Your Word documents take a long time to open when they have attached templates

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SYMPTOMS

When you open a Microsoft Word 2002 document on a computer with Microsoft Windows XP installed, the document may take longer than expected to open. For example, the document may take 5 to 10 minutes to open.

This symptom may occur if the document has a template attached or linked, and if one of the following conditions is true:

The attached template, its folder, or its share is missing.

-or-
The attached template has been moved.

-or-
The attached template has been renamed.

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RESOLUTION

This problem was first fixed in a hotfix that is now contained in a service pack. If you have installed Window XP Service Pack 2 or a later service pack, you do not have to apply the hotfix.

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Service pack information

This problem was first corrected in Windows XP Service Pack 2.

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows XP. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322389 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322389/ ) How to obtain the latest Windows XP service pack

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Hotfix information

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Part 1: Download and install the fix for Windows XP

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support (http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support)

Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Note This fix will reduce the delay described in the “Symptoms” section of this article, but will not completely get rid of the delay.

Windows XP Version for x86 Environments (for 32-bit processors)

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

   Date         Time   Version   Size       File name
   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   17-Jul-2003  18:50  5.3.18.6    732,448  Windowsxp-kb823372-x86-enu-symbols.exe  
   17-Jul-2003  18:50  5.3.18.6  2,933,536  Windowsxp-kb823372-x86-enu.exe

After the hotfix is installed, the English version of this fix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table:

   Date         Time   Version        Size        File name       Platform
   -----------------------------------------------------------------------
   16-Jul-2003  22:02  6.0.2800.1248   8,242,176  Shell32.dll     X86
   16-Jul-2003  21:59  5.1.2600.1248      62,976  Webclnt.dll     X86
   08-Jul-2003  15:31  5.1.2600.1243     557,568  Xpsp2res.dll    X86

Windows XP Version for IA-64 Environments (for 64-bit Intel processors)

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

   Date         Time   Version     Size       File name
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   17-Jul-2003  18:54  5.3.18.6      943,392  Windowsxp-kb823372-ia64-enu-symbols.exe  
   17-Jul-2003  18:54  5.3.18.6    7,108,896  Windowsxp-kb823372-ia64-enu.exe

After the hotfix is installed, the English version of this fix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table:

   Date         Time   Version        Size        File name        Platform
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
   16-Jul-2003  22:38  6.0.2800.1248  14,375,424  Shell32.dll      IA-64
   16-Jul-2003  22:38  5.1.2600.1248     210,944  Webclnt.dll      IA-64
   08-Jul-2003  15:31  5.1.2600.1243     557,056  Xpsp2res.dll     IA-64
   16-Jul-2003  22:02  6.0.2800.1248   8,242,176  Shell32.dll     x86
   16-Jul-2003  21:59  5.1.2600.1248      62,976  Webclnt.dll     x86
   08-Jul-2003  15:31  5.1.2600.1243     557,568  Xpsp2res.dll    x86

Note This update is available in the following languages:

Arabic (Saudi Arabia)
Chinese (PRC)
Chinese (Taiwan)
Czech
Danish
Dutch (Netherlands)
Finnish
French
German
Greek
Hebrew
Hungarian
Italian (Italy)
Japanese
Korean
Norwegian (Bokmal)
Polish
Portuguese (Brazil)
Portuguese (Portugal)
Russian
Spanish
Swedish
Turkish

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Part 2: Activate the fix

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

Note If the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\WebClient\Parameters\ServerNotFoundCacheLifeTimeInSec registry subkey exists, then modify the existing value data in the Edit DWORD Value dialog box.

After you install this fix, follow these steps to set the ServerNotFoundCacheLifeTimeInSec registry key and activate the fix:

Quit Word.
Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
Locate, and then click the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\WebClient\Parameters.
With the key selected, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click DWORD.
Type ServerNotFoundCacheLifeTimeInSec, and then press ENTER.
Right-click ServerNotFoundCacheLifeTimeInSec, and then click Modify.
In the Edit DWORD Value dialog box, click Decimal.
In the Value data box, type the number of seconds that Windows should spend looking for the template, the folder, or the share that is missing, moved, or renamed. For example, type 180 for 180 seconds. Then, click OK.
On the File menu, click Exit to quit Registry Editor.

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WORKAROUND

For more information about how to work around this problem, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

830561 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/830561/ ) Documents that have attached templates take a long time to open in Word 2002 and in Word 2003

This code will change the attached template to Normal, but there are a number of caveats.

Warning Any use by you of the code that is provided in this example is at your own risk. Microsoft provides this macro code "as is" without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The following macro will loop through all the documents in a folder and change the old server name with the Normal.dot. If a document is password protected in anyway, the template will not be changed. The code will fail.

Sub Test() 
Dim strFilePath As String 
Dim strPath As String 
Dim intCounter As Integer 
Dim strFileName As String 
Dim OldServer As String 
Dim objDoc As Document 
Dim objTemplate As Template 
Dim dlgTemplate As Dialog 
Dim nServer As Integer
 
'hardcode the name of the old server. 
OldServer = "enter the name of the Old Server" 
nServer = Len(OldServer) 
strFilePath = InputBox("What is the folder location that you want to use?") 
If Right(strFilePath, 1) <> "\" Then strFilePath = strFilePath & "\" 
strFileName = Dir(strFilePath & "*.doc") 
     Do While strFileName <> "" 
          Set objDoc = Documents.Open(strFilePath & strFileName) 
          Set objTemplate = objDoc.AttachedTemplate 
          Set dlgTemplate = Dialogs(wdDialogToolsTemplates) 
          strPath = dlgTemplate.Template 
             If LCase(Left(strPath, nServer)) = LCase(OldServer) Then 
                 objDoc.AttachedTemplate = NormalTemplate 
             End If
          strFileName = Dir() 
          objDoc.Save 
          objDoc.Close 
     Loop 
Set objDoc = Nothing 
Set objTemplate = Nothing 
Set dlgTemplate = Nothing 
End Sub

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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

This problem was first corrected in Windows XP Service Pack 2.

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