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That is an excellent point, Paul. While the rigorous control over
normal.dot has all the advantages previously discussed, it will
certainly annoy the users you describe...and any power users of Word,
too, who rely on custom macros, toolbars, and templates to do their work
most efficiently. That annoyance may also have the unintended effect of
making such users more determined to circumvent the system than to
cooperate with what you're trying to do.
Jim
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+jim -dot- pinkham=voith -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+jim -dot- pinkham=voith -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
Behalf Of Paul Goble
Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 2010 9:49 AM
To: TECHWR-L
Subject: Re: Changing Normal.dot in Word
Keep in mind, too, that by forcing updates to normal.dot, you'll be
making it very difficult for users to make other customizations which
are normally stored in that file: keyboard shortcuts, macros, formatted
autocorrect entries, autoformat options, toolbars, addins like Acrobat,
and a bunch of other things. Users who have specialized workflows or
who have special accessibility needs will NOT be happy.
It'd be much better to find ways to encourage people to use templates
(by making sure templates exist for most common tasks, by making sure
the templates are truly the easiest way to get work done, and by
cultivating social and organizational norms).
--
Paul Goble
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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