Microsoft KB Archive/289294

= How to reset user options and registry settings in Word 2002 =

PSS ID Number: 289294

Article Last Modified on 9/9/2004

-

The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Word 2002

-



This article was previously published under Q289294





For a Microsoft Office Word 2003 version of this article, see 822005.

For a Microsoft Word 2000 version of this article, see 211793.

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

IN THIS TASK

 * SUMMARY
 * ** How to Delete a Registry Key
 * Main Locations of Word Settings in the Windows Registry
 * *** Word Key
 * Data Key
 * Options Key
 * Stationery Key
 * Wizards Key
 * Common Key
 * Shared Tools Key
 * Repair Microsoft Word (Microsoft Office)
 * *** Detect and Repair
 * Repair Word in Maintenance Mode Setup
 * Reinstall Word (Office)
 * Global Template (Normal.dot)
 * Use the RegOptions Macro
 * Summary of Word Options and Where They Are Stored
 * REFERENCES



SUMMARY
This article describes various methods for resetting user options and registry settings in Microsoft Word. There are two basic types of options that you can define in Word:
 * Options that affect the way the program operates. The information for this type of option is generally stored in the Microsoft Windows registry.
 * Options that affect the formatting or appearance of one or more documents. The information for this type of option is stored in templates or documents.

When you troubleshoot unusual behavior in the program or in a document, first rule out the possibility that the problem is caused by a combination of options and formatting. If the behavior in question occurs in multiple documents, it may be useful to reset Word to its default settings.

For additional information about how to troubleshoot Word problems, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

289634 WD2002: Troubleshooting Problems That Occur When You Start Word or When You Work in Word

Most Word settings are stored in the Windows registry. This article lists the settings in the registry that pertain to Word.

back to the top

How to Delete a Registry Key
WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

To delete a registry key, follow these steps.

NOTE: Always export the registry key as a backup before you delete the registry key. This is important, because you may have to restore the functionality that is provided by the key.  Quit all Microsoft Office programs. Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK. Locate the registry key that you want to delete by expanding the appropriate folders. Click to select the key that you want to delete. Do one of the following: <ul> In Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, or Microsoft Windows 2000, click Export Registry File on the Registry menu, type a file name for the backup copy of the key, and then click Save.

-or-</li> In Microsoft Windows XP, click Export on the File menu, type a file name for the backup copy of the key, and then click Save.</li></ul> </li> Make sure that the key that you just exported is selected, and then click Delete on the Edit menu to delete the key.</li> Click Yes to the following message:

Are you sure you want to delete this key?

NOTE: In Windows XP, click Yes to the following message:

Are you sure you want to delete this key and all of its subkeys?

</li> On the Registry menu, click Exit to quit the Registry Editor.

NOTE: To quit the Registry Editor in Windows XP, click Exit on the File menu.</li></ol>

After you delete a registry key and then start the program again, Word (Office) runs the Setup program to correctly rebuild the registry key. If you want to rebuild the registry key before you run the program, repair your installation by following the steps in the &quot;Repair Microsoft Word (Microsoft Office)&quot; section of this article.

back to the top

Main Locations of Word Settings in the Windows Registry
NOTE: You can reset some Word settings (for example, the Word Data and Options keys in the Windows registry) by using the Troubleshoot utility contained in the Support.dot template.

For additional information about Support.dot, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

289506 How To Install and Use the Support.dot Template in Microsoft Word 2002

Most settings in Word are stored in the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word

Changes made to this HKEY_CURRENT_USER key are mirrored in the following key:

HKEY_USERS\Default\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word

The difference between the two locations is that first applies only to the current user of the system, and the other is the default for all users. However, Word entries are the same for both, so any change made to one is automatically reflected in the other.

