MORE INFORMATION
WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious
problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft
cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry
Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.
Main Locations of Word Settings
Most settings in Word are stored in the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word
Changes made to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER registry key are mirrored
in the following registry key:
HKEY_USERS\Default\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word
The difference between the two locations is that the first one
applies only to the current user of the system, and the other is the default
for all users. Word entries are the same for both, however, so any change made
to one is automatically reflected in the other.
For the remainder of
this article, all references to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER subtree apply also to the
HKEY_USERS subtree, except where noted.
Settings in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word
The settings that you may have to examine during troubleshooting
are located in this key. The Data key and the Options key are the most
frequently changed areas.
Data Key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word\Data
This key
contains binary information for most recently used (MRU) lists, including the
MRU file list and the MRU address book list. It also contains other information
such as
Track Changes settings and
Edit settings.
Options Key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word\Options
This key
stores those options that you can set from Word, either by changing menu
options or by running the RegOptions macro. These are the editable
options.
The settings fall into two groups: default settings and
optional settings. Default settings are established during Setup, and you can
change them by modifying options in Word. Optional settings are not created
during Setup; to add them you must run the RegOptions macro (discussed later in
this article).
The default settings located in the Options key, and
their purpose, are as follows:
NOTE: Most of the following settings are not present in the registry
until you make a change in Word and then quit Word.
Date and Time
To locate the following option in Word, click
Date and Time on the
Insert menu, select a format, and then click
Default.
DefaultDateFormat: Contains the default date format for Word.
Editing
To locate the following options in Word, click
Options on the
Tools menu, and then click the
Edit tab.
PICEDITCLASS: Contains the Picture Editor Word uses for editing pictures.
E-mail Options
ReplyMessageComment: Contains User Name for "Mark My Comments With". On the Tools menu, click Options. On the General tab, click the E-mail Options button and then click the Stationery tab.
Wordmail-Path: Contains WordMail directory path.
File Locations
To locate the following options in Word, click
Options on the
Tools menu, and then click the
File Locations tab:
AUTOSAVE-PATH: Contains folder location for autosave documents.
DOC-PATH: Contains folder location for documents saved in Word.
INI-PATH: Contains folder location for User Options.
PICTURE-PATH: Contains folder location for Clip Art.
PROGRAMDIR: Contains folder location for Word program folder.
STARTUP-PATH: Contains folder location for the Startup folder.
TOOLS-PATH: Different folder location for proofing tools.
NOTE: The User and Workgroup template registry locations are located
as follows:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Common\General
UserTemplates: Folder location for User templates.
SharedTemplates: Folder location for Workgroup templates.
Printing
To locate the following options in Word, click
Options on the
Tools menu, and then click the
Print tab:
BackgroundPrint: Turns background printing on or off.
Saving
To locate the following options in Word, click
Options on the
Tools menu, and then click the
Save tab:
BackgroundSave: Turns background saving on or off.
DefaultFormat: This key sets the default format for saving documents. You can change the default format by changing the Save Word Files As setting in Word.
Spelling and Grammar
To locate the following options in Word, click
Options on the
Tools menu, and then click the
Spelling & Grammar tab:
AutoSpell: Turns automatic spelling checking on or off.
AutoGrammar: Turns automatic grammar checking on or off.
UpdateDictionaryNumber: Sets the default order for custom dictionaries.
Miscellaneous
FirstRun: Used to determine whether this is the first time you have run Word since installing.
NoEditTime: Turns on and off recording of edit time in statistics.
PlainTextAutoFormat: Sets Autoformat for WordMail documents.
StartWhatIsNew: Turns "What is New screen" on and off at startup.
The following are
optional settings that can be created manually or through the use of the
RegOptions macro:
Bak-Extension: Contains default extension for backup files.
BitMapMemory: Contains memory for internal graphics cache.
CacheSize: Contains internal document text cache for Word.
Doc-Extension: Contains the default extension for Word documents.
Dot-Extension: Contains the default extension for templates in Word.
OleDot: Contains the default template used to create document objects in Word or other OLE applications.
SlowShading: For printers with special drawing functions, allows shading of graphics.
Stationery Key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word\Stationery
This
key contains the default location for the template for WordMail and the links
to find the template.
The four settings here are:
Cfg File Location: Contains the path to the WordMail folder.
Default Template: Contains the path to the template (by default, Email.dot).
DlgDefTpl: Contains a link to the default template.
Option: Contains a link to the default template.
Table of Authorities Key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word\Table of Authorities Categories
This key stores the
Category list that appears in the
Table of Authorities list when you press ALT+SHIFT+I or click
Mark Citation in the
Table of Authorities dialog box. The
Table of Authorities dialog box can be accessed by clicking
Index and Tables on the
Insert menu.
For example:
Category 1 "Cases"
Category 2 "Statutes"
Category 10 "10"
Wizards Key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word\Wizards
All
wizard defaults are stored here. These settings are created the first time you
run a wizard.
Settings in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Common
This key is used by other Microsoft programs, such as the Office
programs. Likewise, these settings are shared between programs. Changes made in
one program's settings also appear in the other programs.
Assistant: Contains information about the chosen Office Assistant.
FileNew: Contains paths for local and shared templates.
Internet: Stores settings for FTP sites and icons.
Open Find: Stores default settings for Open and Save dialog boxes in Microsoft Word, including current view and file
name and MRU lists.
Toolbars: Sets Tooltips on or off and sets button
sizes for toolbars.
Userinfo: Contains user information including
address, name, and initials.
UserTemplates: Contains folder location
for User templates.
SharedTemplates: Contains folder location for
Workgroup templates.
Settings in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools
This key contains paths for all Windows applets such as Equation,
WordArt, and Microsoft Graph. Paths for graphics filters and text converters
are also registered in this location. There are two keys here that pertain
especially to Word. One is the Graphics Filters key, which registers the import
and export filters, and the other is the Text Converters key, which registers
import and export converters. In addition, each filter and converter is
registered individually. A list of clients using a filter, converter, or applet
is listed under each tool.
Miscellaneous Settings
The .doc file name extension is registered in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
in several ways and can be found in the following registry roots:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Equation Editor options outlined in the RegOptions macro are
registered in the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Equation Editor\3.0\Options\General
NOTE: Settings for
General options (on the
Tools menu, click
Options and then click the
General tab) do not appear unless options have been changed or set.
Using the RegOptions Macro
The RegOptions (Registry Options) macro can be used to examine
the Windows registry or to make changes to Word settings stored there. For additional information about the RegOptions macro,
click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base:
237356
HOW TO: Access Sample Macros for Word 2000