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Mac Forum / Applications / Word / October 2006Launching Word on the Mac
Is it possible to launch Word on a Mac, without it automatically opening a blank document? > Is it possible to launch Word on a Mac, without it automatically > opening a blank document? If you open an existing document, it won't create a blank doc. If you launch Word and then immediately open a doc, it will automatically replace the blank doc (at least on my computer). Why do you ask? Perhaps there is some other way to get at your ultimate goal.  SignatureDaiya Mitchell, MVP Mac/Word Word FAQ: http://www.word.mvps.org/ MacWord Tips: <http://word.mvps.org/Mac/WordMacHome.html> What's an MVP? A volunteer! Read the FAQ: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/ > > Is it possible to launch Word on a Mac, without it automatically > > opening a blank document? [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > If you launch Word and then immediately open a doc, it will automatically > replace the blank doc (at least on my computer). Not on mine, it doesn't (Word 2004 v. 11.2). Are you sure you don't have a macro that's doing this? > Why do you ask? Perhaps there is some other way to get at your ultimate > goal. My brain tends to work like this in the morning : (1) Better do some work, I suppose. (2) Better open Word, then. (3) Right, now which document was I working on yesterday? It doesn't seem unreasonable to expect to be able to start a program without the program making assumptions about what you want to do with it. SignatureJacques Hi Jacques: I wish my brain worked as well as yours :-) Mine is not always operating until the afternoon. Anyway: If you open Word, then immediately open a document before doing anything else, the document you just opened will replace the default blank document. If you do anything that might be interpreted as a "change" to the blank document, Word will keep that and open your other document as a second document. On the PC, Word has a startup switch that enables you to suppress the initial blank document. I think that's what the original poster was looking for: Mac Word does not have startup switches, including that one. Mac Word is built for less experienced users than some programs. So yes, it does make a very large number of assumptions as to what you want to do. However, the initial blank document is not necessarily an "assumption" on Word's part. It is also an essential part of the Application Environment. Word needs at least two document files open in order to operate: the Global Template (Normal) and the Active Document. You can quickly investigate this for yourself: Close the default document, and you will find that more than half the Word commands are missing or greyed out. That's because the internal object structure depends on at least one document being open for Word to operate. I am sure they could have designed around this, but I guess there didn't seem much point -- very few users would notice or care. Those who do are sufficiently expert to easily arrange to handle the situation. However, most users these days are "Double-clickers". They have no idea that applications exist at all. Everything is opened in "My Computer" and to work on anything, they double-click it. They are often blissfully unaware of which application the file opened in. Some are unaware of whether they're using a Mac or a PC! Which leads to a High Amusement Value in here, and quite a bit of frustration, when they can't tell us what they're using :-) Cheers On 27/10/06 10:49 PM, in article mail-AC6978.13491327102006@news.plus.net, >>> Is it possible to launch Word on a Mac, without it automatically >>> opening a blank document? [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > It doesn't seem unreasonable to expect to be able to start a program > without the program making assumptions about what you want to do with it. SignaturePlease reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email me unless I ask you to. John McGhie <john@mcghie.name> Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Business Analyst, Consultant Technical Writer. Sydney, Australia +61 (0) 4 1209 1410 In article <C168451A.4F843%john@mcghie.name>, "John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]" <john@mcghie.name> wrote: > Hi Jacques: > > I wish my brain worked as well as yours :-) Mine is not always operating > until the afternoon. Ah, but when it's afternoon where you are it's morning here. > Anyway: If you open Word, then immediately open a document before doing > anything else, the document you just opened will replace the default blank > document. Sorry, this is not the case here. I've checked and re-checked. > If you do anything that might be interpreted as a "change" to the blank > document, Word will keep that and open your other document as a second [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > greyed out. That's because the internal object structure depends on at > least one document being open for Word to operate. I know, and that irritates me too. I quite often decide to change my global preferences when I don't have a document open, but I can't. Obviously Word can operate in a limited fashion without a document open, or it wouldn't let you close the only open document. So why insist that you must have an open document when you start up? > I am sure they could have designed around this, but I guess there didn't > seem much point -- very few users would notice or care. Those who do are [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > in here, and quite a bit of frustration, when they can't tell us what > they're using :-) True, but it follows that someone who opens Word without double-clicking on a document is probably not a novice user, and should be allowed to decide what s/he wants to do with it! (I know, poor old Word can't do anything without an open document. You feel kind of sorry for it.) > On 27/10/06 10:49 PM, in article mail-AC6978.13491327102006@news.plus.net, > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > It doesn't seem unreasonable to expect to be able to start a