Installing Wordfast Classic

Automatic installation

With versions of Ms-Word higher than Ms-Word 97, use Ms-Word's Tools > Macros > Security dialog box, set security to low. If you see a "Trusted sources" pane, check all options present in it. Then close Ms-Word and open it again before automatic installation can be done.

Mac Word 2011: Try the automatic installation by double-clicking wordfast.dot. If automatic installation fails, drop Wordfast.dot in a folder of your choice (preferably not the desktop -- create a new folder from the root where wordfast.dot will be dropped; make sure that both path name and file name do not use accented characters or Unicode characters: stick to the 25 unaccented latin letters for hard disk name, folder name). In Word 2011, use the Tools menu then Templates & Add-Ins dialog box to open (select) Wordfast.dot.

Systems using Unicode, like Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Central European languages, Arabic, Hebrew, etc should read the note on using latin-character path (folder) names and file names.

Windows: To perform an automatic installation, start Ms-Word, open the Wordfast.dot template using Ms-Word's File > Open dialog box (as when opening regular documents), enable macros if prompted to do so, and click the Install WFC button.

Systems using Unicode, like Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Central European languages, Arabic, Hebrew, etc should read the note on using latin-character path (folder) names and file names.

Automatic installation is the only case when you actually open Wordfast.dot as a document. After installation, Wordfast.dot has been added as a startup template and resides in Ms-Word's Tools > Templates & Add-Ins dialog box. Wordfast.dot does not need to be opened as a document again.

Manual installation

Manual installation should be used if the automatic installation fails. When performing a manual installation, Wordfast.dot should not be opened as a document, but added to Ms-Word's list of templates, as follows:

Close Ms-Word. Copy the file Wordfast.dot into your Ms-Word Startup folder. Here are the typical locations for such folders (yours may be different):

Ms-Word 97 (all systems):

\Program files\Microsoft Office\Office\Startup

Ms-Word 2000 and above:

Windows 9x: \Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\Startup

Windows NT: \WinNt\Profiles\User name\Application data\Microsoft\Startup

Windows 2k, XP: \Documents and settings\User name\Application data\Microsoft\Word\Startup

Windows Vista, Seven, 8, 10:

\User name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\Startup

MacIntosh:

Applications:Microsoft Office X:Office:Startup:Word

Note that the exact location of your Startup folder is given by Ms-Word in the Tools > Options > Default folders (or Preferences > Default folders on Mac versions) dialog box. If no startup folder is specified in this dialog box, please specify one. Ms-Word must have a startup folder for add-ons to be loaded at startup time. If you cannot see your Ms-Word Startup folder in your hard disk, see the note below on hidden folders.

Systems using Unicode, like Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, CE, Arabic, Hebrew etc should read the note on using latin-character path (folder) names and file names.

Open Ms-Word. If you do not see the WFC icon, use Word's View > Toolbars menu to check the WFC toolbar. If this menu does not have a "WFC" option, see below.

Some systems have drastic Read/Write restrictions on system folders. Some anti-virus software, or strict network administrators, may impose such restrictions, making it impossible to add startup templates and add-ins to Ms-Word, by fear of macro-viruses. Although this fear and restriction may be legitimate (most network administrators and antivirus packages don't use such restrictions and live happily), it makes WFC operation impossible. To solve this problem, create a folder in an unprotected part of your hard disc (anywhere you can create a folder is unprotected). Then, in Ms-Word, use the Tools > Options menu, then "Default folders", to assign the folder you just created as startup folder. Copy Wordfast.dot into this folder, close and restart Ms-Word. The bottom line is: WFC is entirely written in Ms-Word macro language, and if your network administrator, or your antivirus, refuses the installation of any macro-based program, then running WFC is impossible.

Another manual installation

If the above method fails, start Ms-Word. Use Ms-Word's Tools > Templates & Add-Ins dialog box. Click the "Add" button, find then add Wordfast.dot. Note that every time your start Ms-Word, you will have to use the same dialog box, and check the "WFC" template. Manual installation is used on Macs.

If no automatic and no manual installation works

Create a new folder at the root of your hard disk, for example C:\WFC or C:\Program files\Wordfast. Copy Wordfast.dot into that newly-created folder.

Start Ms-Word. Use the Tools > Options > Default folders, click the Startup folder, then click the Change button and specify the newly-created folder so it becomes the new Startup folder. Close and re-start Ms-Word. If the WFC toolbar does not appear, use the View > Toolbars menu to activate it.

If step 2 still does not work, in Ms-Word, use the Tools > Templates & Add-Ins dialog box, click the Add button to add the Wordfast.dot template jus copied in step 2. If the WFC toolbar does not appear, use the View > Toolbars menu to activate it.

Note 1: If you have difficulty locating Ms-Word's Startup folder: start Ms-Word, see Tools > Options then Default folders. Make a note of the startup folder's full name.

Note 2: If, at any time, Ms-Word asks you whether you want to "save" changes made to the WFC template, answer no. The WFC template should stay unchanged.

Note 3: Having Wordfast.dot in Startup will activate WFC every time Ms-Word is started. If Wordfast.dot is copied into Templates, you will have to open the Tools > Templates dialog box, click the Add button, select Wordfast.dot and press OK. You should never open Wordfast.dot as a document.

Note 4: Ms-Word 2000 or above: use the Tools > Macro > Security menu to set the security level to low, then restart Ms-Word.

Note 5: Ms-Word 97 users: see the troubleshooting section on Ms-Word 97

Note 6: If you have two different versions of Ms-Word on the same hard disk, have two copies of Wordfast, one in each "Startup" or "Templates" folder for each version of Ms-Word. This way, each Wordfast.dot will have its own INI file, where its own license number will be kept. Apply twice to receive a license number for each version of Ms-Word, since each version of Ms-Word will make WFC produce a different Install number.

Click the multi-coloured WFC icon . If the multi-coloured WF icon does not appear, use the Tools > Templates & Add-ins menu. In the Templates dialog box, click the Add button, find Wordfast.dot in your hard disk and open it. Close the Templates dialog box.

A toolbar with a single icon should appear. Click it. The full toolbar should expand:

The toolbar may appear slightly different on versions of Word older than Word 2007.

Note that the default toolbar, as it appears after a fresh installation, only has a few icons. More icons can be enabled using the WFC > Setup > UI dialog box.

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