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Do you want it as the default setting for the current document or all documents based on the current template?įor example, the Font settings dialog has a ‘Set as Default’ button. When you make default changes to Word document settings, you’re given a choice about where to save it. Most common changes (default font settings, page size, orientation etc) you can update from the Word dialog boxes and choosing the correct option (also see below). Mostly you’ll never have to change normal.dotm directly (though that’s possible, see below). Normal.dotm is the foundation for many Word documents.Ī change to normal.dotm will affect any document (new or past) that’s based on that template. It’s all in Normal.dotm (before Word 2007 it was normal.dot). Most, but not all, Word settings are saved in the normal.dotm template.
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On top of all that, there’s other personal configuration items like Ribbon, AutoText and Building Blocks that have to be saved somewhere.
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All the basic styles (Normal, Heading 1 etc.) need a font, font size, justification and a myriad of other adjustments. It might not have any visible text, but Word has to know what page size to use and many other basic settings. After all, a ‘blank’ document isn’t really blank.
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