program > > without the program making assumptions about what you want to do with it. SignatureJacques Hi Jacque: On 28/10/06 5:00 AM, in article mail-BF65C2.20001727102006@news.plus.net, >> Anyway: If you open Word, then immediately open a document before doing >> anything else, the document you just opened will replace the default blank >> document. > > Sorry, this is not the case here. I've checked and re-checked. OK, further investigation is necessary: there's something funny going on with your installation of Word. Would your Normal template by any chance have a running header or footer with a date or page field in it? If it does, that will update on document creation, causing the document to be "dirty" (i.e. "unsaved" and cause Word to keep it. >> You can quickly investigate this for yourself: Close the default document, >> and you will find that more than half the Word commands are missing or [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > or it wouldn't let you close the only open document. So why insist that > you must have an open document when you start up? One reason (not the only one...) is that until Word has a document open, we cannot say whether or not there will be an "Attached Template". Most of the commands that are disabled operate in the context of the "Document Template". Until a document is open, we cannot tell whether that will be the "Global Template" or the "Attached Template" or a "Global Add-In" or a "Normal Add-in". So the commands are disabled. Once the document opens, these four references are instantly resolved and Word knows where to write the settings the command may make. > True, but it follows that someone who opens Word without double-clicking > on a document is probably not a novice user, and should be allowed to > decide what s/he wants to do with it! (I know, poor old Word can't do > anything without an open document. You feel kind of sorry for it.) Yeah, well most software tends to generally improve its behaviour if the environment is complete and to its liking :-) OS X itself can become a little secretive if the console and display are missing :-) You're dealing with an architectural design that may well be older than half its users :-) This architecture was put together back in the days when File>Open was the ONLY way to open a document :-) The cost and risk of fixing these decisions now is prohibitive. In Mac Office Next, you will find there are substantial differences in this particular bit of architecture. A lot of these settings have moved out of documents or templates and into XML plists. Cheers SignaturePlease reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email me unless I ask you to. John McGhie <john@mcghie.name> Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Business Analyst, Consultant Technical Writer. Sydney, Australia +61 (0) 4 1209 1410 In article <C168F4AF.4F926%john@mcghie.name>, "John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]" <john@mcghie.name> wrote: > >> Anyway: If you open Word, then immediately open a document before doing > >> anything else, the document you just opened will replace the default blank [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > does, that will update on document creation, causing the document to be > "dirty" (i.e. "unsaved" and cause Word to keep it. No, nothing like that. Don't worry, it's not important. I wish the rest of Word's annoyances only annoyed me once a day. SignatureJacques When I open word, it goes to the Window That shows open new document, Template, Excel, Power point . etc. if you click on Word document then Blank new window opens if you go to menu then you can choose recent file and choose a recent file. Of Course I have the entire Office 2004 Package. works same way on OSX.3.9 on my Desktop unit. And on my Laptop17" using OSX.4.8. > Hi Jacques: > [quoted text clipped - 62 lines] >> It doesn't seem unreasonable to expect to be able to start a program >> without the program making assumptions about what you want to do with it. Signature------------------------------------------------------------------------ Phillip M. Jones, CET |LIFE MEMBER: VPEA ETA-I, NESDA, ISCET, Sterling 616 Liberty Street |Who's Who. PHONE:276-632-5045, FAX:276-632-0868 Martinsville Va 24112 |pjones@kimbanet.com, ICQ11269732, AIM pjonescet ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If it's "fixed", don't "break it"! mailto:pjones@kimbanet.com <http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/default.htm> <http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/90th_Birthday/index.htm> <http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Fulcher/default.html> <http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Harris/default.htm> <http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Jones/default.htm> <http://www.vpea.org> Hi Jacques, >>> Is it possible to launch Word on a Mac, without it automatically >>> opening a blank document? [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Not on mine, it doesn't (Word 2004 v. 11.2). Are you sure you don't have > a macro that's doing this? Yep, I tested with shift-launch (which temporarily creates a new normal and stops any add-ins from loading, so would wipe out my existing macros). I haven't updated to 11.3 yet. So far as I remember, Word has always behaved this way (Word 98, Word 2001, Word 2004). I just checked, and it doesn't have to be *that* immediate, after all. See John's post, also. It should work on your machine too. >> Why do you ask? Perhaps there is some other way to get at your ultimate >> goal. