Template in Word 2008

[MacInWin]

A quick check at Amazon returned lots of CD and DVD external drives in the US$20-20 range. So, with that your options are:

1. Live with it. (But with that option you forfeit the right to complain about it ever again )
2. Order an external drive and while it is being shipped, start the archeological dig for the disk. If you find it, great, if not, this option may not work at all. But you could see if that ancient version is for sale on Ebay (make sure it's legal and you get the serials for it). (Or do the archeological work and once you find the disc, order a drive.) Lots of variations on this option.
3. Get a new copy of the latest version of Word, either buying it or subscribing to Office365 for US$7/month and move on.

For my money, #3 seems to be the best. That ancient version is eventually quit working (which it actually already has, you just have a work-around for it) and you'll be looking a getting a newer version anyway.

 

[pm-r]

Looks as if I'm stuck with the workaround I posted above, or every time I want a new doc, I can change the specs in Template1 to those I want and save that doc with whatever name I choose.

I'm sorry to break the #60 post mark here, but if you've created a Word doc with the formatting you want, what about creating a duplicate copy of it and then use it to open Word for you next doc but just replace the text.

IE: Another way for you to create a formatted "template" or Word stationery file if you like.

If that doesn't work, then either your OS X or your Word is goofed up. But I suspect your newer OS X is just missing something that the old OS version had.

And there's another possible choice, just go back to an earlier OS X version where everything with your Word 2008 worked properly.

Note: There are several such reasons why I'm still using Mavericks 10.9.5 and will do till it really doesn't work as I want. Why bother with a later OS X version if there are few advantages and some needed things (ie Word) don't work properly???

Just another option for you I guess.




- Patrick
======

 

[bootsontrail]

I don't like #3 because I would need two new Words at $130 each. The iMac cost ~$1600. The laptop 128 laptop will cost $1300, the 256 is $1500, both + tax and dongles cause they no longer have USB3 ports. I have to buy converters and expand from the two Thunder thing ports the laptop has. After all those costs, I'm not keen on another $260 for the latest version of Word. I'm also not keen on buying a CD drive just for this purpose, regardless of the cost.

Do you guys just go along with the planned obsolescence and forced purchases? Doesn't the manipulation bother you?

I like the idea of using my WordTemplate file to open the app. That saves a step. Then I just Save As using whatever name I want, and the WordTemplate file stays.

I liked 10.6.8 cause Word in it was simpler but especially since iPhoto worked great in it. I had to upgrade to a newer OS cause TurboTax wouldn't work on 10.6.8. Then I reached a point where I couldn't upgrade the OS cause the hardware wouldn't accept it.

Does this crap apply to anything else we use? Do automakers manipulate and force us to upgrade our cars every few months, drop convenient features, require us to buy peripherals, eliminate things that connect to a dozen other devices we have and then expect us to celebrate how many billions of dollars they have in the bank?

I mean, don't you guys feel used?

 

[ferrarr]

I don't like #3 because I would need two new Words at $130 each. The iMac cost ~$1600. The laptop 128 laptop will cost $1300, the 256 is $1500, both + tax and dongles cause they no longer have USB3 ports. I have to buy converters and expand from the two Thunder thing ports the laptop has. After all those costs, I'm not keen on another $260 for the latest version of Word. I'm also not keen on buying a CD drive just for this purpose, regardless of the cost.

Do you guys just go along with the planned obsolescence and forced purchases? Doesn't the manipulation bother you?

I like the idea of using my WordTemplate file to open the app. That saves a step. Then I just Save As using whatever name I want, and the WordTemplate file stays.

I liked 10.6.8 cause Word in it was simpler but especially since iPhoto worked great in it. I had to upgrade to a newer OS cause TurboTax wouldn't work on 10.6.8. Then I reached a point where I couldn't upgrade the OS cause the hardware wouldn't accept it.

Does this crap apply to anything else we use? Do automakers manipulate and force us to upgrade our cars every few months, drop convenient features, require us to buy peripherals, eliminate things that connect to a dozen other devices we have and then expect us to celebrate how many billions of dollars they have in the bank?

I mean, don't you guys feel used?

