What's Stored in the WINWORD.OPT File?

ID: Q121251

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c

SUMMARY

The WINWORD.OPT file is a binary file that Word for Windows creates to store user preference settings. Word stores your WINWORD.OPT file in the location listed in the INI-PATH statement in the [Microsoft Word] section of your WINWORD6.INI.

This article lists the information that Word stores in WINWORD.OPT.

MORE INFORMATION

Word stores the following settings in the WINWORD.OPT file, which it updates each time you quit Word:

Tools Options Dialog Box

   Tab Option      Settings Stored in WINWORD.OPT
   ----------      ------------------------------

   AutoFormat      All settings.

   Save            All settings except the settings under File Sharing
                   Options, which Word stores with each document.

   View            All settings.

   General         All settings except the Help For WordPerfect Users and
                   Navigation Keys For WordPerfect Users options, which
                   Word stores as the WPHelp setting in the [Microsoft
                   Word] section of your WINWORD6.INI file.

   Grammar         All settings, including those in the Customize
                   Grammar Settings dialog box.

   Edit            All settings except the Picture Editor setting.
                   Word stores the Picture Editor as the PICEDITCLASS
                   entry in the [Microsoft Word] section of your
                   WINWORD6.INI file.

   Print           All settings except the Print Data Only for Forms
                   option, which Word stores with each document, and the
                   DefaultTray setting, which Word stores as DefaultBin in
                   the printer driver sections of your WINWORD6.INI file.

   Revisions       All settings.

   Spelling        All settings.

   User Info:      Any changes you make to the address portion of the
                   Mailing Address setting after you install Word. Word
                   stores the Name, Initials, and the Company Name portion
                   of your Mailing Address settings as part of your Word
                   program file (WINWORD.EXE).

   Compatibility   Word does not store any of the Compatibility Options and
                   Font Substitutions settings in WINWORD.OPT. Instead,
                   Word stores these options with each document. Word also
                   stores the Font Substitutions settings in your
                   MSFNTMAP.INI file.

   File Locations: Word does not store any of the File Locations settings
                   in WINWORD.OPT. Instead, Word stores these settings
                   in the [Microsoft Word] section of your WINWORD6.INI
                   file.

Drawing Layer Settings

• All settings in the Snap To Grid dialog box. (To open the Snap To Grid dialog box, choose the Snap To Grid button on the Drawing toolbar.)
• All drawing object properties, such as line color, line weight, fill color, fill pattern, arrowhead styles, callout styles and the settings in the From boxes on the Size and Position tab. Each time you change a setting in the Format Drawing Object or Format Callout dialog box, Word records the change in both the drawing object and in your WINWORD.OPT file as a drawing object default.

Other Settings

• The Track Status option in the File Routing Slip dialog box. (To open the File Routing Slip dialog box, choose Add Routing Slip or Edit Routing Slip from the File menu.)
• The default view mode (for example, normal, outline, master document, or page layout view) and the default View Zoom settings.

       Note: Word also stores view mode and View Zoom settings with each
       document so the document opens in the same view mode and zoom setting
       it was in when you last saved the document.
  

• All active window properties (for example, maximized or minimized).
• AutoCorrect settings from the Tools AutoCorrect dialog box. Word does not, however, store the actual AutoCorrect entries in WINWORD.OPT (located in the list under the Replace Text As You Type option in the Tools AutoCorrect dialog box); instead, Word stores these in NORMAL.DOT.
• Printer heuristics, which you can change by choosing Envelopes And Labels from the Tools menu and then choosing the Options button.
• Custom label sizes, which you can change using the Mail Merge command or the Envelopes And Labels command on the Tools menu. (To set a custom label size, use the Mail Merge Helper or choose Envelopes And Labels from the Tools menu, select the Labels tab, choose the Options button, and then choose the Details button.)
• The Global Templates And Add-ins list, located in the File Templates dialog box.
• The Confirm Conversions option, located in the File Open and the Open Data Source dialog box. (To open the Open Data Source dialog box, choose Database from the Insert menu and then choose the Get Data button.)
• The six bullet characters displayed under Bullet Character in the Modify Bulleted List dialog box. (To open the Modify Bulleted List dialog box, choose Bullets And Numbering from the Format menu, select the Bulleted tab, and then choose the Modify button.)
• The files on the Recently Used File List, located at the bottom of the File menu.
• The fonts on the Recently Used Font List, located at the top of the drop down font list in the Formatting toolbar.
• The List list items in the Format Style dialog box.
• All settings in the View Toolbars dialog box.
• The Show Tips at Startup setting, located in the Help "Tip of the Day" dialog box.
• Screen location.
• Docking positions of toolbars.
• Settings in the Sort Options dialog box.

Version           : 6.0 6.0a 6.0c
Platform          : WINDOWS

Last Reviewed: February 5, 1998