Word includes a setting in the Options dialog box that allows you to specify a default directory for your documents. This is handy, but there may be times you want to start Word using a different default directory. There is no inherent method to specify multiple directories, but you can create different shortcuts for Word that will start in different directories. If you are using Word 97, follow these steps:
Figure 1. The File Locations tab of the Options dialog box.
Now, when you double-click on the shortcut, Word starts and cannot find the default document directory you specified. As a "fall back" it uses the directory specified in the shortcut. This means you can create additional shortcuts, each of which could point to a different default document directory.
These steps don't work in Word 2000 or Word 2002. While you can follow them, they will not give the desired results. Word 2000, if it cannot find the c:\dummy directory, will not fall back to what is set in the properties for the shortcut. Instead, it will default to the Desktop. Word 2002 is similar, except that it defaults to the My Documents folder.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1831) applies to Microsoft Word 97.
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