NOTE: For the remainder of this section, all references to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER tree apply also to the HKEY_USERS tree, except where noted.

back to the top

Word Key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word

The settings that you may have to examine during troubleshooting are located in this key. The Data key and the Options key are the most frequently changed areas.

back to the top

Data Key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word\Data

This key contains binary information for most recently used (MRU) lists, including the most recently used file list and the most recently used Address Book list. It also contains Track Changes settings and Edit settings.

back to the top

Options Key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word\Options

This key stores the options that you can set from Word, either by changing menu options or by running the RegOptions macro (see the &quot;Use the RegOptions Macro&quot; section of this article).

The settings fall into two groups: default settings and optional settings. Default settings are established during Setup. You can change them by modifying options in Word (on the Tools menu, click Options).

back to the top

Stationery Key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word\Stationery

This key contains the following:
 * The default location for the template that is used for new e-mail messages when Word is set as your default e-mail editor
 * The links to find the template

The four settings include the following.

Note These options may or may not be present in the registry.

back to the top

Wizards Key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Word\Wizards

All wizard defaults are stored in this key. These settings are created the first time that you run a wizard.

back to the top

Common Key
HKEY\CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Common

This key is used by other Microsoft programs, such as the Office programs. These settings are shared between programs. Changes made in one program's settings also appear in the other program's settings.

back to the top

Shared Tools Key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools

This key contains the paths for all Windows utilities (programs such as Equation, WordArt, and MS Graph). Paths for graphics filters and text converters are also registered in this location.

back to the top

Repair Microsoft Word (Microsoft Office)
Word can detect and repair problems associated with Setup. This feature uses the Windows Installer to correct problems with missing files and to repair registry settings. For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

283686 OFFXP: Setup Command-Line Switches for Office XP

There are three methods that you can use to repair or reset Word files and values:
 * Detect and Repair
 * Repair Word (Office)
 * Reinstall

back to the top

Detect and Repair
NOTE: This is the least aggressive mode of repair. If this method does not resolve the problem, you may still need to use one of the other methods of repair.

You can access the Detect and Repair feature on the Help menu in Word. This option fixes and repairs errors in Word. All files, registry entries, and optional shortcuts for all Office XP programs are verified and repaired. This means that if you run Detect and Repair from within Word, all other Office XP programs are also checked. This option performs only a checksum.

The Detect and Repair feature can also restore the Word program shortcuts on the Start menu. The Restore my shortcuts while repairing option must be selected for this to occur.

If Detect and Repair does not correct the problem, you may have to reinstall Word. The Reinstall option in the Maintenance Mode dialog box completes the same action as Detect and Repair, except that Reinstall copies a file when the files are of equal versions. Detect and Repair does not copy over the file when the install file has the correct version and checksum.

NOTE: The Detect and Repair feature does not repair damaged documents or a damaged Data key in the registry or the Normal template.

If a file that is needed to start Word is missing, the Windows Installer automatically installs that file before starting the program.

back to the top

Repair Word in Maintenance Mode Setup
NOTE: This is a moderate mode of repair. If this method does not resolve the problem, you may still need to reinstall Word.

The Maintenance Mode Setup process is similar to that in earlier versions of Word. The Maintenance Mode Setup process permits you to repair, add or remove features, and remove the program. Repair is a feature in Maintenance Mode that finds and fixes errors in an installation.

To perform a Maintenance Mode repair, follow these steps:
 * 1) Quit all Office programs.
 * 2) Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

NOTE: In Windows XP, click Start, and then click Control Panel.
 * 1) Open Add/Remove Programs.
 * 2) Do one of the following:
 * 3) * In Windows 98, Windows Me, or Windows NT 4.0, click Microsoft Office XP (Microsoft Word 2002) on the Install/Uninstall tab, and then click Add/Remove.

