Sam.D]

I think that reinstalling Office or Word does not fix a problem with a corrupt or virus-infected normal.dot file. Also the settings like the AutoText entries, custom toolbars, and macros are stored into Normal.dot . By using the Organizer you can copy these settings to a new normal.dot, template or other document. If you are making any changes to the Word settings or creating any macros that will change your normal.dot file, then you should make the backup of it regularly. You can use the Windows Explorer to create a copy of it.