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Office 365/Office/MS Word-On opening a NEW Document

Tanya De Lange 5 Reputation points
2023-01-17T08:36:42.75+00:00

Hi There

Every time I open a NEW document the default settings are as follows:

  • 2 columns
  • narrow margins
  • Language set on English United States
  • Font Calibri body 11
  • No proper numbering

How do I reset this to reflect as follows:

  • No column
  • normal margins 2.54 all round
  • Language set to English South Africa
  • Font Verdana 10
  • Add my standard numbering

Would you kindly assist in having these settings changed that every time I open a new document it is already a standard document and has no columns at all unless I have added it myself.

Looking forward to your response as this is driving me nuts having to change these setting manually every time I start a new document.

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Formerly Office 365, is a line of subscription services offered by Microsoft which adds to and includes the Microsoft Office product line.
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  1. Tom Richards 0 Reputation points
    2023-01-17T12:00:34.79+00:00

    Hey,

    These settings are based on a document template.

    Please see the article below which should help you to configure a suitable document template:

    [https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/create-a-template-86a1d089-5ae2-4d53-9042-1191bce57deb

    Or, you can adjust most the settings you're after, then set them to the template you're using:

    User's image

    User's image

    Hope this helps.

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  2. Tanya De Lange 5 Reputation points
    2023-01-17T13:58:05.5633333+00:00

    Thanks Tom

    I am not trying to set up a template though. So if I am wanting to write a letter every time I open a word document I have two columns and narrow margins. I am just tired of having to change it every time I open word and create any document change these settings. It's never been a default setting before only the last 2 months or so have the default setting changed from normal no columns and normal 2.54 margins all round.

  3. Emily Hua-MSFT 27,556 Reputation points
    2023-01-18T10:03:18.96+00:00

    Hi @Tanya De Lange

    For language, please go to File > Options > Language, add and set English (South Africa) as preferred.

    If you want to set default formats for new Word document, you need to modify the templates.

    • Please close all the files of Office and go to File explorer > View in Show/hide group > check the box of "Hidden Items".
    • Go to C:\Users<user name >\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates, then find the Normal.dotm and rename it as a backup. This file will be automatically generated when reopen Word.
    • Then please find the new Normal.dotm, right click it to edit it, and then you can modify the margin and formats as you need.
    • You can save it and open a new Word document to have a check.

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