Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Setting Your Default Document Directory.

Setting Your Default Document Directory

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 15, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Normally, Word starts looking for documents in the directory in which you started the program. If you want to change the default directory path, you can do so in the following manner:

Choose Options from the Tools menu. Word displays the Options dialog box.
Click on the File Locations tab. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The File Locations tab of the Options dialog box.

Make sure the Documents option is selected from the list of file types. (This is the first choice in the list, and is typically selected by default.)
Click on the Modify button. Word displays the Modify Location dialog box.
Use the controls in the dialog box to locate the directory you want used as the default document directory.
Click on OK. The directory you selected in step 5 should now appear in the Options dialog box.
Click on Close.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1170) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Setting Your Default Document Directory.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Picking a Contiguous Range of Cells

There are a variety of ways to pick a range of cells in Excel. Here are three of them you'll find useful.

Discover More

Understanding Ascending and Descending Sorts

When you sort information, Excel follows a set pattern of how your data is organized. This tip illuminates the burning ...

Discover More

Moving Between and Selecting Sheets with the Keyboard

Hate to take your fingers off the keyboard? Here's how you can move from worksheet to worksheet without touching the mouse.

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Word and Character Count Information

Using fields you can easily insert both the word and character counts for a document into the document itself. As those ...

Discover More

Inserting the Edit Time

One of the things that Word keeps track of is how long, in minutes, you've been editing your current document. This ...

Discover More

Sequentially Numbering Elements in Your Document

One of the most powerful and useful fields provided by Word is the SEQ field. This tip describes how you can use the ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 0 + 7?

2024-05-02 14:47:21

Amaia Oyón Blanco

Hi!
How can you show the dialog using vba code?
Thanks for your attention.

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.