Normal.dot

OK. After deleting all the normal.dot files and creating a new, everything works. But if Outlook is open, when I try to close Word after using some icons to open it, I get the message that normal.dot is in use by another application or person. I click OK and get a window offering to save Normal.dot and in that windonw is a new ~normal.dotlong with the normal.dot. It won't let me save normal.dot, saying the file is read only.

Now it looks as if Outlook may be causing some of the problems. If I reinstall Office from the beginning, I won't lose my data will I?

The abnormal thing is that Word wants to save normal.dot when it didn't change. I shouldn't do anything about Outlook at the moment.
Read through http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;291352
to see if you can find the cause of Words behavior.

Kees

I went through the document you suggested and everything worked well -- with one exception -- while Outlook was closed. When Outlook was open, the problem with saving normal.dot existed. Going into Outlook and unchecking the box about using Word as the message editor seemed to end the problem.

The one exception I mentioned is that when I try to pen Word from some documents -- not all but most -- it opens but I get an error message saying Word ezperienced an error opening the document and that I should "check the file permissions for the document and drive." It also says to make sure I have sufficient memory, etc.

Could it be that Word was open when you deleted normal.dot ?

Check here http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/BlankDocNotBlank.htm

Rob,

At my work I've got both Word and Outlook set to use Word as email editor open practically all day without any problems. But, then, Word doesn't try to save normal.dot; it just uses it. For security, I've set the 'ask for normal.dot to be replaced' checkbox checked and (at home) I've got this file read-only also.
If you don't mind about not using Word as email editor in Outlook, nor mind about normal.dot being replaced 'automatically' and without any good reason when you didn't change it, everything should be fine. But I shouldn't be happy in your circumstances.

The problem you mentioned in your last paragraph doesn't seem related to normal.dot. Better start a new thread for that. Do you really mean 'open Word from some documents' or do you mean 'opening most documents from Word'?

Kees

Kees

It appears that an add-in to Word - DVZWDaddin.dot -- is the culprit. It is from a program called Documents to Go that puts Word files on my Palm PDA. If I removed the file from startup, Word closes without any problems even with OUtlook open and using Word as the email editor.

Not sure what the next step is, but I will visit the Document to Go site and see if they have a solution.