how to fix normal.dotm saving error

Question

When closing out of Word we are getting a prompt to save the normal.dotm template

Answer 1

The symptoms could mean that the Normal template is damaged somehow. Rather than just deleting it, I would suggest that you rename Normal (with Word closed) and then restart Word; see https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/troubleshoot/word/issues-when-start-or-use-word#option5. Word will recreate the template with factory defaults. After that, you should see at most one request to save Normal, and then no more (until you change, for example, font defaults).

Answer 2

You should NOT turn off the prompt to save changes to the normal template.

See Do you want to save changes to the template? Keeps popping up!

The problem is with saving changes to normal.dotm. If this is the problem, you probably also can't save changes to your default font or styles.

The usual block to saving the normal template is a poorly written Add-In. Try disabling all your Add-Ins using the two buttons on the Developer Tab. The Add-In that seems to have been causing the most trouble lately has been one to assist with Blue-Tooth. If you find that disabling all your Add-ins lets you save your AutoText, then go through disabling them one at a time until you find the one that is causing this. Once you do, decide whether you really need it; if you do need it, contact whoever wrote it and complain.

When something this strange happens my first suspect is one or more poorly-written Add-Ins, which you may not even know you have.

Try closing Word and starting it without Add-Ins. To do this, find the Run command under the Start Menu and copy the following line into the box, press Enter.
winword.exe /a

If this temporarily fixes your problem, write back and we'll talk about Add-Ins.

Answer 3

Hi @Blake McCormack,

To fix the issue of being prompted to save the Normal.dotm template every time you close Word, there are a few workarounds you can try. First, you can turn off the "Prompt before saving Normal template" option in Word's settings.

Second, you can remove any add-ins or macros that may be changing the global template. Third, you can help protect the computer from macro viruses that change the global template. If these workarounds do not resolve the issue, you can try creating a new Normal.dotm file by renaming the old file.

Reference:

You are prompted to save the changes to the Normal.dotm template every time you quit Word

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