Starting Word for Windows with Template Other Than Normal

By default, when you start Word, it opens a new document based on the Normal template (Normal.dot). You can, however, specify starting Word and opening a new document based on an alternative template by using a command-line switch.

To specify an alternative template using a command-line switch, follow these steps:

1. Create a shortcut for Word.
2. Right-click the shortcut. Click Properties.
3. Click the Shortcut tab and change the Target line to:
   c:\<WordFolder>\winword.exe /t<templatename>
   where <WordFolder> is the path to the Winword.exe program, and <templatename> is the full path to the template. If the path or the template file name uses a long file name, enclose the path and template name in quotation marks. Make sure there is no space between the /t switch and <templatename>.

For more information about controlling what happens when you start Word 97, click the Office Assistant, type "start Word," click Search, and then click to view "Control what happens when you start Word."

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar.