How can I make Word 2013 open in Draft View by default?

Anonymous
2013-04-16T04:27:08+00:00

I use Word 2013 on a 14" laptop and the default view, Print Layout, is a colossal waste of space, but I can't get the program to open in Draft View by default. Have done the following:

  • Changed settings to "allow documents to open in Draft View"
  • Saved documents in Draft View...they re-open in Print Layout
  • Tried to change New Document template to Draft View but new documents still only open in Print Layout.

I hope that the answer is not "you have to change to draft view every single time you open a document." There are already a lot more clicks / action in Word 2013 than in previous versions.

Have searched forums but there doesn't seem to be an answer for this in Word 2013.

Thanks for your assistance.

BP211

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Jay Freedman 208.3K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2013-04-16T19:49:33+00:00

Follow the instructions at http://www.gmayor.com/installing_macro.htm to put the following two macros into a module in the Normal.dotm template:

Sub AutoOpen()

    ActiveWindow.View.Draft = True

End Sub

Sub AutoNew()

    ActiveWindow.View.Draft = True

End Sub

The first will run automatically every time you open an existing document, and the second will run when you create a new document.

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Answer accepted by question author
Jay Freedman 208.3K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2013-04-19T03:51:09+00:00

That one's hidden about as deeply as possible. A lot of the things in the Options dialog are properties of the Options object in VBA, so you can say things like Options.Overtype = False. Controlling the draft font display is not one of those things. :-(

Actually, it's a throwback to Word 2003 and earlier. The Dialogs collection includes a member called Dialogs(wdDialogToolsOptionsView), which refers to a tab of the Options dialog that no longer exists (and of course the Options command isn't on the Tools menu, which doesn't exist). That dialog has an argument named DraftFont, which is a boolean (true/false) value. So this is how you do it:

Sub AutoOpen()

Dim dlg As Dialog

Set dlg = Dialogs(wdDialogToolsOptionsView)

With dlg

    .DraftFont = False

    .Execute

End With

ActiveWindow.View.Draft = True

End Sub

and similarly for AutoNew().

By the way, both your original problem and this one point the the probability that there's something amiss in your Windows registry, because these things should be saved there automatically. This trouble sometimes happens when you have certain third-party add-ins or other programs that interfere with Word's ability to write to the registry. There can also be misconfiguration of the permissions for certain parts of the registry. If you think that working with macros is harrowing, you don't want to know how to troubleshoot the registry. If these two macros solve the problem, leave well enough alone.

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-12-02T19:26:39+00:00

    You all are so right that unchecking "Use draft font in Draft and Outline views" got the fonts working again!  I wish I had posted here before calling MS Support.  I was really surprised at how little their “Assure” experts knew about their own software. I was teaching them keyboard shortcuts. (CRTL-ALT-N = switch to draft mode).

    I also didn’t know that you all would be so quick to respond here at MS Community.  Thanks! I will keep coming back.

    That being said, Stephan’s macro may work, but the “Idiots' guide to installing macros” that Jay Freedman posted (http://www.gmayor.com/installing_macro.htm) did not match what I saw on the screen with Word 2013. I tried to adapt it, and that is where “operator error” may have crept in.

    Do you have any advice about the best place to learn how to set up macros in Word 2013?  I think I need to learn the basics of macros before trying to change how every document opens.

    My situation is that I am trying to make the leap from Word 2002 to Word 2013.  I need to use as many keyboard shortcuts as possible because I have a disability that makes it difficult and painful to click the mouse.

    There are several other situations that used to be easy with keyboard shortcuts and now require many keystrokes.  Should I start a new discussion for each of those? For example :

    1. “Print current page” now requires about 10 keystrokes instead of 2. Is there a keyboard shortcut? I read online that I must create a macro.

    2.  After searching a Word document, switching from the “navigation pane” to the document used to be one tab key, now it’s impossible without mouse click -- according to paid “MS Assure” expert.   I do have a voice-activated mouse click through Dragon, but it takes a lot longer than a keystroke.

    There are more, but I'll stop here for now.  Thank you!

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  2. Jay Freedman 208.3K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2014-12-02T15:59:21+00:00

    In addition to what Suzanne and Stefan suggested: If installing the macro from my answer "screwed up" your program, removing the macro would have put the program back the way it was -- also for no charge. Had you posted here before calling MS Support, I'd have told you that.

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  3. Stefan Blom 352.5K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2014-12-02T08:56:52+00:00

    The macro I posted in October would definitely work (and no payment required). As Suzanne wrote, clear the option to use draft font.

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