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"Default contextual alternatives" OpenType?

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viracocha Posted messages 15 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   -  
viracocha Posted messages 15 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   -
Hello,

My teacher wife wants to use a new cursive font in Word 2013.
This font is an opentype font and requires the activation of "contextual alternatives" in Word for correct use.

I found where to activate it in Word, and it works fine.

But (there's always a "but" in these topics ;), I would like this activation to be the default for all new Word documents.
I tried to set these default settings by clicking on the "default" button in the advanced font options in Word, I tried modifying the Normal.dotx template file by saving it after checking this option, I created a new "personal" template in which I checked this option, but nothing works.
Every time I close Word, when I restart Word and create a new blank document, regardless of the template I use or by clicking on "new blank document," this option is unchecked, and I have to activate it manually.
However, if I open a file that I had saved with this option checked, it is retained.

Any idea how to make this option enabled by default? A registry key, maybe?
Our setup: Windows 10/ Office Pro Plus 2013

Thanks in advance
Chris
edit> I forgot to mention that her account has administrative rights.

1 answer

  1.
    m@rina Posted messages 27617 Registration date   Status Moderator Last intervention   11 563
     
    Hello,

    I don't understand your problem. If you clicked on "Default," this option should be checked automatically.
    Just to clarify: it's not normal.dotx (which doesn't exist by default) but normal.dotm. So, is this the file you chose to modify? Are you sure about its location?

    Then, when you choose a default option, it automatically saves in normal.dotm unless you checked the "Prompt before saving the Normal template" option and answered no when exiting Word.

    And finally, make sure you are not in Compatibility mode.

    m@rina

    --
    There's no need to ask me your questions privately. I won't answer them.
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    1. viracocha Posted messages 15 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   1
       
      Thank you for your response.

      Well, yes, you have exactly understood my problem ;-) : I do click on "default" but it is never taken into account (tested on both the desktop AND the laptop, no less...)

      And when I apply the change to all documents, it is the dotm that gets modified, hence my idea to try with the dotx since it wasn't working with the dotm.

      I don't think I am in compatibility mode, on one hand because that mention doesn't appear at the top of the open Word window, and on the other hand, otherwise the opentype options are not active.

      However, regarding the location, I have indeed been wondering about that since my first message: the dotm that is being changed is in the user folder under my wife's name, who has an admin account. Do I also need to change the one in the "administrator" folder? I also tried placing it in the "custom templates" folder, without success (but only the dotx though, which appears as a custom template, but without the option being taken into account).

      Chris
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    2. m@rina Posted messages 27617 Registration date   Status Moderator Last intervention   11 563
       
      Well, forget the dotx. It doesn't exist! You can create one, but it will never serve as a default template. Only Normal.dotm has that privilege!

      So, since you say you have the same problem on the laptop and the desktop, it means the operation is wrong, because it would be strange for the same issue to occur on two PCs.

      First of all, the first thing: when you select this option and click on Default, are you in a blank document and not in a document based on a specific template? In which case, the option would only affect that template.

      Regarding the location of Normal.dotm, it depends on the versions of Word and Windows. The easiest way is to check its official location in Word:
      File tab, Options
      On the right, at the bottom => General section
      File Location button
      In the Default Folder dialog box, note the location of User Templates. You can select it and click Modify to open the folder and see the full path. That's the Normal.dotm file for the user.

      Also note that this newly checked option will apply to new documents but not to existing ones.

      m@rina
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    3. viracocha Posted messages 15 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   1
       
      To answer your question, yes I choose "blank document", I write text, I select the text, I apply the contextual alternatives, I click on "default", I choose "for all documents", I close it, and I reopen a blank document that hasn't remembered my choice. Same when I create a custom template "toto".

      I'll try your method, I'll keep you posted.
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    4. viracocha Posted messages 15 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   1
       
      Hello,

      I solved my problem, indirectly thanks to M@rina who put me on the right track.
      Indeed, I checked the path of the folder containing the custom templates, I put my normal.dotm with my options there, and as Garcimore would say, "it didn't work, haha."
      So I looked at a comparable setup at work (where the "set as default" click for contextual alternatives had worked), and there was no path indicated in the Word options for custom templates.

      So I did the following steps:
      - I deleted the path of the custom templates folder in the Word options (to force it to use the "template" folder)
      - I closed Word
      - I deleted all the "normal.dotm" files (both in the system "template" folder and in the "custom templates" folder)
      - I relaunched Word to make it create a nice normal.dotm file in the right place of its choosing
      - I checked my "contextual alternatives" box and saved "as default for all new documents."

      And since then, it works on both my desktop and laptop.

      There might have been a simpler method, but at least I was sure of my approach.
      Thank you
      Chris
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