Workstations Don't Use Same Word Preference/Option Settings (115715)

CAUSE

This problem occurs if either of the following files exists in the network server program directory (instead of in the user directory that you specified during the Workstation Setup):

Winword.opt

-or-
Normal.dot

NOTE: The Winword.opt file applies only to Microsoft Word version 6.x. Later versions of Word store option settings in the Windows registry.

Word (not Word Setup) creates the Winword.opt and the Normal.dot files in the server program directory. This occurs if the network administrator (or someone who has read, write, and create privileges in the Word program directory on the server) runs Word from the server installation before running a Workstation Setup to install Word on the workstation. Before you run the Workstation Setup, no references to the file locations exist in the Windows program directory, so when you quit Word the first time, it stores the Winword.opt and the Normal.dot files on the server in the directory where the Winword.exe program is located (the default location).

After a Winword.opt file or Normal.dot file exists on the server, Word uses these files every time it starts from any workstation, even if you have run a Workstation Setup and created a reference that points to another Winword.opt or Normal.dot location. This happens because, as Word starts, it checks for these files in the directory where the Winword.exe file resides. If it finds Winword.opt or Normal.dot in this location, it uses those files and does not read your reference file to attempt to find them in another location.

NOTE: In some cases it is desirable to have everyone use the same Normal.dot file and prevent any changes being made.

Infrequently, this problem also occurs if you ran the Workstation Setup at your workstation while you were running Windows from a different location (that is, from a location other than the one specified in your network logon script).

NOTE: Word Setup does not create Winword.opt or the Normal.dot files. Word creates new versions of these files any time you run the program and the files are not located. Therefore, this is a network administration issue rather than a Word Setup issue.

RESOLUTION

Perform all three of the following steps to resolve this problem and restore each user's preference and option settings in Word:

Quit all instances of Word running from the server. Rename or delete the Winword.opt and Normal.dot files in the network server directory.
Make sure the Word program directory on the network server and all files in that directory are flagged as read-only and shareable. You should not have write privileges in this server directory before you perform the Workstation Setup at the workstation.
Make sure you run a Workstation installation of Word at every workstation where the user has administrative rights (that is, full access to the Word program directory on the server). This process references that point to the correct location for your user's Winword.opt and Normal.dot files.

MORE INFORMATION

This section contains a description of the Word settings files (Winword6.ini, Winword.opt, and Normal.dot) and a discussion of the network installation of Word as it pertains to the problem addressed in this article.

Settings Files Summary

Winword6.ini primarily contains paths to file names. Setup installs this file in the user's Windows program directory, or in the Windows user directory if you are running Windows from a network server. (Microsoft Word Version 6.x only)

Winword.opt is a binary file that contains Word settings, including the Recently Used File (MRU) list, most of the settings in the (Tools menu) Options dialog box, and default bullet formats. Word (not Setup) creates this file the first time you run the program and places it in your user's Word directory. Word stores the location of your Winword.opt file in the Winword6.ini path as the INI-PATH setting. (Microsoft Word version 6.x only)

Normal.dot is the default document template that stores macros, toolbars, menus, keystrokes, AutoText, and AutoCorrect entries. This file should be located in the user's Template directory and is created after the user makes a change to one of the items mentioned above. This file is not created by Setup. It is referenced in the Windows registry file for Word Version 7.x or the Winword6.ini for Word Version 6.x.

Overview: Network Setup of Word

NOTE: This discussion assumes that you have a working knowledge of network operations and terminology. For network-specific information, see your network documentation.

To install Word so it runs from a network file server, go to a workstation and connect to the file server. Run the administrator's installation of Word (type setup /a at the command line). When Setup prompts you for the network directory for the main Word program, specify a path on the file server. Setup copies all the program files to this location. For more information about this process, see pages 768-770 in the "Microsoft Word User's Guide."

IMPORTANT: DO NOT RUN WORD AT THIS POINT! If you do, the problems described at the beginning of this article may occur. Before you run Word, you must first perform the following two steps:

Set the access privileges to read-only and shared for the server directories in which you installed Word. Refer to your MS-DOS or network operating system documentation for more information.
Run the workstation installation of Word at each workstation. This registers the Word program with your local Windows installation and creates references to file locations. If you do not run a workstation installation before you run Word from the network server, Word runs, but some operations do not function correctly, such as the spelling checker, grammar checking, and object linking and embedding (OLE ).

NOTE: If you are running Windows from a network server, the first workstation installation of Word makes all the necessary Windows-level changes. This means you need all access privileges to the shared Windows program directory, and that directory must not be read-only.