renaming file

  • Thread starter Thread starter doug
  • Start date Start date
D

doug

I want to rename a file. Someone advised me to do this
but I don't know how to start:

(apparently this is in a hidden file)

word/tools/options/filelocation/usertemplates

I think that's the path. don't even know how to find
those folders to rename it. I looked repeatedly in all
the folder on my PC and I'm stumped

he'd said to "do it in Explorer with Word closed" which
further confused me 'cause Explorer is just for the Net
 
I suspect that the file is normal.dot.

When the person told you to do it in Explorer, I suspect he meant Windows
Explorer, not Internet Explorer.

Do it from within Windows.

Open your My Documents folder.

You want to access Folder Options. This will be under the View menu or the
Tools menu depending on your operating system.

Change the options so that your computer does not hide hidden or system
files.

Change the options so that your computer displays the extensions for known
file types.

Then close the options dialog and the My Documents folder.

Open "My computer" and press the F3 key. Search for normal.dot. While it may
be in the folder you described, it could be anywhere.

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://www.mvps.org/word which is awesome!
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
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.
 
This sounds like my advice :)

The file you are renaming is presumably normal.dot. That file is located in
a folder on your hard drive the location of which will vary according to
what operating system you are running.

The location of that file can be found from Word in the menu structure tools
options > file locations > user templates.
Click to expand...

You are confusing Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer. It is Windows
Explorer that we are concerned with here. You'll find it amongst the
programs installed in Windows from the Windows Start Menu.

When you have it running, select its Tools > Folder Options > View
Amongst the list of options is one to show hidden files and folders - check
that.
There is another to Hide extensions for known file types - uncheck that.
OK your way out of there.
You can now search for normal.dot and when you find it, rename it to
oldnormal.dot

You can then reset the File display options back as you had them before or
leave them as it is more useful to know what is on your machine than to let
things happen unseen.

If Word has crashed, then you'll need to clear up the mess before you change
the display back - see
http://www.gmayor.com/what_to_do_when_word_crashes.htm


--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>>< ><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

Web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site www.mvps.org/word
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>>< ><<>
 
As Graham says, Tools | Options | File Locations: User templates is not a
file path but the sequence of menu commands and buttons you need to find the
location of Normal.dot. Once you get the correct file path from that dialog,
you can search for it in Windows Explorer (which you may know under the name
My Computer). You can also use Windows Find or Search (from the Start menu)
to search for Normal.dot or choose Explore from the menu you get by
right-clicking on the Start button.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.
 
-----Original Message-----
Click to expand...

Thanks for all your willingness to help this week. I'm
the guy having trouble with normal.dot
(god, it's come to this....)

I think I've followed the directions and I've renamed the
old "normal.dot" and now the path reads
c:\programfiles\microsoftoffice\templates
but it seems not to have changed anything.
And when I open I new doc I still don't get the setting I
saved when I saved them to the new "normal.doc" (i.e.,
margins, font size). Is this all just an exercise in
futility? I hate to be a pain but I think it seems I
- did find the normal.dot
- did rename it.
- saved it as a template (ps it is not check as a hidden
file at the bottom but so what)
and yet it doesn't seem to have done anything
That's as succint as I can be
 
Hi Doug,

Please do not change the subject line in your messages when you are
continuing a conversation. Thank you.

Take a look at http://addbalance.com/word/defaultfont.htm. It has directions
for opening normal.dot and making changes. To change your default margins
you can follow the same process but change the margins instead of the fonts.
--

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://www.mvps.org/word which is awesome!
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
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.
 
I suspect the problem may have come in the part where you "saved it as a
template." It should not be necessary to save (except to answer yes when
prompted at closing). For more on customizing Normal.dot, see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/CustomizeNormalTemplate.htm

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.
 
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