#WORD DEFAULT SETTINGS FOR NEW DOCUMENT UPDATE#

Once you’ve changed a setting in Normal.dotm that setting will take effect in all documents based on that template.

It has no effect on any other document.Īll documents based on the Normal.dotm template – changes the setting in the template (in this case normal.dotm). This document only – the setting is saved in the current document only. People get confused at this and probably click OK not realizing its importance. Click on that and you’ll get this choice. Do you want it as the default setting for the current document or all documents based on the current template?įor example, the Font settings dialog has a ‘Set as Default’ button. When you make default changes to Word document settings, you’ll given a choice about where to save it. Normal.dotm is the foundation for many Word documents.Ī change to normal.dotm will affect any document (new or past) that’s based on that template. It’s all in Normal.dotm (before Word 2007 it was normal.dot). On top of all that, there’s other personal configuration items like AutoText and Building Blocks that have to be saved somewhere. All the basic styles (Normal, Heading 1 etc.) need a font, font size, justification and a myriad of other adjustments. It might not have any visible text but Word has to know what page size to use and many other basic settings. When you choose ‘Blank Document’ where does Word get the initial settings from?Īfter all, a ‘blank’ document isn’t really blank. That led to some questions from readers about normal.dotm and why it matters so much.

#WORD DEFAULT SETTINGS FOR NEW DOCUMENT UPDATE#

Before Christmas, Microsoft made another update blunder which deleted the key Microsoft Word normal.dotm file.

Word default settings for new document