A custom menu is duplicated, or a custom menu does not appear at all in Word (895507)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office Word 2003
  • Microsoft Word 2002
  • Microsoft Word 2000

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Word, a custom menu is duplicated on the menu bar. Or, the custom menu does not appear at all.

CAUSE

This problem occurs when the following conditions are true:
  • The custom menu is part of a template that is added through the Templates and Add-Ins dialog box.
  • The custom menu was modified when it was added in Word.
This problem occurs because Word does not store the custom menu in the template that it was originally created in. Word stores changes to menus and to other toolbar items in the Normal.dot global template.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, you must rename the Normal.dot global template. Word will re-create the template when you start the program. To rename the Normal.dot global template for Microsoft Office Word 2003, follow these steps:
  1. Right-click Start, and then click Explore.
  2. Double-click the following folder:

    C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates

  3. Right-click the Normal.dot file, and then click Rename.
  4. Type oldnormal.dot, and then press ENTER.
  5. Close Windows Explorer.
To rename the Normal.dot global template for Microsoft Word 2002 and Microsoft Word 2000, follow these steps:
  1. Right-click Start, and then click Explore.
  2. Double-click the following folder:

    C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates

  3. Right-click the Normal.dot file, and then click Rename.
  4. Type oldnormal.dot, and then press ENTER.
  5. Close Windows Explorer.
Note When you rename the Normal.dot global template, several settings are reset to the default settings. These settings include custom styles, custom toolbars, macros, and AutoText entries. Therefore, we recommend that you do not delete the Normal.dot global template.

If the computer has more than one Normal.dot global template, make sure to rename the correct copy of the Normal.doc global template. More than one Normal.dot global template may be present in the following scenarios:
  • Multiple versions of Word are running on the same computer.
  • Several workstation installations exist on the same computer.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

MORE INFORMATION

If you want to modify the menu items on a custom menu that you added by using the Templates and Add-ins dialog box, you must open the template to make the modifications in the original file. To modify menu items that are included in a template, follow these steps:
  1. On the Tools menu, click Templates and Add-Ins.
  2. Under Global templates and add-ins, click the first item in the list, and then click Remove.
  3. Repeat step 2 for each item in the list.
  4. Click OK.
  5. On the File menu, click Open.
  6. In the Files of type box, click Document Templates (*.dot).
  7. Locate the document template that you want to modify, and then click Open.
  8. Click View, point to Toolbars, and then click Customize.
  9. Change the menu items that you want to change, and then click Close.
  10. On the File menu, click Save. Then, close the template.
  11. Repeat step 5 through 10 for each template that you want to modify.
  12. On the Tools menu, click Template and Add-Ins.
  13. Under Global templates and add-ins, click Add.
  14. Locate the template that you want to add, and then click OK.
  15. Repeat step 13 and 14 for each template that you want to add.
  16. Click OK.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:3/23/2006
Keywords:kbToolbar kbMenu kbtshoot kbprb KB895507 kbAudEndUser
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