In Word 2007, when you try to create a new document from a template that is located on a network share, you may experience slow performance

Symptoms

In Microsoft Office Word 2007, when you try to create a new document from a template that is located on a network share, you may experience slow performance. For example, you may experiece one of the following symptoms:

• If Word 2007 connects to the network share over a wide area network (WAN) link, it takes four minutes to load the template.

• If the network share does not exist, a time-out occurs after 30 to 60 seconds.

Additionally, if you want to cancel the template load process during the slow performance, you have to press ESC key.

Resolution

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 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

To specify a time-out period for loading template, install that Word 2007 hotfix package that is dated April 30, 2009. Then, set a value for the Usetime-outForAttachedTemplateLoad registry entry. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Install the Word 2007 hotfix package that is dated April 30, 2009.For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   
   

   968855 Description of the Word 2007 hotfix package (Mso.msp, Word.msp): April 30, 2009
   
   

2. Set a value for the Usetime-outForAttachedTemplateLoad registry entry to specify a time-out period for loading a template. To do this, follow these steps:

   1. Start Registry Editor.

      • In Windows Vista, click Start , type regedit in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
        
        If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type the password, or provide confirmation.
        

      • In Windows XP, click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.

   2. Locate and then select the following registry subkey:

      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Word\Options

   3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.

   4. Type UseTimeoutForAttachedTemplateLoad, and then press ENTER.
      

   5. Right-click UseTimeoutForAttachedTemplateLoad, and then click Modify.

   6. In the Value data box, type a time-out period for loading a template, and then click OK.
      
      For example, if you want to set the time-out period for loading template to 3 seconds, type 3000 in the Value data box as decimal. The following table shows hexadecimal and decimal values for this key.

   7. On the File menu, click Exit to exit Registry Editor.

Status

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