Understanding normal.dot is important when troubleshooting Word.
Understanding normal.dot is important when troubleshooting Word.
Normal.dot (endearingly referred to as Normal Dot Dot) is the
default or global template that Word uses to create a blank
document. Normal.dot is always in use when Word is open, even if
you are using another template. It is very common for normal.dot
files to become corrupt. They also store macro viruses.
When you launch Word, it looks for normal.dot and opens it. If
your normal.dot is corrupt, it can cause Word to crash upon
launching Word.
If Word cannot locate a normal.dot file, it creates a brand new
one. When you first install Word, normal.dot is not installed with
it. Uninstalling does not delete normal.dot. These facts explain
why reinstalling Office or Word does not fix a problem with a
corrupt or virus-infected normal.dot file. Your newly installed
program finds normal.dot right where it was before.
The location of the normal.dot file that Word is looking for can
be found by opening Word, and using Tools-Options, File locations
tab. Double-click User templates. The location is in the lower
area of the window under Folder name. If you're unable to see the
whole path, hit your Home key on the keyboard.
You may have settings in your normal.dot that you would like to
keep, such as customized toolbars and macros, while getting rid of
normal.dot may be necessary due to corruption. So, instead of
deleting normal.dot, it is recommended that you rename it to
abnormal.dot or normal1.dot. Then, you can use the Organizer to
copy such things as macros and toolbars from the old template to
the new one.
Excel Shared workbooks generate more errors than workbooks with
only one owner!
Shared workbooks generate more errors than workbooks with only one
owner. Here's one way to flag errors as they occur:
1. Select all cells in which data will be entered.
2. Go to Format | Conditional Formatting.
3. In the Conditional Formatting dialog box, specify which Cell
Values to flag.
4. Click Format.
5. In the Format Cells dialog box, click the Patterns tab and
select a color to signal errors.
6. Click OK.
Now, when someone enters an error, the error will be flagged with
your selected color.
Link an Access database to an Excel spreadsheet!
If you currently use Excel as your database software, you aren't
limited to Excel's filtering and reporting functions. You can use
Access tools to create queries and reports on spreadsheet data
without importing that data into Access. Follow these steps:
1. In an existing Access database, click File | Get External Data
| Link Tables.
2. In the Link dialog box's Look In text box, select the folder
that contains the spreadsheet to which you want to link.
3. Select Microsoft Excel in the Files Of Type text box, select
the Excel file, and click Link.
4. When the Link Spreadsheet Wizard presents a view of the data,
click Next.
5. Select the First Row Contains Column Headings check box, enter
a name for the linked table, and click Finish.
The external table, identified with an Excel worksheet icon and
link arrow, is now listed as a table object in your database. Any
changes made to the spreadsheet in Excel will automatically be
reflected in any query, report, or form derived from the linked
table.
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Things to Note
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