Specifying a Default Building Block Location

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 9, 2019)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


When Gay creates a Building Block and then tries to save it, the default location is for it to be saved in Building Blocks.dotx. Gay would like the default location to be Normal.dotm and wonders if there is a way to permanently specify the change.

As far as we can determine, there is no way to permanently specify a default location for your Building Blocks. Word always assumes that the default is in the Building Blocks.dotx template, as Gay notes. You can, however, modify the location each time you go to save a Building Block.

That being said, there is good reason to allow Word to save your Building Blocks in the default template that it proposes. Traditionally, the Normal template has been a source of potential problems as more and more info gets stuffed into the file. When the Building Blocks are moved to a separate template, this frees up space in the Normal template and means that there is less chance of corrupting the file over time.

The other thing to remember is that Building Blocks tend to be highly customized to the needs of an individual user. By putting them in their own template, that makes it easier to standardize the Normal template across multiple users in a company without disturbing the individualized Building Blocks used by employees.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7977) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Resetting to Factory Defaults for Bulleted Lists

If you use bulleted lists a lot in your documents, you might notice that the formats have changed over time. Resetting ...

Discover More

Using an Exact Number of Digits

Excel allows you to format numeric data in all sorts of ways, but specifying a number of digits independent of the ...

Discover More

Wielding the Power

If you are done using Windows for a while, it is a good idea to shut down your system. Windows provides several different ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Quick Recall of Table Formats

Got a table that you use over and over again? One way you can make quick work of such repetition is to save the table in ...

Discover More

Reloading Building Blocks

Building Blocks can be a powerful tool for document creation in Word. Saving your Building Blocks and reloading them into ...

Discover More

Understanding Building Blocks

Ever wonder what the Building Blocks feature does in Word? Here's an explanation of the feature and what you can do with it.

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is eight minus 5?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.