Word 2011

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The first time I opened Word 2011 for Mac, I got the following error "Word connot open the existing Global Template (normal.dotm). I've tried some of the PC word fixesand some online, but they dont seem to work. Any help would be appreciated
 

chscag

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Either the "normal.dotm" was never created or it's corrupt. I'm not sure exactly where it is located in Office 2011 but try here:

MacIntosh HD/Users/your name/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/normal.dotm

If it's there, move it to your desktop and restart Word 2011. Word will create a new one upon startup if everything else is OK.
 
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Normal.dotm

I also have been having this problem for months. I re-installed several times. I even bought a brand new edition of MS 2011 for $140. None of that helped. I have now tried all the advice I can find on this site and also answers.microsoft. I need help please!
 

chscag

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You very likely did not properly uninstall Office 2011 before reinstalling it. Since Office 2011 has no built in uninstaller, you have to follow the Microsoft instructions for completely removing it before reinstalling: Follow MS directions from here.

Reinstall Office 2011 after following the directions above. If you still have problems, do a verify and repair of your hard drive.

By the way, uninstalling does not remove your personal templates or documents, however, make a backup of all your data with Time Machine first.
 
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chscag,

Thank you very much for the great instructions. Things are running smoothly now with one exception, which is actually a problem that was occurring before but I wanted to get the first issue out of the way and I hoped your advice would also fix this second issue.

That is, when I open Word, I get a message about how the Database needs to be rebuilt. I follow the instructions on the screen but it never helps.

Any wisdom you might have on this one would also be welcome.

Thanks,
jgee812
 

chscag

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That should have been fixed when you uninstalled Word 2011 and re-installed. It leads me to believe that you may have overlooked something? Unfortunately, Office 2011 scatters files and folders all over your hard drive. And if you're using Lion or Mountain Lion, the user library folder is hidden by default - which can be a pain when trying to correct errors.

The reason I know this is because I have had that same problem myself and the only thing that fixed it was a reinstall. Apparently the "rebuild" database routine that Office uses has some flaws. (Not surprising!)
 

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