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


1

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:

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

  4. 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.)
  5. Click on the Modify button. Word displays the Modify Location dialog box.
  6. Use the controls in the dialog box to locate the directory you want used as the default document directory.
  7. Click on OK. The directory you selected in step 5 should now appear in the Options dialog box.
  8. 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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Replacing Text Selections

When editing a document, Word normally replaces whatever text you select with whatever you start to type. Here's how to ...

Discover More

Inserting a Sound File in Your Worksheet

Some worksheets are better understood through the spoken word or with musical accompaniment. Sound files can be easily ...

Discover More

Maintaining Formatting when Inserting Documents

Word allows you to easily insert the contents of one document into another. Doing so, however, may result in unintended ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Inserting a Cross-Reference to an Item in a List

When you create a list using the SEQ field, you may want to create a cross-reference to an item in that field. You can do ...

Discover More

Referencing Fields in Another Document

Sometimes you may have two documents that are so integrally related to each other that the one document may require the ...

Discover More

Limiting Directories in the FILENAME Field

When you use the FILENAME field in a document, it can include the full path name that leads to your file. This might be ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is eight minus 3?

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.

Videos
Subscribe

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

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.