Setting Defaults in MS Word 2000

Subject: Setting Defaults in MS Word 2000
From: Jean Hollis Weber <jean -at- jeanweber -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2003 14:58:20 +1000


Emily wrote,

Is there's a way to set defaults for various drawing and formatting options in MS Word 2000. For example, when I draw a text box, I'd like the line to be red by default. Or in tables, I'd like the default to be "don't allow rows to break across pages."

I seem to remember in a much earlier version of MS Word there was a file called normal.dot that I could adjust to specify the defaults I wanted. But I can't find any info on this right now.
In MS Word 2000, does such a file still exist, or is there some other mechanism I should know about?

Yes, normal.dot is still there, but some defaults don't seem to get stored there the way I would expect or prefer. For example, I can set defaults for text boxes and other AutoShapes that apply to the current document, but don't apply to any other document. To set a textbox default for the current document:
1) Create and format a textbox the way you want.
2) Select the textbox, right-click on it, then select Set AutoShape Defaults.

Other defaults are scattered around the program. For table properties, I think the best you can do is create a basic table and save it as AutoText, then insert the table when needed. This can be useful as you could define 2 or 3 "default" tables for different purposes and store them as AutoText, instead of having only the one default. For example, I often use a borderless table for page layout and a table with borders for data presentation.

Regards, Jean
Jean Hollis Weber
jean -at- jeanweber -dot- com
The Technical Editors' Eyrie http://www.jeanweber.com/
------------
Taming Microsoft Word 2000, 110 pages of tips and tricks for business and technical documents. http://www.jeanweber.com/books/tamewd2k.htm


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