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: Template Changing On Its Own.

Template Changing On Its Own

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 24, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Leszek uses customized templates (not the Normal template) for generating scientific reports. He then sends the reports out for review by others. Occasionally a document is returned and the custom template has been dropped and the Normal template is attached to the document. His assumption, considering his knowledge about the reviewers, is that it's unlikely someone is specifically changing the template. Leszek wants to find an explanation and solution for this occasional behavior.

How templates behave in relation to documents is a bit of a fuzzy area, with conflicting reports depending on the sources you read. According to everything we've been able to determine, when Word is started on a system, the Normal template is opened, by default. This is what allows many of your system customizations to be available, because they are stored in the Normal template. When you open another document that has a different template attached, that doesn't necessarily close the Normal document; it is still open so that (again) those customizations are available.

When you try to open a document that has a specific template attached and that template cannot be located, then what does Word do? This is where things get fuzzy. Some testing indicates that the template is "ignored," but the reference is still maintained in case the template is made available at some future opening of the document. It may be, however, that Word "falls back" to the Normal template when the specified template is not available. If a person then edits and saves the document (or, especially, uses Save As with the document), then the reference for the unavailable template may be tossed away and the Normal template used explicitly.

The only real solution to this matter that we can think of is to make sure that all of your users have the specified template on their systems. If you send the document to them via e-mail, you could also send the template and ask them to put it on their system so that the document that references it displays properly.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (11428) 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: Template Changing On Its Own.

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

Doubling Your Money

Make your money last longer by using your head when printing labels. Here's a great example of how you can double the ...

Discover More

Adding Phrases to the Grammar Checker

Word's grammar checker dutifully tries to mark all the questionable grammar in your sentences. If you are tired of a ...

Discover More

Determining a Paragraph's Style in VBA

When processing a document via a macro, it is often helpful to understand what style has been applied to a paragraph. You ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Preventing Changes to Styles in Documents

Have you ever created a template only to have the styles within it changed as they were used within a document? Here are ...

Discover More

Creating a Letterhead Template

Word is often used to write all sorts of letters. You may want to create a template that makes creating your letters ...

Discover More

Changing the Attached Template

Templates, when attached to a document, can greatly affect how that document looks. You can change from one template to ...

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?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


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.