Remove custom template from Word 2003

When I try to open a certain doc file in MS Word, it takes about 5 minutes to load and then the file is OK to work with.

I tried to repair the file using Open and Repair in MS Word 2003 but it did not change anything when I reopened the file.

I tried to clean/fix the file using two different 3rd party tools. It still takes 5 minutes to load.

Everytime I save the file and try to open it again, it takes 5 minutes to load.

I discovered, by using the Open/Recover Text from Any File option that there was a custom template (.dot file) 'tied' to the file with a network path http://x.x.x.x/Word/Templates/custom_template.dot

This machine don't exist anymore on the network. I figured it was probably Word trying to load the template that was causing the long loading time.

I'm looking for a way to remove or change that template entry so my file can load correctly with a normal loading time.

Thank you

Solution 1:

I think you should be able to remove the no-longer-in-existence template by unloading it. From Load or unload a global template or add-in program on Office's help website:

Unload a global template or add-in

• On the Tools menu, click Templates and Add-Ins.
• Click the Templates tab.
• To unload a template or add-in but leave it in the Global templates and add-ins box, clear the check box next to the name of the item.
• To unload a template or add-in and remove it from the box under Global templates and add-ins, click the item in the box and then click Remove.

and from About loading and unloading global templates and add-in programs:

To conserve memory and increase the speed of Word, it's a good idea to unload templates and add-in programs you don't often use. When you unload a template or add-in that's located in your Startup folder, Word unloads the template for the current Word session but automatically reloads it the next time you start Word. When you unload a template or add-in located in any other folder, it is unavailable until you reload it. To delete a template or add-in from Word, you must remove the template or add-in from the Templates and Add-ins dialog box.

Solution 2:

Editing templates always causes me more trouble. I did a quick search on some Word problems and there tends to be a lot of hang time when pulling in add-ons and other things.

This link provides info on how to set your MS Word to start up without any unnecessary add-ons:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080820152555AAVRbHz

If that doesn't help or you find it has to do with the file itself, you could always copy it's contents into a new file and then save it under a different name.