Updated: 2007-03-08

This topic discusses migration considerations for Microsoft Office Word 2007, including:

Migrating files to the new file format

The file format for documents created in Office Word 2007 is changed. For more information about new file formats in the 2007 Microsoft Office system, see File format reference for the 2007 Office system. For more information about migrating files to new file formats, or for coexisting with different versions of Word, see Planning for migration to the 2007 Office system and Migrating to the 2007 Office system.

Migrating AutoText entries

Office Word 2007 handles AutoText entries differently than in previous versions of Word. In previous versions of Word, AutoText entries are stored in the Normal.dot template or in user templates. Office Word 2007 replaces the Normal.dot template with the new Normal.dotm template, which supports new file formats and other features in the 2007 Office system and also contains different styles and formatting. Instead of storing AutoText entries in the new Normal.dotm template by default, Office Word 2007 stores the entries as a separate template in the Document Building Blocks folder.

The Document Building Blocks folder is new to Office Word 2007. Companies can create a template and store it in the Document Building Blocks folder. This avoids any interaction with the Normal template.

You must manually migrate your auto text entries to use them in Office Word 2007. Use the following procedure.

Migrate AutoText entries to Word 2007

  1. Copy the old Normal template from the %APPDATA%\Templates folder to the %APPDATA%\Document Building Blocks folder. During installation, the old Normal template was renamed from Normal.dot to Normal11.dot. (By default, %APPDATA% is C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\AppData\Microsoft\.)

  2. Open %APPDATA%\Document Building Blocks\Normal11.dot in Office Word 2007.

  3. Save the file as AutoText.dotx. The file upgrades to the new file format.

  4. Open AutoText.dotx in Office Word 2007, and go to the Building Blocks Organizer. To do this, click Insert, click Quick Parts, and click Building Blocks Organizer….

  5. In Building Blocks Organizer, you can move AutoText entries to the Quick Parts gallery or a gallery you prefer. To do this, select an AutoText entry, click Edit Properties…, select the appropriate gallery in the Gallery: dropdown box, and click OK.

If you also want to make AutoText entries available while you compose e-mails, perform the following procedure.

Migrate AutoText entries to the NormalEmail.dotm template

  1. Open AutoText.dotx (in %APPDATA%\Document Building Blocks) and save it as Temp.dotx (you are creating a copy in the same folder).

  2. Copy NormalEmail.dotm from the %AppData%\Templates folder to the %AppData%\Document Building Blocks folder.

  3. Open Temp.dotx in Office Word 2007 and go to Building Blocks Organizer. To do this, click Insert, click Quick Parts, and then click Building Blocks Organizer.

  4. In Building Blocks Organizer, move all the AutoText entries from the Temp template to the NormalEmail template. To do this, select an AutoText entry, click Edit Properties, edit the appropriate properties, select NormalEmail in the Save in dropdown box, and then click OK.

  5. When you finish moving all AutoText entries, close and then delete %APPDATA%\Document Building Blocks\Temp.dotx.

  6. Move NormalEmail.dotm from the %AppData%\Document Building Blocks folder to the %AppData%\Templates folder, replacing the original NormalEmail.dotm in the %AppData%\Templates folder.

Migrating customizations

Customizations to previous versions of Word do not automatically migrate to Office Word 2007 during installation. These customizations include:

  • Settings

  • Styles

  • Add-ins

  • Macros

  • Toolbars

  • AutoText entries

  • AutoCorrect entries

Many features relating to these customizations are significantly redesigned in Office Word 2007. Settings from earlier versions of Word do not automatically migrate to Office Word 2007. Users can take advantage of the new features more easily.

In previous versions of Word, customizations are stored in the Normal template (Normal.dot). This template stores customizations such as custom toolbars, default font changes, style customizations (including user-created styles), macros, AutoText, and AutoCorrect entries. The installation process for Office Word 2007 renames Normal.dot to Normal11.dot. The default for Office Word 2007 is the new Normal.dotm template. By default, Normal11.dot and Normal.dotm are stored in C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\AppData\Microsoft\Templates.

Use the following procedure to retrieve the customizations from a previous version of Word.

NoteNote:

Some customizations for previous versions of Word, such as some changes to the user interface, might not apply to Office Word 2007 and will not have an effect in Office Word 2007.

Migrate the contents of Normal11.dot to Normal.dotm

  1. Exit Office Word 2007 if it is currently open.

  2. In My Computer (or Computer if you are using Microsoft Windows Vista), navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\AppData\Microsoft\Templates, or the appropriate folder if you specified an alternate location during installation.

  3. Right-click Normal.dotm, select Rename, and enter a name, such as Normal.old. Click Yes when the following message appears: "If you change a file name extension, the file may become unusable. Are you sure you want to change it?"

  4. Right-click Normal11.dot, select Rename, and enter Normal.dot for the new filename. The next time you start Office Word 2007, Office Word 2007 converts and renames Normal.dot to Normal.dotm. Your customizations should now be available in Office Word 2007.

Migrating Add-ins

If add-ins from a previous version of Word are no longer available after you upgrade to Office Word 2007, see the Knowledge Base article Add-ins may not be available after you upgrade to Word 2007 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=80909).

Migrating AutoCorrect entries

To migrate AutoCorrect entries from a previous version of Word, see the Knowledge Base article How to move AutoCorrect entries in Word 2007 from one computer to another computer (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=81188).

Migrating the data key

The data key stores the settings for frequently used options. The data key cannot be migrated from a previous version of Word to Office Word 2007.

Download this book

This topic is included in the following downloadable book for easier reading and printing:

See the full list of available books at Office Resource Kit information.

See Also