Alternate startup path (Word 2000 SR-1)

[gwhitfield]

hi,

I've just become aware of an unusual "feature" of Word.

A user had a problem with an old version of an add-in. I could not find it under any of the startup or template paths specified under "Tools, Options, File Locations". All these templates are on the LAN.

I finally found the offending template on C:Program Files/Microsoft Office/Office/Startup - any templates in there are executed in preference to the templates in the user specified startup location.

Has anyone else seen this problem?

Thanks

Geoff

[BerylM]

It's not *supposed* to be a problem - that's the default location for the Word97 extra templates - that is, ones that are open for use, but not visible on the screen (the equivalent of 'hidden' .xls's such as personal.xls in XL97, I suppose). It's a good place to put a template containing macros you want people to be able to use without allowing them to get at and/or change them - also to be able to install a template with said macros and change/update it whenever you (IT people) want without overwriting their normal.dot each time.

The place to remove/change it in O97 (sorry, I will get into O2K eventually, but I haven't got it here at work so I can't check) is Tools, Options, File Locations, Startup; should be somewhere similar in O2K.

HTH

Why W2K is picking it up though is beyond me!

[gwhitfield]

Beryl,

Thanks for that.

It's NOT the location specified under Tools, File Locations. All locations specified there are on the LAN. These seems to be an additional (undocumented?) startup folder.

I do have a template in the startup folder as specified- but in this case, there was an older one also on that C: startup folder- and that took precedence over the one specified.

The only article I found in MS said nothing about the "extra" startup location, only about the one specified- but then, I didn't spend a lot of time- any idea how many articles you get searching for startup & word?