Word 2010 Macros disappear when Word is closed

Anonymous
2011-01-17T14:38:14+00:00

Hi folks,

I've been using Word since the beginning of time and using simple macros in Word to increase efficiency.  I recently upgraded (or downgraded) to Word 2010 and now the macros disappear when I close Word.  I've checked everywhere to fix this annoyance and changed the Trust Centre settings to enable macros, made sure I'm saving them in the correct template, even checked the add-ins.  What was once a simple and elegant little function has morphed into a complicated labryinth of settings.  I thought software upgrades were to make the process more intuitive and simple but here I've spent over an hour trying to find a solution.  The 90 days of support for Office is a joke. After phoning in to 1-800-668-7975 I went through 10 questions with the 'electronic host. ' Finally you get a person who refers you to the Word Professional support person who then tells you to go to a website and search the forums. I've been a support of Microsoft products for years but I think this is the beginning of the end for Microsoft. Windows 7 is certainly a big improverement over the last two OSs but Office Word 2010 is a pain.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2011-01-17T15:24:33+00:00

Word 2010 stores macros in the same manner as earlier versions - in templates, documents and by default the normal template.

If you have an old normal.dot file with your macros from an earlier Word version, rename the Word 2010 normal template (normal.dotm) to oldnormal.dotm with Word closed.

Put the old normal.dot file in the same folder as oldnormal.dotm and restart Word. Word will read the old template and create a new normal template. From Word Options > Advanced > Save - Check the option to prompt to save the normal template (and preferably the option to create backups). Close Word and you should get a prompt to save the normal template. Save it!

Remove the old normal.dot from the folder and restart Word. Your macros should be available. Whether they will work correctly in Word 2010 rather depends on what they do.

If you don't have an old normal.dot file - just complete the other steps. You will have to add macros to the resulting template.

By default the Word Startup and User Templates folders are trusted folders. If you have moved those locations from the default settings you will need to add the folders to the trusted folders list.

Graham Mayor - Word MVP

www.gmayor.com

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-11-25T14:39:06+00:00

    When I go to the Developer tab and click the Document Template button it shows that the Document template is "Normal".  There are no items displayed in the box for "Global templates and add-ins"

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  2. Stefan Blom 352.5K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2011-11-24T18:47:11+00:00

    The "traditional" dialog box for global templates is the Templates and Add-Ins dialog. If you have the Developer tab showing in Word, you can click the Document Template button on that tab. Or you could click File tab | Options | Add-Ins; in the "Manage" drop down, choose "Templates" and click Go.

    The location for the templates mentioned above is in the Startup folder (in your user profile) or in the Startup folder in the Program Files folder. To locate these folders, make sure to display hidden files and folders (in Windows Explorer).

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-11-24T15:17:03+00:00

    Note that this problem occurred as soon as I set up my computer about 2 years ago - so never worked - until I got it to work yesterday. 

    The only Add-in now is MIcrosoft Business Contact Manager - which is made to work with Outlook.

    I also use Microsoft's anti-virus program - Security Essentials - so no third-party antivirus program.

    You mention a different dialog box for "traditional (Startup folder template)", but perhaps you could direct me to where to find this other dialog box.

    Thank you

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  4. Charles Kenyon 170.9K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2011-11-24T14:25:56+00:00

    In more than ten years on these forums I've never seen a problem with saving normal that couldn't be traced to an Add-In or a network policy. I would be very surprised if your problem is in Word, itself. Maybe yours is the first time; maybe I haven't been watching.

    I'm confident that Microsoft generated Add-Ins will not necessarily be exempt from causing problems. They aren't necessarily written by people that cognizant of Word but rather by people working in other programs to use Word features. Microsoft is a big company; Word is a very complex program. I think there may be several people (Word MVPs past and present) who have a good grasp of Word's ins and outs. They don't work for Microsoft.

    Both of the Add-Ins you mention are COM; do you have any listed under traditional (Startup folder template) Add-Ins? This is viewed in a separate dialog box.

    (I know that at one point I was doing things with Word that Microsoft didn't know could be done. I used to be on the bleeding edge of word processing technology. I've got the scars to prove it! One thing I learned was to never expect a new release from MS - or other companies - to be without problems. I still shudder when I recall Dos 3.0. I digress to avoid starting cooking.)

    Happy Thanksgiving.

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