Reset Default Document Template in Microsoft Word

Sometimes the default document template (Normal.dotm) can be corrupted or unintentionally modified. When this happens, the easiest way to get it back to where it was is to delete it and allow Microsoft Word to recreate it anew. In order to do this, you need to delete %appdata%\Microsoft\Templates\normal.dot. You can accomplish this with the following steps:

1. Close Microsoft Word if it is running.
2. Open an Explorer window by clicking “Computer” in the Start Menu or using the shortcut Windows Key + E.
3. In the location bar at the top, type %appdata% and hit enter.
4. Browse to the Microsoft folder, then the Templates folder.
5. Delete the file named “Normal”.
6. The next time you launch Microsoft Word, your default document template will be reset.