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Adjusting Word window default size?

Chris Hansen 31 Reputation points
2021-04-14T19:54:30.037+00:00

Hoping this isn't a dumb question but:

Is there a way to set the window size when you open Word?

It seems like the window always opens wider and shorter then I'd like it so I'm always adjusting it to be narrower and taller to better fit the size of the document. I'm pretty sure it wasn't always like this, I started noticing it a few years ago.

Thanks

Word Management
Word Management
Word: A family of Microsoft word processing software products for creating web, email, and print documents.Management: The act or process of organizing, handling, directing or controlling something.
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  1. John Korchok 5,466 Reputation points
    2022-08-09T15:19:32.58+00:00

    This forum is poorly run, my previous answer was deleted for no good reason:

    In Word for Windows, the default document view is set by the view saved in Normal.dotm. To open Normal.dotm in Word, open an Explorer window, then paste the next line into the address bar: 

     %appdata%\Microsoft\Templates

    In the window that opens, select Normal.dotm and open it in Word. Double-clicking on Normal.dotm will create a document, so don't do that. The top bar in Word needs to read Normal.dotm, not Document 1.

    Set your preferred zoom and window size, then make a small change to Normal, like typing a space character. Save it, then delete the space character and save again. (Document views are not saved unless there is some other change to the file).

    Close Word, then reopen and the window size and zoom should be set to your preference.

    11 people found this answer helpful.
  2. Emily Hua-MSFT 27,676 Reputation points
    2021-04-15T07:32:09.373+00:00

    @Chris Hansen

    Generally, Word would open a windows with same size as the one you closed last.
    It means the height and width should be saved for the next time you start Word.

    If it does not work, please refer to JohnKorchok's answer.

    You may also try to repair Office from Control Panel to have a check, or reset user options and registry settings in Word.

    If an Answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote it.
    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
  3. Michael Heyman 6 Reputation points
    2022-08-10T13:46:42.577+00:00

    Why does the window now default to long and short? I suspect this is an accidental loss of functionality. It's wasted a lot of my time today marking a batch of student work. Thanks for suggested workarounds but MS should fix it.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
  4. Stefan Blom 2,391 Reputation points MVP
    2021-04-20T18:36:35.547+00:00

    Word should always revert to the settings that were applied for the last document window that you closed in the previous Word session.

    With recent versions of Word you can't save the view and zoom with an individual document. Older versions of Word did allow for that. To restore the behavior of older versions, you can try Jay Freedman's add-in. Download SaveViewLocMulti.zip from his web site at https://jay-freedman.info/, unzip the template and put it in Word's Startup folder.

  5. Matthew Clues 0 Reputation points
    2023-12-11T12:18:18.3033333+00:00

    This forum is a joke, it is a clear and rampant issue and no one at MS knows what to do.

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