-or-
 * 1) * In Windows 2000 or Windows XP, click Change or Remove Programs, click Microsoft Office XP (Microsoft Word 2002) in the Currently installed programs list, and then click Change.
 * 2) Click Repair Word (Repair Office), and then click Next.
 * 3) Click Detect and Repair errors in my Word installation (or Detect and Repair errors in my Office installation), click to select the Restore my Start Menu Shortcuts check box, and then click Install.

back to the top

Reinstall Word (Office)
NOTE: This is the most aggressive mode of repair; this mode resets Word to its default settings, except for settings that are stored in your global template (Normal.dot).
 * 1) Quit all Office programs.
 * 2) Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

NOTE: In Windows XP, click Start, and then click Control Panel.
 * 1) Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
 * 2) Do one of the following:
 * 3) * In Windows 98, Windows Me, or Windows NT 4.0, click Microsoft Office XP (Microsoft Word 2002) on the Install/Uninstall tab, and then click Add/Remove.

-or-
 * 1) * In Windows 2000 or Windows XP, click Change or Remove Programs, click Microsoft Office XP (Microsoft Word 2002) in the Currently installed programs list, and then click Change.
 * 2) Click Repair Word (Repair Office), and then click Next.
 * 3) Click Reinstall Word (Reinstall Office), and then click Install.

back to the top

Global Template (Normal.dot)
To prevent formatting, AutoText, and macros that are stored in the global template (Normal.dot) from affecting the behavior of Word and documents that are opened, rename your global template (Normal.dot). Renaming permits you to quickly determine whether the global template is causing the issue.

NOTE: When you rename the Normal.dot template, this resets several options to the default settings, including custom styles, custom toolbars, macros, and AutoText entries. For this reason, Microsoft strongly recommends that you do not delete your Normal.dot file.

Certain types of configurations may create more than one Normal.dot file. These situations include cases in which multiple versions of Word are running on the same computer, or cases in which several workstation installations exist on the same computer. In these situations, be sure to rename the correct copy of Normal.dot.

To rename the Normal.dot file, follow these steps.
 * In Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0:
 * Quit all instances of Word, including Microsoft Outlook if Word is set as your e-mail editor.
 * Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.
 * In the Named box, type Normal.dot.
 * In the Look in box, select your local hard disk (or an alternate user template location if you are running Word from a network server).
 * Click Find Now to search for the file.
 * For each occurrence of Normal.dot that appears in the Find program, right-click the file. Click Rename on the shortcut menu. Give the file a new name, such as OldNormal.dot or Normal-1.dot, and then press ENTER.
 * On the File menu, click Close to close the Find dialog box.
 * In Windows Me or Windows 2000:
 * Quit all instances of Word, including Microsoft Outlook if Word is set as your e-mail editor.
 * Click Start, point to Search, and then click For Files or Folders.
 * In the Search for files or folders named box, type Normal.dot.
 * In the Look in box, select your local hard disk (or an alternate user template location if you are running Word from a network server).
 * Click Search Now to search for the file.
 * For each occurrence of Normal.dot that appears in the Search Results dialog box, right-click the file. Click Rename on the shortcut menu. Give the file a new name, such as OldNormal.dot or Normal-1.dot, and then press ENTER.
 * On the File menu, click Close to quit the Search program.
 * In Windows XP:
 * Quit all instances of Word, including Microsoft Outlook if Word is set as your e-mail editor.
 * Click Start, and then click Search.
 * In the Search Results dialog box, under What do you want to search for?, click All files and folders.
 * In the All or part of the file name box, type Normal.dot.
 * In the Look in box, select your local hard disk (or an alternate user template location if you are running Word from a network server).
 * Click Search to search for the file.
 * For each occurrence of Normal.dot that appears in the Search Results dialog box, right-click the file. Click Rename on the shortcut menu. Type a new name for the file, such as OldNormal.dot or Normal-1.dot, and then press ENTER.
 * On the File menu, click Close to quit the Search program.

When you restart Word, a new global template (Normal.dot) is created that contains the Word default settings.

back to the top

Use the RegOptions Macro
You can use the RegOptions macro to examine and make changes to Word settings in the Windows registry. The RegOptions macro is located in the Support.dot template.

