WD2000: Where Settings Are Stored in the Registry

ID: Q212242

The information in this article applies to:
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

This article lists settings in the registry pertaining to Word 2000. The article is divided into the following sections:


MORE INFORMATION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

Main Locations of Word Settings

Most settings in Word are stored in the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word
Changes made to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER registry key are mirrored in the following registry key:
HKEY_USERS\Default\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word
The difference between the two locations is that the first one applies only to the current user of the system, and the other is the default for all users. Word entries are the same for both, however, so any change made to one is automatically reflected in the other.

For the remainder of this article, all references to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER subtree apply also to the HKEY_USERS subtree, except where noted.

Settings in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word

The settings that you may need to examine during troubleshooting are located in this key. The Data key and the Options key are the most frequently changed areas.

Data Key

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word\Data

This key contains binary information for most recently used (MRU) lists, including the MRU file list and the MRU address book list. It also contains other information such as Track Changes settings and Edit settings.

Options Key

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word\Options

This key stores those options that you can set from Word, either by changing menu options or by running the RegOptions macro. These are the editable options.

The settings fall into two groups: default settings and optional settings. Default settings are established during Setup, and you can change them by modifying options in Word. Optional settings are not created during Setup; to add them you must run the RegOptions macro (discussed later in this article).

The default settings located in the Options key, and their purpose, are as follows:

NOTE: Most of the following settings are not present in the registry until you make a change in Word and then quit Word.

Date and Time

To locate the following option in Word, click Date and Time on the Insert menu, select a format, and then click Default.
DefaultDateFormat: Contains the default date format for Word.

Editing

To locate the following options in Word, click Options on the Tools menu, and then click the Edit tab.
PICEDITCLASS: Contains the Picture Editor Word uses for editing pictures.

E-mail Options

ReplyMessageComment: Contains User Name for "Mark My Comments With". On the Tools menu, click Options. On the General tab, click the E-mail Options button and then click the Stationery tab.

Wordmail-Path: Contains WordMail directory path.

File Locations

To locate the following options in Word, click Options on the Tools menu, and then click the File Locations tab:
AUTOSAVE-PATH: Contains folder location for autosave documents.

DOC-PATH: Contains folder location for documents saved in Word.

INI-PATH: Contains folder location for User Options.

PICTURE-PATH: Contains folder location for Clip Art.

PROGRAMDIR: Contains folder location for Word program folder.

STARTUP-PATH: Contains folder location for the Startup folder.

TOOLS-PATH: Alternative folder location for proofing tools.
NOTE: The User and Workgroup template registry locations are located as follows:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Common\General

UserTemplates: Folder location for User templates.

SharedTemplates: Folder location for Workgroup templates.

Printing

To locate the following options in Word, click Options on the Tools menu, and then click the Print tab:

BackgroundPrint: Turns background printing on or off.

Saving

To locate the following options in Word, click Options on the Tools menu, and then click the Save tab:
BackgroundSave: Turns background saving on or off.

DefaultFormat: This key sets the default format for saving documents. You can change the default format by changing the Save Word Files As setting in Word.

Spelling and Grammar

To locate the following options in Word, click Options on the Tools menu, and then click the Spelling & Grammar tab:
AutoSpell: Turns automatic spelling checking on or off.

AutoGrammar: Turns automatic grammar checking on or off.

UpdateDictionaryNumber: Sets the default order for custom dictionaries.

Miscellaneous

FirstRun: Used to determine whether this is the first time you have run Word since installing.

NoEditTime: Turns on and off recording of edit time in statistics.

PlainTextAutoFormat: Sets Autoformat for WordMail documents.

StartWhatIsNew: Turns "What is New screen" on and off at startup.
The following are optional settings that can be created manually or through the use of the RegOptions macro:
Bak-Extension: Contains default extension for backup files.

BitMapMemory: Contains memory for internal graphics cache.

CacheSize: Contains internal document text cache for Word.

Doc-Extension: Contains the default extension for Word documents.

Dot-Extension: Contains the default extension for templates in Word.

OleDot: Contains the default template used to create document objects in Word or other OLE applications.

SlowShading: For printers with special drawing functions, allows shading of graphics.

Stationery Key

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word\Stationery

This key contains the default location for the template for WordMail and the links to find the template. The four settings here are:
Cfg File Location: Contains the path to the WordMail folder.

Default Template: Contains the path to the template (by default, Email.dot).

DlgDefTpl: Contains a link to the default template.

Option: Contains a link to the default template.

Wizards Key

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word\Wizards

All wizard defaults are stored here. These settings are created the first time you run a wizard.

Settings in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Common

This key is used by other Microsoft programs, such as the Office programs. Likewise, these settings are shared between programs. Changes made in one program's settings also appear in the other programs.
Assistant: Contains information about the chosen Office Assistant.

AutoCorrect: Contains the path to the .ACL file (which contains the AutoCorrect list) and lists the current settings for AutoCorrect.

FileNew: Contains paths for local and shared templates.

Internet: Stores settings for FTP sites and icons.

Open Find: Stores default settings for Open and Save dialog boxes in Microsoft Word, including current view and file name and MRU lists.

Toolbars: Sets Tooltips on or off and sets button sizes for toolbars.

Userinfo: Contains user information including address, name, and initials.

UserTemplates: Contains folder location for User templates.

SharedTemplates: Contains folder location for Workgroup templates.

Settings in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools

This key contains paths for all Windows applets such as Equation, WordArt, and Microsoft Graph. Paths for graphics filters and text converters are also registered in this location. There are two keys here that pertain especially to Word. One is the Graphics Filters key, which registers the import and export filters, and the other is the Text Converters key, which registers import and export converters. In addition, each filter and converter is registered individually. A list of clients using a filter, converter, or applet is listed under each tool.

Miscellaneous Settings

The .doc file name extension is registered in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT in several ways and can be found in the following registry roots:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Equation Editor options outlined in the RegOptions macro are registered in the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Equation Editor\3.0\Options\General
NOTE: Settings for General options (on the Tools menu, click Options and then click the General tab) do not appear unless options have been changed or set.

Using the RegOptions Macro

The RegOptions macro can be used to examine the Windows registry or to make changes to Word settings stored there.

For additional information about the RegOptions macro, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q230121 WD2000: What's Contained in Support9.dot and How to Install It

Additional query words: regedit reg 


Keywords          : kbdta wd2000 
Version           : WINDOWS:2000
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbinfo

Last Reviewed: July 27, 1999