Normal.dot is the default template, to be used if you don't specify another template when creating a new document. You can have as many templates as you want for your different type of documents.
I don't think that a change in normal.dot should effect a document created earlier, but maybe there's something special about it that causes this effect.
Anyway, you can open normal.dot (the right one, see below) in Word, set all settings and defaults (such as fonts) to what you want and then Save as ... it again as a template (same name, same location). Then all new documents, at least, should be 'correct'.
In Word, Tools>Options>File locations shows the folder contains the templates (including normal.dot). Leave that and rename the 5 others to something like normal.old or normal_old.dot. If that doesn't have any negative effects, you can delete them after a while.
Hope this helps.
Kees
My cousin reports that her Word documents are defaulting to 10 point font, when she wrote them in 12 point font, and would like to know the most likely cause of this. I have told her that it is all due to the Normal.dot file, without really knowing what I was talking about. What is the signifigance of this file, and how does she ensure that all her docs, a novel, will appear and print in her chosen layout?
Incidentally, I have six instances of the Normal.file on my pc. Why would this be, please.

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