For additional information about Support.dot, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

289506 How To Install and Use the Support.dot Template in Microsoft Word 2002

The following lists each of the options that are available in the macro and a brief description of its purpose.

Word Options

AutoSave-Path: Sets the folder where the AutoRecovery files are saved.

DOC-Path: The default folder that is used for Word documents.

Picture-Path: Sets the default path that is used when you point to Picture on the Insert menu and then click From File.

Startup-Path: Sets the path for Word startup files, such as templates and WLLs to load when you start Word.

Tools-Path: Sets a location in which Word searches for proofing tools, filters, converters, and other components, if they are not registered correctly or cannot be found.

User-Dot-Path: The path for user templates. Note that when this setting is changed for Word, it affects all Office programs.

Workgroup-Dot-Path: The path for workgroup templates. You can specify a UNC path.

BAK-Extension: Sets the default extension for the Word backup files. The default extension is *.wbk.

DOC-Extension: The default file name extension that is used for Word documents. The default is *.doc.

DOT-Extension: The default file name extension that is used for Word templates. The default is *.dot.

NoFontMRUList: Turns on or turns off the most recently used (MRU) font list. Type either 0 (zero) to turn on the MRU font list or 1 to turn off the MRU font list.

SpellingWavyUnderlineColor: This option permits you to control the color of the wavy underline that is displayed under misspelled words.

GrammarWavyUnderlineColor: This option permits you to control the color of the wavy underline that is displayed under grammar errors.

SmartTagUnderlineColor: This option permits you to control the color of the dotted underline that is displayed under smart tags.

FormatConsistencyWavyUnderlineColor: This option permits you to control the color of the wavy underline that is displayed under formatting errors.

OLEDOT: Specifies the document template that is used when a document object is created in Word or another OLE program.

Equation Editor Options

Appdir: The Equation Editor program folder. Equation Editor must be installed and run once for this and other Equation Editor settings to be displayed.

CustomZoom: The Custom Zoom setting. This takes effect only when Equation Editor is started in a separate window by using the ForceOpen setting.

ForceOpen: Forces Equation Editor to open in its own separate window. Type 0 (zero) to open in place or 1 to open in a separate window.

ShowAll: Displays or hides nonprinting characters.

ToolBarDocked: Sets whether the toolbar is docked. Select Yes ( 1 ) or No ( 0 ).

ToolBarDockPos: Position of the Equation Editor toolbar when it is docked. 1 is for the top of the Equation Editor window. 2 is for the bottom of the Equation Editor window.

ToolBarShown: Sets whether the toolbar is displayed. Select Yes ( 1 ) or No ( 0 ).

ToolBarWinPos: The position of the toolbar when it is not docked, specified in X, Y coordinates, with the upper-left corner as the origin. The units are in pixels.

Zoom: The standard zoom size that is selected on the View menu.

To use the RegOptions macro, follow these steps: <ol> On the File menu, click Open.</li> Change the Files of type box to Document Templates (*.dot).</li> Change the path in the Look in box to the following:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\Macros

</li> Click Support.dot, and then click Open.</li> In the Macro column of the table contained in the file, click the Registry Options button.</li> On the Word Options tab or Equation Editor Options tab, click the option that you want to change, type the new setting in the Setting box (or click Browse, if available, and then click the setting that you want), and then click Change.</li> Click Close to close the Set Registry Options dialog box.</li></ol>

back to the top

Summary of Word Options and Where They Are Stored
NOTE: In the following table, &quot;Template&quot; refers to either the Normal.dot template or a custom template.

AutoCorrect lists are shared between Office programs. Any changes that you make to the AutoCorrect entries and settings, while you are in one program, are immediately available to the other programs. Additionally, Word can store AutoCorrect items that are made up of formatted text and graphics.

Information about AutoCorrect is stored in various locations. These locations are listed in the following table.

back to the top

<div class="references_section">