Setting the Default Line Spacing

  • Thread starter Thread starter Sandy Mann
  • Start date Start date
S

Sandy Mann

I have to set every computer in my company to default to the font, Helvetica
55 Roman with Exactly 16 point line spacing. Setting the default font was
no trouble, there is a button to do just that. The only way that I could
find to set the line spacing was to create a new Template, then in Windows
Explorer, delete the existing 'Notmal.Dot' Template and rename my new
Template as 'Normal.Dot' This worked on every computer except one. On this
one it set the line spacing OK but as soon as I rename the Template it loses
AutoText, ( I have tried it several time and each time it is the same -
check Template - all OK - rename it - no AutoText!).

I have tried searching Google for previous questions that might answer this
but could not find any similar questions.

Is there any other way of setting the default line spacing in the
'Normal.Dot' Template? Or alternatively does anyone know why this computer
is losing Autotext?

Thank you for taking the time to read this request.

Regards

Sandy
 
Hi, Sandy,

I'm sorry to say you picked exactly the wrong way to set the defaults.
Replacing everyobody's Normal.dot template with your template (which I
assume was not originally a Normal.dot) has cost everybody whatever
customizations they had stored there. For a list of those customizations,
see http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Customization/WhatTemplatesStore.htm.

One of the things stored in Normal.dot is AutoText entries (unless another
template was specified in the AutoText dialog at the time they were saved).
That's why replacing Normal.dot with another template zapped the AutoText,
or at least replaced everybody's AutoTexts with whatever ones you had in
your template.

The proper way to change the settings for new blank documents is explained
in http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Customization/CustomizeNormalTemplate.htm.
What isn't discussed there, but is discussed at
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Customization/CreateATemplatePart1.htm, is
that you shouldn't usually mess with Normal.dot at all. Instead, create
custom templates specific to each type of document that your coworkers
regularly create, and train them to use File > New to base new documents on
those templates. You can place those templates in a shared folder and point
everybody's Workgroup Templates location there, or you can use a login
script to download a local copy to each workstation from a central server as
described at http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/MacrosVBA/DistributeMacros.htm.
 
Hi Sandy,

You should NOT screw around with your user's normal.dot template.

Rather you should place the template that contains the customizations that
you require in the user's workgroup templates directory and have them use
that template as the basis for corporate documents.

Please post any further questions or followup to the newsgroups for the
benefit of others who may be interested. Unsolicited questions forwarded
directly to me will only be answered on a paid consulting basis.

Hope this helps
Doug Robbins - Word MVP
 
Thank you Jay and Doug,

At least I have not destroyed anyone's custonizations - no one had made any.

The new template was based on the Normal.Dot template. I opened a new copy
of Word - thus got a document based on the original Normal.dot - changed the
line spacing to Exactly 16 point, saved it as a template as 'Normal1.Dot' I
therefore have a Template that it a Normal.Dot template in everything except
the line spacing. On everyone else's computer the AutoText was still there
and stayed when I renamed the template but on this one particular one, it is
here when it is called 'Normal1.Dot ' but not there when it is renamed to
'Normal.Dot'

The reason that I never just created an additional template was that some
people would not go to the trouble of opening via that template and would
just open Word and start typing away in the default line spacing, I
therefore wanted to change the default line spacing.

Anyway I haven't studied the pages you provided yet, looked at but not
studied), so I will do that now.

Thank you again

Sandy
 
The new template was based on the Normal.Dot template. I opened a new
copy
of Word - thus got a document based on the original Normal.dot - changed the
line spacing to Exactly 16 point, saved it as a template as 'Normal1.Dot' I
therefore have a Template that it a Normal.Dot template in everything except
the line spacing.
Click to expand...

This is *not* true. Only Word can create a true Normal.dot. See “WD2002:
Styles and AutoText Are Not Copied to New Template Based on Normal.dot” at
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=291441 for just one reason.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.
 
Thank you for the information Suzanne. I assume from that that you can get
Word to set the font in 'Normal.Dot' by use of the Default buton but it is
impossible to get it to set the line spacing?

Regards

Sandy
 
Sandy

You really need to read those articles at the MVP site as you are using a
sledge hammer to crack a nut. Line Spacing is a Style attribute, so you need
to save the LS At Least 16 point to the Normal Style. Styles are saved in
Templates - usually normal.dot. You really need to use company templates
that are set up to use company fonts and styles. If necessary, put a
shortcut on everyone's desktop that opens Word to a document based on a
company template.

--
Terry Farrell - Word MVP


Thank you for the information Suzanne. I assume from that that you can get
Word to set the font in 'Normal.Dot' by use of the Default buton but it is
impossible to get it to set the line spacing?

Regards

Sandy
 
Thank you Suzanne, Jay and Terry for your time, patients and especially
tolerance.

The only mitigation that I can offer up is that I was under a great deal of
pressure to perform the modifications instantly. The result, now that I
have taken the time to *REALLY* read what you have been so patiently trying
to tell me, is that I will now have to start from square one and do it right
this time. More haste less speed as they say.

I hope that I haven't blotted my copybook too much because it is obvious to
me that I will have to come back, cap in hand, in the future when other
things need doing.

Thank you all again.

Sandy
 
My last reply got zapped from the server so I will try again.

Thank you Suzanne, Jay. Terry and Doug for your time, patients and
especially
tolerance.

The only mitigation that I can offer up is that I was under a great deal of
pressure to perform the modifications instantly. The result, now that I
have taken the time to *REALLY* read what you have been so patiently trying
to tell me, is that I will now have to start from square one and do it right
this time. More haste less speed as they say.

I hope that I haven't blotted my copybook too much because it is obvious to
me that I will have to come back, cap in hand, in the future when other
things need doing.

Thank you all again.

Sandy
 
Hi Sandy,

I doubt you've earned any sort of black mark. You did listen,
which puts you above a fair number of the folks who come here
for help.

The biggest takehome lesson for you from this thread is an idea
I didn't see stressed as loudly as I would have, and that is:
You don't set a default font, linespacing, etc., for *Word*;
you set it for a *style*. Understanding styles is essential to
successful formatting in Word. (And not understanding them is
basically the expressway to hell....)

You'll be fine.
 
Well, today I managed to get around more that half of the 25 computers that
I have to re-update, wrestling the computer out of the user's grip when they
can see nothing wrong with the way that it is working is the hard bit, I
found that setting the Default Font & Line Spacing way you said was quite
easy. Why didn't you just tell me that in the first place? <g>

Seriously though, I really appreciate the help.

Regards,

Sandy

It's nice to be important but it's important to be nice.
 
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