Template That Refuses to Modernise
A 14-person legal-ops team keeps its master services agreement template on the department file server: MSA.dotx, built around the licensed typeface Sabon Next LT Pro, a three-level multilevel list, and a short macro that repaginates exhibit pages. Documents created from it open with [Compatibility Mode] in the title bar. On three loaner laptops the typeface is silently replaced by Times New Roman, which pushes the signature block onto an extra page. Autosave is greyed out whenever the template itself is open. IT confirms the file-server path is not listed in Trust Center. The team replaces laptops on a four-month cycle and wants a fix that survives that churn rather than a per-machine workaround.
1. Documents spawned from MSA.dotx open in Compatibility Mode. What is the root cause, and where must the change be made so new documents stop inheriting it?
Read the worked answer
Compatibility Mode is a property of the file, not of the Word installation, so the fix must land on the template itself.
- Open MSA.dotx, go to File > Info and look for the Convert button. If it is present, the file is still stored in the older Word 97-2003 format (a
.dotin disguise, or a.dotxwhose internal compatibility setting was never upgraded). - Alternatively check File > Options > Advanced > Compatibility options for; if it reads an older version, the document's compatibility level is pinned.
- Convert, then Save to a
.dotx(or.dotmif the repagination macro stays). Re-test by creating a new document.
Why not just fix one document: every document inherits the template's compatibility level at creation. Converting a spawned .docx fixes that one file and nothing else, and the substitution of newer layout behaviour (line breaking, table spacing) will keep reappearing. Verify by checking that the title bar shows no Compatibility Mode banner on a freshly created file from the corrected template.
2. Sabon Next LT Pro disappears only on some laptops. Recommend a durable fix and state the trade-off you are accepting.
Read the worked answer
Two mechanisms, and they solve different problems:
- Embed the font in the template - File > Options > Save > Embed fonts in the file. Choose Embed only the characters used (small file, but anyone typing a new accented character silently falls back) versus Embed all characters (large file, fully editable, best if the team edits body text). Embedding travels with the file, so replaced laptops are covered without a deployment project.
- Install the font on the endpoints - via Intune/Group Policy, which fixes the whole suite but must be repeated for each hardware refresh, precisely the churn the team is trying to escape.
Trade-off to check first: font embedding only works if the font's licence permits it (fsType embedding bits). Sabon Next is a commercial Monotype family; some licences allow print-and-preview embedding only. Confirm with the licence holder, because a non-embeddable font will be stripped on save with no warning. If embedding is blocked, the fallback is a redistribution-licensed substitute, chosen before the next laptop refresh, not after.
3. Autosave is greyed out for the template. Explain why, and decide what the team should do about it.
Read the worked answer
Autosave is not a local setting - it requires the file to live in OneDrive, SharePoint or another service that supports co-authoring and version history. A UNC path on a file server cannot support it, so the control is disabled by design and no registry tweak will enable it.
Options and the judgement behind them:
- Move the template library to a SharePoint document library and open the template from there. Autosave and version history then work, and template updates are versioned rather than overwritten by whoever saves last. Cost: users must be trained to create documents via New > New from template against the library, not by double-clicking a cached copy.
- Leave it on the server and accept AutoRecover only (recovery of the unsaved document, not continuous saving). Acceptable if the template changes rarely and changes are made deliberately.
Do not simply enable 'Save to OneDrive by default' as a substitute: that redirects users' documents, not the shared template, and will scatter copies. Also add the library to Trust Center trusted locations if the macro is to run without prompts.