This would be a great time to learn how t boot your Mac using multiple different Mac OS X/OS X/macOS versions. Right now I have 10.13 installed internally and also have 10.10, 10.11, and 10.12 on an external drive.

 

[MacInWin]

I like the idea of using my WordTemplate file to open the app. That saves a step. Then I just Save As using whatever name I want, and the WordTemplate file stays.

And you can have that same functionality if you just give in and reinstall Word, or upgrade to something more modern than 10 years ago. We've told you how to do that before.

I liked 10.6.8 cause Word in it was simpler but especially since iPhoto worked great in it. I had to upgrade to a newer OS cause TurboTax wouldn't work on 10.6.8. Then I reached a point where I couldn't upgrade the OS cause the hardware wouldn't accept it.

Does this crap apply to anything else we use? Do automakers manipulate and force us to upgrade our cars every few months, drop convenient features, require us to buy peripherals, eliminate things that connect to a dozen other devices we have and then expect us to celebrate how many billions of dollars they have in the bank?

Um, yes, in fact it does apply to practically everything. Remember leaded gas? Remember pure gasoline, not 10% ethanol? Remember sealed beam headlights? Remember cars before computer controlled ignition? The bottom line is that you are exaggerating the impact of technology by looking back at a piece of software from 10 years ago that needs reinstalling just to work. I know it's fun to be a luddite and whine about how good the "good old days" were, but the bottom line is that the "good old days" were never as good as we remember. (Remember lead pollution? Remember having to replace headlights every year or so? Remember how dim they were? Remember having to pay for tuneups?) And when we try to keep that "good old days" technology going, whether computer or automotive, we find that the world has moved on and we don't operate very well in that moved-on world.

Buying a new computer every so often is like dues to the club. You have to pay to play. Computers, like cars and everything else, do get old and less functional. And just like when I bought a new car I couldn't use leaded gas anymore, or sealed beam headlights, or do my own tuneups or, or, or, when I get a new computer I have to consider whether any of my old software will run as is or will need upgrading. It's part of the "package" of moving up in computer technology. The tradeoff is I get new features and functions I never had before, like when I get a new car and get cruise control and lane warnings and radar for pedestrian and traffic alerts and satellite radio and gps, and, and, and.

Prepare yourself, sooner or later Apple (and others) will come out with a technology that will no longer support 32-bit applications. At that time, if you want/need a new computer, none of the 32-bit software from 10 years ago will even run. And when your bank/investment house/whatever account moves to the new 64-bit technology because of the increased security that advanced technology provides, you will find that the computer from the "good old days" won't be able to access your bank, investment house, credit cards, whatever.

Getting back to your problem, with a <$30 investment in a CD drive, you can reinstall ancient Word and recover the functionality you want. Or you can just put up with it. Your call. The world is moving on.

 

[Slydude]

Thanks Jake I was about to type something very similar last night but dicided not to jump on that grenade so to speak.

Re your point about 32 bit software becoming obsolete: My understanding is that Mojave (which is currently in beta) will be the last OS version to support 32-bit apps. If Apple stays on its current release schedule we will see the first OS that doesn't support 32-bit apps about this time next year. Computers running Mojave would not become obsolete immediately pbviously but the writing is on the wall for 32-bit software.

 

[MacInWin]

Sly, I'm not known for being shy about grenades! As you have heard here before...;D

 

[Slydude]

Last night I wasn't thinking in terms of the changes in car tech that you mentioned Electronic iginition and such). I was thinking in terms of the other computer tech that esxists now. With the advent of things like carplay and other technology such as backup cameras I'm wondering how quickly people will start replacing their cars. In other words you buy a new car this year and spend say $30,00 on it. The technology will of course march on. If the tech advances quickly. as it did in the early days of computing, will that car be held onto or replaced quickly?

Even if some enterprising computer wiz comes up with ways to add upgrade only the tech and not replace the entire vehicle that is going to cost some dough.

