When you open a new document, Word applies the font style, views, and so on found in the Normal.dot template. If you do not care for the formatting and other options configured in the template, they can be changed. However, before you can do this, you need to know how to find the Normal.dot template.

If you are new to Word and do not know where the template is located, you can use these simple steps to locate it.

1. Open Word.

2. From the Tools menu, click Options.
3. Select the File Locations tab.
4. Under the list of File types, select User templates.
5. Note the path to where the templates are stored.

If the full path is not displayed, click the Modify button. Click the drop down arrow beside the Look In field. You can then note the location of the template. By default, the location should be:

c:\ Documents and Settings \ username \ Application Data \ Microsoft \ Templates

Now if the normal template in Word is not set up the way you want it to be, you can make the formatting changes each time you open a new document or you can set up the normal template exactly as you want it.

To change the normal template in Word 2002:

1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to c:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates.

2. Select Normal.dot.
3. From the Edit menu click Copy.
4. Click anywhere within the templates folder and click Paste from the Edit menu.
5. Right click the existing Normal.dot file and rename it to anything you want.
6. Right click the copy you made and rename it to Normal.
7. Right click the new Normal template and click Open. DO NOT double click the template. This will open a new document.
8. Within the template, make the changes you want. This includes font size and style, toolbars, views and so on.
9. From the File menu, click Save.

Word will now open new documents using the template you just created. You can always revert back to the old template by renaming it back to Normal.dot.