WD: Starting Word for Windows with a Template Other Than Normal

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c
• Microsoft word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
• Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

SUMMARY

By default, when you start Word, it opens a new document based on the Normal template (Normal.dot). You can however, specify an alternative template using a command-line switch. For versions of Word for Windows earlier than Word 7.x, use a combination of command-line switches and a WordBasic macro.

MORE INFORMATION

Word 7.0 and later

1. Create a shortcut for Word.

2. Right-click the shortcut. Click Properties.

3. Click the Shortcut tab and change the Target line to:

         c:\<WordFolder>\winword.exe /t<templatename>
   

   where <WordFolder> is the path to the Winword.exe program, and <templatename> is the full path to the template. If the path or the template file name uses a long file name, enclose the path and template name in quotation marks. Make sure there is no space between the /t switch and <templatename>.

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar.

For more information about controlling what happens when you start Word for Windows 95, version 7.0, point to the Help menu, click the Answer Wizard, type "start Word," click Search, and then click to view "Control what happens when you start Word."

If Word Help is not installed on your computer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q120802
   TITLE     : Office: How to Add/Remove a Single Office Program or
               Component

Word 6.x and Later

To have Word open a new document based on a template other than Normal.dot when Word starts, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Macro.

2. In the Macro Name box, enter the name of the template you want Word to use when it starts, such as Memo2, and click Create (click Edit in Word 2.x).

3. Between the Sub Main and End Sub statements, add the following macro statement:

        FileNew .NewTemplate = 0, .Template = "c:\winword\template\Memo2.dot"
   

   NOTE: Specify any valid template name for the .Template parameter.

   If any part of the path or the template file name uses long file names, you must enclose the .template argument inside double quotation marks, using the Chr$() function, This function returns a character that corresponds to the character code you specify. The code for a double quotation mark is 34, so the function looks like this

         Chr$(34)
   

   and the macro statement looks like this:

         FileNew .NewTemplate = 0, .Template = Chr$(34) +
        "c:\msoffice\templates\memos\Elegant Memo.dot"+ Chr$(34)
   

4. On the File menu, click Close. When prompted, choose to save changes to the global macro.

5. On the File menu, click Exit. In Word 2.x, choose to save global glossary and command changes when prompted.

6. Use one of the following procedures to set up different icons to start Word for Windows with your commonly used Word for Windows templates.

   a. Windows 95:

         1) Create a shortcut for Word.
   

         2) Right-click the shortcut. Click
            Properties.
   
         3) Click the Shortcut tab and change the Target line to:
   
               c:\<WordFolder>\winword.exe /m<macroname>
   
         For more information about how to perform this task in Windows
         95, see your Windows 95 printed documentation or online Help.
   
      b. Windows 3.x:
   
         1) In the Windows Program Manager, select the group where you
            want the new icon to appear.
   
         2) Create a new icon with the following text in the Command Line
            box:
   
               c:\<WordFolder>\winword.exe /n /m<macroname>
   
         For more information about how to perform this task in Windows,
         see your Windows printed documentation or online Help.
   
      The /n switch starts Word for Windows without opening a document.
      The /m<macroname> switch automatically runs the specified macro when
      Word for Windows is started. Note: There is no space between the /m
      switch and the macro name. <WordFolder> is the name of your Word for
      Windows folder.
   
      For example:
   
         c:\winword\winword.exe /n /mMemo2
   
   

7. Double-click the icon to start Word for Windows with the alternate template file.

   ARTICLE-ID: Q70014
   TITLE     : Word for Windows Startup Switches

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Word for Windows Getting Started," version 2.0, page 14