 

[MacInWin]

Sly, cars are already being cycled faster. Witness, leasing instead of buying. More and more folks are leasing instead of buying. They look at the lease payment as part of a "utility" expense instead of some sort of purchase. Pay monthly for the car, pay monthly for electricity, etc. Technology doesn't really come into that decision, but as new cars have new features, the next lease will step up to that technology. The mechanical parts of the car are now so reliable compared to the "good old days" that the idea of a car wearing out is somehow alien. The same thing is coming in software. Right now Adobe, Microsoft and some other vendors have a utility scheme for software. Technically you never "bought" software anyway, just license to use it. So now the vendors are changing the license terms from "one time pay" to "pay monthly but get maintenance upgrades for no more." Some old timers are railing against this scheme, but it's the future.

 

[Slydude]

Car leasing has been around long enough as a concept that I hadn't thought of tech issues driving that though I think you are right. As far as software goes I think Larry Ellison proposed something like a subscription model several years ago and we are indeed seeing it come to fruition. I've avioded that so far becasue honestly what I do on a computer does not require the latest software but the day is coming where subscriptions will be the norm.

 

[pm-r]

… you can have that same functionality if you just give in and reinstall Word,
… … …you can reinstall ancient Word and recover the functionality you want.

I'm curious and a bit leery of such a strong statements that a clean install of MS Office 2008 is actually going to fix the problem.

Anyway, just as a suggestion if the disc can be found, maybe someone could put it on a USB stick or create an install image for the OP.

I like the idea of using my WordTemplate file to open the app. That saves a step. Then I just Save As using whatever name I want, and the WordTemplate file stays.

Just as I've been suggesting to do several times now. Open the saved custom formatted doc file, hit command-A -> then delete and start typing your new letter. Then Save As… or equivalent.

I liked 10.6.8 cause Word in it was simpler but especially since iPhoto worked great in it.

Definitely something that I would do and actually do do, (gee that sounds bad!!! ;D ), and that's to have older bootable partitions (at least one for 10.6.8 with MS Office 2008 and iPhoto etc) that just worked as you wanted.

It seems it wasn't that long ago I had to do just that to create a custom sized diploma project with AppleWorks that no Pages version etc. could do. It just worked fine and easy using AW. ;D








- Patrick
======

 

[bootsontrail]

Quoting myself: "I like the idea of using my WordTemplate file to open the app. That saves a step. Then I just Save As using whatever name I want, and the WordTemplate file stays."

Other solutions offered grossly overdo. Above is a simple, dare I say, elegant solution.

I go to car shows and see gorgeous cars from the '30s, '40s and '50s that work as well today as they did then. When I used cars as an analogy, I didn't say I was against improving them. Planned obsolescence isn't built into cars.

And somebody else here brought up the "good ol' days." That's not what I'm talking about.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Computer hardware and software developers make some great changes that actually improve their products. Many other changes actually make the products harder and less convenient to use.

My position has nothing to do with being a Luddite, which is a facile accusation to make. I'm for being discerning, for seeing things for what they are and not falling for the very carefully crafted PR and advertising messages conceived and implemented to hoodwink customers and inflate the bottom line. Then we're expected to celebrate those successes that largely come from overcharging us and forcing is to "upgrade" to products that often aren't real improvements.

You don't actually believe Mark Zuckerberg, do you?

 

[MacInWin]

I go to car shows and see gorgeous cars from the '30s, '40s and '50s that work as well today as they did then. When I used cars as an analogy, I didn't say I was against improving them. Planned obsolescence isn't built into cars.

Nor is it built into many things that are accused of it. In fact, planned obsolescence really doesn't make financial sense in that if a manufacturer makes a product specifically designed to be useless after a certain period of time, people will stop buying it. In the automotive arena, it used to be that car manufacturers made a great show of the new model for each year, immediately making last year's model "obsolete" by design. But along came the Japanese and Germans, with reliable cars that didn't change from year to year so it was hard to know that yours was three years old whereas your neighbor's was just one year old. And their cars worked better, got better gas mileage and didn't require servicing as much. That technology change forced the American manufacturers to change from the "model year" approach to be more like their competition because people stopped buying planned obsolescence.

