How to Reset MS Word to Its Default Settings How to Reset MS Word to Its Default Settings How to Reset MS Word

to Its Default Settings How to Reset MS Word to Its Default Settings

by Anni Martin, Demand Media by Anni Martin, Demand Media by Anni Martin, Demand Media by Anni Martin, Demand Media

Microsoft Word is used by many businesses as its primary
word processing program and it can sometimes develop
glitches. If the version of Word on your business computer is
displaying grayed-out options, or if your paragraph styles are
changing for unknown reasons or if all the tab settings are not
looking correct, it is time to hit the reset button.
Unfortunately, there is no button in Word to reset the
program to its default settings. However, you can rename
Words global template to see if that fixes its problems. If
Word continues to have issues or it runs very slow, another
option is to delete Words registry key. This forces Word
back to the original default settings.

R RR Rename the Global Template File ename the Global Template File ename the Global Template File ename the Global Template File
Step 1
Close Word and any other Microsoft Office programs you are
running.
Step 2
Right-click the Windows Start button and select Open
Windows Explorer.
Step 3
Browse to C:\Users\(your username)\AppData\
Roaming\Microsoft\Templates. Sometimes you cant see the
AppData file since it is hidden. You can type the full path into
your Explorer address window and press Enter to go to the
Templates subdirectory.
Step 4
Right-click on the Normal.dot file and choose Rename.
Type in a name like OldNormal.dot or Normalold.dot.
Step 5
Open Word. The program will recreate the Normal.dot file
based on its default settings.


Microsofts Fix lt Wizard
Step 1
Launch a Web browser and navigate to Microsofts support
page to download the Fix It program (see Resources). This
option should be used if Word is running very slow or if
renaming the global template did not fix your Word issues.
Close Word or other Office products before you run the Fix
It wizard.
Step 2
Click the Microsoft Fix It button in the middle of the page.
Step 3
Click Run in the File Download dialog box and follow the
steps in the Fix it Wizard.
Step 4
Open Word after you have run the Fix It program. Microsoft
Office will automatically run the Setup program to reinstall
the registry key.


Fix It Manually
Step 1
Close Word and any Microsoft Office programs you have
running.
Step 2
Click the Windows Start button, type regedit in the
Search field and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
Step 3
Browse through the registry keys by double-clicking on the
registry names in the left pane to expand them in the right.
According to Microsoft, the key for Word 201 0 is located in
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\l 4.0\Word.
Step 4
Select the key that you want to delete, click the File drop-
down menu and choose Export. Type a name for the file and
click Save so you have a backup of the Word registry entry
you are about to delete.
Step 5
Select the registry key again, click Edit and click Delete.
Click Yes to confirm your decision and close the Registry
Editor.
Step 6
Open Word and allow the computer to rebuild the registry key
from the Setup program.