Normal.dot Revisited Continued

[Kevin]

This thread started near the end of Karen Wright's:

Word : Adding and Removing References

As we left that thread I was about to comment on Chris Greaves reply at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.wopr.com/cgi-bin/w3t/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=vb&Number=47942&page=0& view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&vc=1#Post47942>this post</A>

Ahem....

Regardiing the use of a batch file to start Word in order to blast the Normal.dot. That's ok for the island of a Word user (I guess) as Chris indicates he is such an island. My use for such a batch file would be to search for and destroy any and all Normal.dots that exist anywhere on the C: drive EXCEPT in the location indicated by the users "User Template" file location setting. This setting is stored in the registry and a nice call from a wscript executable could get the location and delete all but the normal.dot in that location.

Why is it important to remove these rogue Normal.dots? Let's see what the experts have to say... to be continued.

[chrisgreaves]

While we're waiting for the experts .....


Normal.dot is the target-of-choice for MSword virus writers.

It ought, therefore, to make sense for large corporations, more so than me and my pelagoniums, to avoid dependence on Normal.dot as much as possible.

1) Why have Normal.dot at all? Answers such as "AutoCorrect, Autotext" are valid, in which case a user ought manage a separate file and copy it over Normal.dot just as I do. After all, if you're Normal.dot is so important to you, why risk corrupting your only copy? It's not a big deal to manually copy your Normal.dot back over your protected copy after you have made changes. As a bonus, my BATch file copies the current Normal.dot to a file named for the second of the minute, so i have an audit trail of previous versions.

2) If an individual doesn't have compelling reaosns to maintain a personal Normal.dot, then copy in the corporate standard each time Word is loaded.


The proof of the pudding isin the eating. About once every two months I get to telephone an unwitting colleague who has emailed me a virus. The thing pops up, and I laugh! That's how secure I feel.

[JustCallMeAl]

"pelagonium" had me going. Couldn't find it at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.dictionary.com>http://www.dictionary.com</A>. That was because it is spelled "pelargonium."

So, just you and your plants.....

[Kevin]

Ah, coffee and chocolate, Bellevedere; the experts have arrived and we must not disappoint them...

Your point on avoiding viruses is well spoken; however, would not an anti-virus program also keep the ######s at bay?

So how do you (would you) handle the situation where user Q has created a small library of macros that must be at the ready for a day's compositions?

What if Word is started via a double-click on an email attachment or on a filename in a folder listing. Does Word still start via the batch file?


>>The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

I especially appreciate that you have quoted this saying correctly. Your example moves you to the head of the class. We English majors are called upon so infrequently for any useful purpose; we are compelled, therefore, to applaud accuracy and correct its converse wherever we may find it. (Since English majors pretty much teach or panhandle, our professors told us we could do this and society will put up with it.)

When criticized for ending sentences with prepositions, Winston Churchill once said in defense of his use of the English language (and I paraphrase): "Ending sentences with a preposition is a constructural abomination up with which I will not put!"

Pass the flagon...

[chrisgreaves]

Tell Big Al I would have spelled pelagonium coectly had my keyboad been cleaned, but it didn't seem gemane at the time. It's cean now and working very we.

>however, would not an anti-virus program also keep the ######s at bay?

Apparently not. I keep getting emails from sites that, they tell me, have the latest anti-Fprot etc in place.

Logic WILL defeat a Normal.dot virus. Think about it. The virus HAS to live in Normal.dot so that it can infect documents. By deleting Normal.dot at every opportunity, you remove its breeding ground. Like running the lawnmower over the pelagoniums. They never get a chance to come to fruition.


>user Q has created a small library of macros that must be at the ready for a day's compositions?

Same way for user CPRG: They are maintained as an "application macro" in their own folder and a copy is made of the template to the Startup template as part of the production process. Post you my Zipper.bat file if you like. I have 27 templates that contain various applications and utilities. Each has its own folder. Zipper.bat copies the DOT to the Startup, so I run off a fairly stable template as part of my regular work. maybe once a week I tweak a mcro, then rerun Zipper.bat and get on with life.


> Does Word still start via the batch file?

Yes. You can hunt in vain for WinWord.exe on MY system!


>>>The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Now my "h" key is sticking. I was trying to boi off the bandy by applying eat.




BTW, if you were serious about bailing wire, you'd have to weave it well otherwise you'd be doing more siveing than baling!

[Kevin]

By all means, forward the zipper.bat!

As the haystack said to the needle, "You've got a point there!"

[Kevin]

Are your delphiniums as independent of Normal.dot as your pelagoniums?

[chrisgreaves]

> As the haystack said to the needle,

Eye!



OK. Here'tis. Let me know if there's anything you don't understand.


I keep all my products (hah!) in d:greavesproducts as
<pre>d:greavesproductsdocledocle043.dot
d:greavesproductsfilesfiles087.dot
etc
</pre>


Besides the template, each product folder holds a WhatFAQ.doc and a UserGuid.doc both relevant to the product.

As well d:greavesproducts holds common files such as Readme.txt and License.txt



When I am ready to release a version of a template, I open the template from its product folder (File, Open, d:greavesproductsdocledocle043.dot) and immediately save it in d:greavesproducts. I use Payne Consulting's Code Cleaner to compact out the debris.


Then from the DOS command prompt I issue :
<pre>Zipper DocLe
</pre>


The current Docle043.dot is copied to my Startup folder, all other versions Docle*.dot are deleted from there.

A Zip file is created in d:greavesadminweb2--150megs ready for upload to my downloads site.


Hope this makes sense.





<pre>REM Zipper.bat Chris Greaves Thursday, June 1, 2000

if "

[chrisgreaves]

You're thinking of the dormouse and the doctor, right?

[Kevin]

Chris,

...delphiniumns blue and chrysanthemums red...

A.A. Milne

How many other "When We Were Very Young" poems do you know?

[Kevin]

Well, ahem, shall we say that your batch file is adequately... um, er... distinct.

No exactly easy to follow let alone implement -- unless you are Mr. Greaves himself, I'm sure.

I started my tome on Why Rouge Normals Must Be Deleted. Not yet suitable for publication.

[chrisgreaves]

About half. I have a brain of adiposity.

[Kevin]

Splendid. And do you like butter or marmalade on your bread? The alderny would like to know...

[chrisgreaves]

> No exactly easy to follow let alone implement

I have problems maintaining some of these things because when i wrote them, I wasn't oo keen on using internal BATch file variables up at the head to define the operating environment, and they aren't really documented for general distribution.

That written, consider the idea behind it - that I can rollout a fresh version to my web site AND local startup directory simultaneously. If someone d/l a template from my site, I'm using the same copy right here. That's a bit of a bonus in terms of tracking problems.

[Kevin]

Got to thinking about this statement again

>> Why have Normal.dot at all?

I remember a time when I attempted to make Normal.dot a file non-grata but preventing Word from updating it when a user exited Word. I was thinking that my code would make the necessary changes and the user would live with those and all would be well in the Kingdom of Kevin. Whoa!

That was one big mistake. Word still worked, but too many weird things happened that stopped when I learned the right way...