WD2002: "Autoformat As You Type" Policies Do Not Take Effect (321785)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Word 2002
This article was previously published under Q321785

SYMPTOMS

If the Autoformat as you type policy settings are set using the Microsoft Office Policy Editor, these policies will not be applied to the appropriate settings in Microsoft Word. The following settings are affected:

Policy SettingRegistry Value
Straight quotes with smart quotesfSmartQuote_8_1
Ordinals (1st) with superscriptfNumSupScript_104_1
Fractions (1/2) with fraction characterfFraction_96_1
Symbol characters (--) with symbolsfEmDash_112_1
*Bold* and _italic_ with real formattingfBoldItalic_120_1
Internet and network paths with hyperlinksfHyperlink_200_1
Match parenthesesfAutoPair_144_1
Auto spacefSbDbSpace_152_1
Dash-like charactersfDbDashes_136_1
HeadingsfHeading_248_1
BordersfBotBord_296_1
TablesfTable_360_1
DatesfDate_344_1
Automatic bulleted listsfBulletList_264_1
Automatic numbered listsfNumberedList_280_1
First line indentfFirstIndent_312_1
ClosingsfClosing_328_1
Format beginning of list item like previous onefLeadInEmph_176_1
Set left indent on tabs and backspacefTabIndent_128_1
Define styles based on your formattingfAutoStyleDef_184_1
Insert memo closingfInsertOver_392_1
Launch Greetings WizardfAutoLetterWizard_408_1
Insert closingfInsertClosing_376_1

According to the Word10.adm policy template, these settings are stored in the following registry location: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word\Options\vpref]

CAUSE

These settings in the Word10.adm policy template are incorrectly placed in the vpref structure: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word\Options\vpref] These setting should exist in the Assist structure: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word\Options\Assist]

RESOLUTION

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that this article describes. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The global version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel. 
   Date         Time   Version      Size    File name
   ----------------------------------------------------
   27-OCT-2002  13:46            66,517  Word10.adm
   27-OCT-2002  13:48            65,851  Word10.opa

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, you can modify the Word10.ADM file to have the settings placed in the correct location of the registry. To modify the Word10.ADM template, follow these steps:
  1. Open Windows Explorer, and then locate the Word10.ADM file. This file is typically located in the following folder: c:\Windows\inf\Word10.ADM.
  2. Make a backup copy of the Word10.ADM file. To do this, select the file in Windows Explorer, click Copy on the Edit menu, and then click Paste. You now have a file named Copy of Word10.ADM.
  3. Open the Word10.ADM file in Notepad. To do this, click Start, click Run, type notepad.exe c:\Windows\inf\Word10.inf, and then click OK.
  4. Locate the following section in the template:

    CATEGORY "AutoFormat as you type"
    KEYNAME Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word\Options\vpref

  5. Change the KEYNAME value to the following:

    Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word\Options\Assist

  6. Locate the following section in the template:

    CATEGORY "Replace as you type"
    KEYNAME Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word\Options\vpref

  7. Change the KEYNAME value to the following:

    Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word\Options\vpref

  8. Locate the following section in the template:

    CATEGORY "Apply as you type"
    KEYNAME Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word\Options\vpref

  9. Change the KEYNAME value to the following:

    Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word\Options\Assist

  10. Locate the following section in the template:

    CATEGORY "Automatically as you type"
    KEYNAME Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word\Options\vpref

  11. Change the KEYNAME value to the following:

    Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word\Options\Assist

  12. On the File menu click Save.
  13. On the File menu, click Exit.
At this point the Word10.ADM file has been modified. Reopen the policy editor, set the settings that you want for the Autoformat policies, and then save your settings. The Policy is now enforced in Word 2002.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

The Office Profile Wizard uses the same structure to write settings as does Policy deployment. Therefore, due to the issue that is documented in this article, use of the Internet and network paths with hyperlinks setting can cause the AutoRecover setting being incorrectly set to 266 instead of being set to 10.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/18/2005
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbfix kbOfficeXPPreSP2fix kbprb KB321785
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.