Template and toolbars to distribute, not working, Help please!

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Phrank - 07 Apr 2006 22:46 GMT

Hello,

I've scoured this and other groups and have read all the posts and HOW
TO links for creating templates and toolbars and distributing them to
others. For some reason, it's just not working for me. I'd like to
post here a step by step of what I've done so that hopefully you can
help me figure out what I'm doing wrong. Here's what I've got and
what I'm doing: On my computer (Normal.dot template), I have a
toolbar with buttons to small macros I wrote. I also have an AutoOpen
macro that opens all documents in Final mode of track changes (the
only work around that I've found that consistently works). Now,
here's what I've done to try to share this:
1) Opened a new document.
2) Saved that document as Symbols.doc to a personal folder
3) Saved that Symbols.doc document as Symbols.dot to Word's Template
folder
4) Opened VBA to make sure the NewMacros module was in the Symbols.dot
project. It wasn't, so I copied the module from Normal.dot to
Symbols.dot
5) Emailed the Symbols.dot template to a coworked
6) Saved the Symbols.dot template to her Word Template folder
7) Opened Word and clicked Tools/Templates and Addins and added the
new Template.

Nothing happened, and nothing worked. When I open a document, it
still opens in track changes markup mode, and there's no toolbar. I've
also tried loading my template in the Startup folder on my computer to
see if that worked, and it doesn't. What could I be doing wrong?
This is a small thing that would mean a lot to my coworkers if I could
get it to work. I just don't have the time to go to each of their
computers and create these macros and toolbars individually. Thanks
for any help and advice.

Frank

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Charles Kenyon - 07 Apr 2006 23:30 GMT

See http://addbalance.com/word/movetotemplate.htm for step-by-step
instructions on moving / sharing / copying / backing-up customizations
including AutoText, AutoCorrect, keyboard assignments, toolbars, macros,
etc.

If possible you start by creating things in a template other than
normal.dot. If not possible, you port your customizations to the new
template. Macros first, then toolbars that use the macros. The new template
goes in a Word startup folder, not in the user or workgroup templates
folder.

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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://word.mvps.org/FAQs/ which is awesome!
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from my ignorance and your wisdom.

> Hello,
>
[quoted text clipped - 30 lines]
>
> Frank

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Phrank - 08 Apr 2006 13:03 GMT

Good morning, and thank you! That's a very interesting and fairly
clear set of instructions you have. I think part of the problem might
be that I wasn't putting the template in the startup folder. Another
part of the problem may be with the initial creation of the template.
We are using Office 2003 at work, and when I select File/New, I'm not
given the option to create a template. After the document is open, I
save it as a .dot file (and when I select the .dot option, Word
automatically goes to the Template folder). Is that doing the same
thing, or is it just superficially looking like it's doing the same
thing?

Also, for the macros module, is it ok just to drag and drop the
NewMacros module from the Normal.dot template into the new template
project?

Thanks very much for your help Charles!

Frank

>See http://addbalance.com/word/movetotemplate.htm for step-by-step
>instructions on moving / sharing / copying / backing-up customizations
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>goes in a Word startup folder, not in the user or workgroup templates
>folder.

Reply to this Message

Charles Kenyon - 08 Apr 2006 16:54 GMT

I group my macros into more meaningfully named modules than "NewMacros"
which is the module that holds recorded macros. However, this will break any
links from already created toolbar buttons.

If, in Word 2003, you click on "On my computer" you get the old dialog box.
Otherwise, you can add the command back to your menus/toolbars with
Customize. The command name is FileNewDialog and it is inserted with the
unhelpful name of "Other" which you might want to change.

I belive, but do not know, that when you create a new template based on a
template, you get the macros and toolbars, AutoText, etc. in the original
template. When you create a new document and then save as a template, these
attributes are probably lost. Again, I suspect these things; I haven't
checked.

Signature

> Good morning, and thank you! That's a very interesting and fairly
> clear set of instructions you have. I think part of the problem might
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
>>goes in a Word startup folder, not in the user or workgroup templates
>>folder.

Reply to this Message

Phrank - 09 Apr 2006 14:50 GMT

In Excel, I also named the modules with meaningful names, but with my
troubles here, I didn't want to touch the names until I figured out
what I am doing.

You talk about clicking on "On my computer", but I don't recall that
being in a menu or on the toolbar. Where is that found in Word?

As for creating a template from a document, I suspect you are right
that everything is lost. And herein, I believe, is my base problem -
I haven't been able to save a template based on the Normal.dot
template, nor have I been able to (or figured out how) to simply
create a new template (and build from scratch).

For your meaningfully named modules, do you start with the module and
macros and then add the toolbars? (In that order?)

Thanks Charles.

Frank

>I group my macros into more meaningfully named modules than "NewMacros"
>which is the module that holds recorded macros. However, this will break any
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>attributes are probably lost. Again, I suspect these things; I haven't
>checked.

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