Word Not Saving AutoFormat selection

Question

I have a client I'm trying to assist with an issue in their Word program, which is a current version from Microsoft 365 apps. Her AutoFormat settings have been resetting to default every time she closes Word and this has been ongoing for several months. I have uninstalled/Re-installed Office Apps, tried the .old trick, ran an online repair, ran sfc and dism, her computer is up to date and manufacturer updates are also current. Only other solution I've been able to find in Community posts is editing the Registry which the Company I work for isn't a fan of doing unless it's the last possible option. Does anyone know of a solution to this problem?

Answer 1

If your company isn't scared of macros (you'd be surprised how many forbid them as security risks), there is a simple solution.

• In any document, such as a new blank one, start the macro recorder (click the icon on the status bar, or click View > Macros > Record Macro). Enter the macro name AutoExec and keep the Normal.dotm template as the place to store the macro. Click OK.
• Now open the Options dialog and go to Proofing > AutoCorrect Options. Set the AutoFormat options as you want them to be. Click OK in each dialog box.
• Stop the macro recorder, by the same method used to turn it on.
• When you exit Word, if you're prompted to save the Normal.dotm template, click Save.

If you want to see the results, open the macro recorder (Alt+F11) and use the tree diagram on the left to open Normal > Modules > NewMacros. In the Sub AutoExec macro, you'll find the settings from the dialog translated into Visual Basic commands.

Any macro named AutoExec will run automatically each time Word starts up, and this one will restore the dialog settings to what they were when the macro was recorded.

Answer 2

Finding out what is doing this is far from simple without sitting down at the computer, or even then.

Jay's solution is the one that has worked for years regardless of the cause.

I believe that starting Word in safe mode will not help as a diagnostic.

You could disable all Add-Ins by closing them directly using the dialogs you can launch from the Developer Tab.

Then try changing one AutoFormat as you type option and closing Word.

An easy one to test is the one for fractions.

When Word is reopened, is the change still in effect?

If so, the problem is in one of the Add-Ins. (The converse of this is not true. Even if the change is not still in effect, the problem could still be in an Add-In.)

Then it is a matter of figuring out which one.

The problem could be the company's IT department overriding registry settings changed by the option settings or group policies.

Answer 3

Hello, thank you for the suggestion and while I would most likely do that for myself I cannot set up a macro for a company client because of the risk. Only other option I could see trying would be a re-image. Any other suggestions?