Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!munnari.oz.au!bruce!monu1!monu6!cpa
From: cpa@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au (Christopher P Avram)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms
Subject: Re: W4W change doc directory?
Summary: How to change Windows apps default directory.
Keywords: Windows tips
Message-ID: <1990Dec14.122008.19073@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au>
Date: 14 Dec 90 12:20:08 GMT
References: <10730007@hpspkla.spk.hp.com>
Organization: Caulfield Campus, Monash University, Melb., Australia.
Lines: 53

In article <10730007@hpspkla.spk.hp.com> bollard@hpspkla.spk.hp.com 
(Lee M. Bollard) writes:
>Does anyone have a macro (or whatever one needs) to change the default
>document directory in Word for Windows (1.1)?

One way to change the default directory used by
Microsoft Word for Windows or any other standard 
application (Excel, paint, write, pifedit etc)
is:-
1. click on the apps icon in the group window
2. choose the File menu
3. choose the Properties option
4. put the required path in the Command line field 
  for example in the case of Notepad, replace 
        NOTEPAD.EXE by C:\USR\NPD\NOTEPAD.EXE 
  Don't worry, the windows directory is in the dos search 
  path so the program doesn't need to be in the default 
  directory, step 4 says set the default directory to
  C:\USR\NPD\ and as a first step look for NOTEPAD.EXE
  in that directory. When that search fails, dos will find
  NOTEPAD.EXE in the windows directory, but will leave the
  default directory set to C:\USR\NPD\.
5. click on OK
6. ignore the Invalid path warning click on OK
7. unfortunately the icon file name has been changed to
   a non existent file so the icon is a program manager
   default. Don't worry yet.
8. choose the File menu
9. choose the Properties option
10. click on Change Icon
11. remove the path in the File Name field of the Change
    Icon dialogue box, leave only the true program name
    in our example NOTEPAD.EXE only
12. click on OK
13. click on OK again
14. ignore the Invalid path warning again click on OK
15. Test your new program item by double clicking on the
    icon; once you are in the application go to the File
    menu and choose Open if the directory is correct you
    have finished. Otherwise worry.
I wish I new the correct way to do this. Better still, perhaps
the next release of Windows will have an extra field in the
dialogue box for default directory.


Chris Avram
Department of Computer Technology
Faculty of Computing and Information Technology
Monash University Caulfield Campus

PO Box 197                  Phone + 61 3 573 2196
Caulfield East Vic 3145     Fax   + 61 3 573 2745
AUSTRALIA                   email cpa@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au