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > (2) Better open Word, then. > (3) Right, now which document was I working on yesterday? It doesn't occur to mine to open Word until I remember I need to be working on something specific. > It doesn't seem unreasonable to expect to be able to start a program > without the program making assumptions about what you want to do with it. No, not at all. But I figured she considered that blank document to be in the way for some reason, and I thought it might be possible to address that reason. If Valentina is just philosophically opposed to the program assuming the user would want a blank doc, well, she'll have to switch to Windows to fix that. Admittedly, when Pages gives me a blank doc everytime I switch to it via the Dock, it drives me quite insane half the time, the other half I find it a handy shortcut. SignatureDaiya Mitchell, MVP Mac/Word Word FAQ: http://www.word.mvps.org/ MacWord Tips: <http://word.mvps.org/Mac/WordMacHome.html> What's an MVP? A volunteer! Read the FAQ: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/ On 27/10/06 10:49 PM, in article mail-AC6978.13491327102006@news.plus.net, <snip> > My brain tends to work like this in the morning : > (1) Better do some work, I suppose. > (2) Better open Word, then. > (3) Right, now which document was I working on yesterday? For me it's: (1) as in 1 above (2) better look at the document I was working on yesterday (3) click on it, or look via Word's File menu <== because I leave Word open. On the rare occasions that I have my Mac shut down overnight, it's: (1) as in 1 above (2) as in 3 above (3) double-click on the Word document in the Finder. Personally, I can't see the point of opening Word via the Dock. But we're all made differently... Clive Huggan ============ > > My brain tends to work like this in the morning : > > (1) Better do some work, I suppose. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > (2) better look at the document I was working on yesterday > (3) click on it, or look via Word's File menu <== because I leave Word open. I close Word when I stop work for the day, because (a) I don't want to be reminded of work, and (b) I use music software that needs all the resources it can get. > On the rare occasions that I have my Mac shut down overnight, it's: > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Personally, I can't see the point of opening Word via the Dock. But it takes time to navigate to the document you want. Once Word is open, you can use the list of recent documents in the File menu. Hang on a minute ... D'oh! I now see that you can also do it via Apple>Recent Items! SignatureJacques I've been lurking about here with interest but had a thought that may be more mental exercise than anything else... Am by no means a scripter, but I do like to 'poke & jab' a little and it looks to me that it would be quite possible to use an AppleScript to launch Word while telling it to reopen item #1 from the MRU list. Any takers?;) Regards |:>) Bob Jones [MVP] Office:Mac On 10/28/06 7:33 AM, in article mail-AC7B46.12332328102006@news.plus.net, >>> My brain tends to work like this in the morning : >>> (1) Better do some work, I suppose. [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > D'oh! I now see that you can also do it via Apple>Recent Items! tell application "Microsoft Word" activate open recent file (first recent file) end tell (Has the advantage of opening the very most recent file that you _opened_ in Word - same as the no. 1 item at the bottom of Word's File menu, as opposed to the Apple menu/Recent Items, which appears to list documents in the (reverse) order that they were _closed_.) You could also open all the files in the File menu at once if you wished: tell application "Microsoft Word" activate open recent file (recent files) end tell BTW, it replaces the blank new document too. Here's a way to open Word without any document, new or otherwise: tell application "Microsoft Word" launch close active document saving no activate end tell You can keep any of these scripts in the system's Script Menu. To create the Script Menu, go to /Applications/AppleScript/AppleScript Utility, launch it, and check "Show script menu in menu bar". (This is for Tiger OS 10.4. In previous OS's, you double-click "Install Script Menu.menu" in the same location.) In the Script menu, select Open Scripts Folder->Open User Scripts Folder. (That's again for Tiger; in earlier OS's there's just a single Open Scripts Folder, I think, it will get the right one.) That creates a "Scripts" folder in ~/Library/ (which you can do manually back in Jaguar). That's where you should save these (and other) scripts to from Script Editor (also to be found in /Applications/AppleScript/ ). Save them as 'script' Format (the default). There are ways to have scripts show up in the menu only when you're in a particular application (such as Word). Ask if interested. In this case, though, you specifically want them to show up from any application, when Word is not open. SignaturePaul Berkowitz MVP MacOffice Entourage FAQ Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/faq/index.html> AppleScripts for Entourage: <http://macscripter.net/scriptbuilders/> Please "Reply To Newsgroup" to reply to this message. Emails will be ignored. PLEASE always state which version of Microsoft Office you are using - **2004**, X or 2001. It's often impossible to answer your questions otherwise. > From: CyberTaz <onlygeneraltaz1@com.cast.net> > Newsgroups: microsoft.public.mac.office.word [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] >> >> D'oh! I now see that you can also do it via Apple>Recent Items! Hah!!! I knew I'd draw you out of hiding, Paul - Just couldn't resist it, could ya?:-) SignatureThanx |:>) Bob J. On 10/28/06 7:38 PM, in article C169461E.E9958%berkowit@spoof_silcom.com, > tell application "Microsoft Word" > activate [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > though, you specifically want them to show up from any application, when > Word is not open. Below. Clive Huggan ============= On 28/10/06 10:33 PM, in article mail-AC7B46.12332328102006@news.plus.net, >>> My brain tends to work like this in the morning : >>> (1) Better do some work, I suppose. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > be reminded of work, and (b) I use music software that needs all the > resources it can get. If it wasn't for (b), you can just Command-h to hide Word. :-) > >> On the rare occasions that I have my Mac shut down overnight, it's: [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > D'oh! I now see that you can also do it via Apple>Recent Items! ;-) CH === |
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