WD2000: Save Preview Picture Setting Not Retained for All Files

• Microsoft Word 2000

SYMPTOMS

After you select the Save Preview Picture option for a file and save it, the option is not retained for your other files in Word.

CAUSE

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

You must select the Save Preview Picture option for each Word file. A change to this setting is not saved in the global (Normal.dot) template or in the Windows registry.

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

RESOLUTION

You can work around this behavior by creating a custom template with the Save Preview Picture option turned on. To do this, follow these steps.

NOTE: If you select this option as part of the Normal.dot template, Word ignores the setting, and the Save Preview Picture option will be turned off.

1. On the File menu, click New. On the General tab, click Blank Document, and then click OK.



2. On the File menu, click Save As. In the Save As dialog box, do the following:



1. Change the Save as type box to Document Template (*.dot).



2. Type a new file name in the File name box for the new custom template.



3. Click Save.



3. On the File menu, click Properties.



4. On the Summary tab, click to select the Save preview picture check box, and then click OK.



5. On the File menu, click Save.



6. On the File menu, click Close.



7. Use whichever of the following methods is appropriate for your situation.




Method 1: Create a New Document That Uses Your Custom Template

Use this method when you want to save a preview picture for certain new documents.


1. On the File menu, click New.



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



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



Word creates a new blank document based on your custom template, and the Save Preview Picture option is turned on automatically.

Method 2: Have Word Start by Using Your Custom Template

Use this method when you want to start Microsoft Word with a new document that has the Save Preview Picture option turned on. This method will also create a new document with this option when you click the New Blank Document button on the Standard toolbar.

NOTE: If you want to create a new document based on a different template when using this method, click New on the File menu, and then click to select the template that you want to use. Word will create a new document based on the template that you select, as it usually does.


1. On the File menu, click Open.



2. Change the Look in box to your custom templates folder. By default, Word saves your new custom templates to the following folder:




C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates

3. Change the Files of type box to Document Templates.



4. Click to select your custom template, and then click Open.



5. With your custom template open, point to Macro on the Tools menu, and click Macros.



6. In the Macro name box, type FileNewDefault.



7. Change the Macros in box to your custom template, and then click Create.



8. Create the following macro in the Visual Basic Editor:




Sub FileNewDefault()

   Documents.Add Template:=("C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft _
      \Templates\CustomTemplate.dot")

End Sub 

9. In the Visual Basic Editor, click Close and return to Microsoft Word on the File menu.



10. On the File menu, click Save.



11. On the File menu, click Close.



12. On the File menu, click Exit.



13. Create a new shortcut on your Windows desktop for starting Microsoft Word when you want to create documents with the Save Preview Picture option turned on. To do this, follow these steps:



1. Right-click the Windows desktop.



2. On the shortcut menu that appears, point to New, and then click Shortcut.



3. In the Create Shortcut dialog box, click Browse.



4. Browse to, and then click the Word executable file Winword.exe.
   
   NOTE: The Winword.exe file is located in the following folder by default:




C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office

5. Click Open.



6. In the Create Shortcut dialog box, the Command line box is now filled with the path to the Winword.exe file. Click Next.



7. In the Select a Title for the Program dialog box, type a new name for this shortcut in the Select a name for this shortcut box, and then click Finish. For example, type Microsoft Word with Preview Option.



8. On the Windows desktop, right-click the new Word shortcut icon.



9. On the shortcut menu that appears, click Properties.



10. On the Shortcut tab, click in the Target box, and then move the insertion point to the end of the path statement. The path to the Winword.exe file should appear similar to the following:




"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Winword.exe"

11. After the closing quotation mark, type a space, type /t, and then type the complete path and file name of your custom template enclosed within quotation marks. For example, the path in the Target box should look similar to the following:




"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Winword.exe" /t"C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates\CustomTemplate.dot"

NOTE: There is no space between the /t and the opening quotation mark.


12. Click OK.



The Save Preview Picture option will automatically be turned on in a new document when you do either of the following:


• When you double-click the new Microsoft Word shortcut on the Windows desktop.
  
  -or-



• When you click the New Blank Document button on the Standard toolbar.



However, when you click New on the File menu, Word creates a new document based on the template that you select, the same as it usually does.

MORE INFORMATION

If you set the Save Preview Picture option, Word saves a picture of the first page of the file for previewing in the New and Open dialog boxes.

NOTE: Selecting this option increases the size of your file.

If you do not select the Save Preview Picture option, Word reads the document and displays the first few lines in the preview area. Word may take longer to show a preview of the saved document when the Save Preview Picture option is not selected.

REFERENCES

For additional information about the Save Preview Picture property, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q211290 WD2000: Tables Appear Incomplete in File Open Preview

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbdta kbtemplate wd2000
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb