The Normal Template

This content is no longer actively maintained. It is provided as is, for anyone who may still be using these technologies, with no warranties or claims of accuracy with regard to the most recent product version or service release.

The Normal template (Normal.dot) is loaded automatically when you start Microsoft® Word. By default, new documents are based on the Normal template. Even if you attach another template to a document, any styles, text, AutoText entries, command bars, recorded macros, or code included in the Normal template are available to any document open in Word. If you look at the Project Explorer in the Microsoft® Visual Basic® Editor, you will see that the Normal template always appears.

Although you can customize the Normal template, it is not always the best way to distribute an application to users, because replacing their own Normal template might inconvenience them. They will lose any custom settings or macros they might have created. Moreover, many users and system administrators restrict access to the Normal template, so you might not be able to replace or modify it anyway.

A better way to distribute applications is to create either a custom document template or an add-in (global template) that can be loaded in addition to the Normal template. Which one should you use? If you want to build an application that makes it possible for users to create new documents based on an existing document and that can include text and custom styles, use a custom document template. If you want to add toolbars, menu commands, or macros that are available to every document the user opens, create an add-in. After an add-in is loaded, it is available to every document the user opens until the add-in is unloaded.

See also

Word Templates | Custom Document Templates | Word Document Templates vs. Word Add-ins (Global Templates)