WD97: Save Preview Picture Setting Is Document Specific

• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

You must set the Save Preview Picture property individually for each document. Modifications to this setting are not saved in the Normal.dot template.

NOTE: To set the Save Preview Picture property, click Properties on the File menu, and then click the Summary tab.

CAUSE

This behavior is by design. The Save Preview Picture property is a document property, and not a global or "sticky" property of Microsoft Word. This property is off by default.

WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior, create a modified copy of the Normal.dot template with Save Preview Picture turned on by default. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Create a new blank document.

2. Click Save As on the File menu, and in the Save As Type list, click Document Template (*.dot).

3. Type a new file name, such as MyTemplate, and then click Save. This saves a copy of Normal.dot under the new file name, but keeps the .dot file name extension.

4. On the File menu, click Properties.

5. On the Summary tab, click to select the Save Preview Picture check box and then click OK.

6. On the File menu, click Save.

7. On the File menu, click Close.

8. Now, whenever you want to create a new document based on this template, follow these steps:

       a. Click New on the File menu.
   

       b. On the General tab, click to select the template you just created.
   

       c. Make sure Document is selected under Create New, and click OK.
   

Changing the Default Template for Word

Note, Word will continue to use its Normal.dot template by default. If you want to have Word always use your new template instead, modify the properties of the shortcut that opens Word, by following these steps:

1. Locate the shortcut you use to open Word. If this is on your list of Programs on the Start menu, for example, use the right mouse button to click (right-click) the Start button, click Explore on the shortcut menu, and then look in the Programs folder.

2. Right-click the icon for the shortcut to Word (usually called "Microsoft Word"), and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.

3. In the Properties dialog box, click the Shortcut tab.

4. Place the insertion point at the end of the Target box, and after the command line referencing WINWORD.EXE, type a space, then type a forward slash and the letter "t" (without the quotation marks), and the full path to the modified copy of Normal.dot.

   If there are spaces in the path, it must be enclosed in quotation marks. For example, the Target box may read:

         "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\WINWORD.EXE" /t"C:\Program
         Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\MyTemplate.dot"
   

5. Click OK.

Disadvantages of this Workaround:

Any documents based on templates where Save Preview Picture is not turned on will not have this property set by default. You will need to open each template, change that setting, and then resave that template.

MORE INFORMATION

If you set the Save Preview Picture property, Word saves a graphic image of the first full-page in the file header. Word then shows this image in the preview area of the Open dialog box.

If you do not set the Save Preview Picture property, Word reads the document, and displays the upper-left corner of the document in the preview area. It takes Word longer to do this than to display a saved preview picture.

The Save Preview Picture property is not exposed to Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications, and so you cannot turn it on or set it as a default using a macro.

For more information about the Save Preview Picture property, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q182757
   TITLE     : WD97: Tables Appear Incomplete in File Open Preview