How to Return Microsoft Word to Default Settings

If you would like to return Microsoft Word to its default settings, you can easily accomplish this by using the "/a" command. This command tells Word that you want to prevent any changed setting files from opening the next time Word is used. You may wish to do this in a multi-user environment, such as a shared computer or a computer lab. The steps below will step you through this process.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Microsoft Word 2003

1. Locate your Microsoft Word shortcut by opening "My Computer" or "Windows Explorer" from your "Start" menu and browse to find the folder that contains that Microsoft Word shortcut. You may have the shortcut located on your desktop so you can simply use it from there.

2. Right-click on top of the Microsoft Word shortcut to display the context menu for the Word shortcut, so you can make the changes you need to make to return to Word's default settings.

3. Click on "Properties" from the context menu to open the "Properties" dialog box.

4. Select the "Shortcut" tab from the top of the "Properties" dialog box to open the shortcut options.

5. Locate the "Target field" text box in the "Properties" dialog box and place your cursor after the text in the "Target field" text box.

6. Type "/a" with your keyboard at the end of the text in the "Target field" text box. The " /a" should be typed outside of any existing quote marks, and there should be a space before the slash.

7. Use your mouse to click the "OK" button to close the "Properties" dialog box and return Microsoft Word to its original default settings.