All those old cars that "work as well today as they did then" cannot pass modern safety inspections, so they have to be granted exemptions by their "antique" status. So while a 1928 Whippet that a friend of mine owns may very well run "as well as it did then," he won't take it on an Interstate highway because it cannot get up to the minimum safe speed for that road. And it wouldn't be safe even if it could get up to that speed. And if he has an accident in that Whippet, he is much more likely to be seriously injured because it's missing safety features that we take for granted now. In a similar fashion, older operating systems and applications lack the security features that are needed on the "Interstate" internet of the 21st century. Banks and financial institutions are increasingly (and appropriately) worried about internet financial transactions, to the point where some institutions simply won't allow older browsers access to their systems. Much like the Whippet, those old browsers work "as well today as they did then" but that simply isn't acceptable today.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Computer hardware and software developers make some great changes that actually improve their products. Many other changes actually make the products harder and less convenient to use.

That was probably a line used by buggy whip manufacturers when Henry Ford rolled out the original Model A. With a nice horse and buggy you don't need gasoline, don't have to crank to start it and a horse doesn't need tuning up every so often. Why change?

Seriously, what you may think is "harder and less convenient" is to other people the greatly appreciated addition of a function or feature that they need. So beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But just because technology moves on and a product becomes obsolete doesn't mean that it was planned. Change happens. We either get along with it or get left behind. I'm not saying that every change is good, or beneficial to all. I personally don't like the new interface in Word because I have to learn all new ways to get things done, but if I want to use Word, I learn to use it the way it's designed. MS isn't going to change back because I don't like it. Maybe if people stop buying Word, they might consider, but for now, that ain't happening. If Word becomes simply too hard for me to bother with it, I'll shift to something else and then have to figure out how to be compatible with everybody who sticks with Word. Frankly, it's easier for me to learn a new trick in my old age than to try to figure out how to get other people to accept my Pages documents (yes, yes, I know Pages can save as Word, but sometimes it changes things when you do that).

Finally, I have no idea what Zuckerberg has to do with this conversation. Maybe I missed the reference, but frankly I don't care what Zuckerberg believes. He's an idiot. A rich idiot, but an idiot, nevertheless.

 

[pm-r]

OT

So while a 1928 Whippet that a friend of mine owns may very well run "as well as it did then,"…

Neat, depending on model, but I was just curious if it might have had and used the Willys-Overland sleeve valve engine, speaking of advanced technology of that day…




- Patrick
======

 

[MacInWin]

Patrick, I don't know the tech details of the Whippet. He brings it to shows occasionally, on a flatbed truck because it's simply not safe on the highway, then offloads and drives it around the show ring and to the display area. I've only seen it myself twice, both at a show. But it does run, and he says the parts are original to it or modern duplicated parts for the originals, which took him quite a while to find. And finding gasoline additives to make it "right" for the Whippet is an adventure, too, but he has become an alchemist...

 

[MacInWin]

I'm curious and a bit leery of such a strong statements that a clean install of MS Office 2008 is actually going to fix the problem.

@Patrick, the reason I made the strong statements is that what the OP is seeing is NOT how Word should work. But he has done so many unorthodox things with documents named "Template" and templates stored all over the place that I think Word is not working properly at a fundamental level. The final straw was that even though he had changed the preferences to be to open the document picker instead of defaulting to a document, it didn't take that change in the preferences and work that way. That symptom makes me think something fundamental is wrong in Word as it is currently configured on his system. Given that Word puts "stuff" all over the place, a la Windows, it just seemed very likely that a complete, fresh install would get Word back to working fundamentally correctly and then we can tackle the Normal.dotm issue without Word throwing curves every move.

But if the OP is content with the workaround, then there is no need to do anything more.

 

[pm-r]

But if the OP is content with the workaround, then there is no need to do anything more.

Sounds logical…




- Patrick
======

 

[bootsontrail]

I've owned five desktop Macs. In that time period, I've owned two trucks. Neither stopped working after 10 years. Neither required periodic upgrades. Both had free warranties much longer than a year.

Planned obsolescence is a generally accepted conclusion about the computer industry. Google computer planned obsolescence and see what you find.

 

[ferrarr]

The computers will still do what they were originally designed to do. The difference is what you want them to do has changed. Your Mac, with it's original OS, will still do everything as the day it was made.

 

[bootsontrail]

The only one of the five that will do as you say is the one I'm on now. The other four died long before I think they should have and needed upgrades along the way.