Where apps hide your files
Word for Mac keeps Normal.dotm and your own templates in a hidden Group Container, not in Documents. Here is the exact folder, why its name differs between Finder and Terminal, and how to reset Normal.dotm safely.
~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/TemplatesThat is the folder Microsoft's support article gives for templates you save in Word for Mac, and it is where Normal.dotm lives in Word 2016 and later (version 16, including Microsoft 365 and Office 2019, 2021 and 2024). Press ⇧⌘G in Finder, paste it and press Return.
One quirk: on disk the two last folders carry a .localized suffix. On the Mac checked for this guide, the same place listed in Terminal as:
~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content.localized/Templates.localized/Finder shows those as plain "User Content" and "Templates", which is why guides disagree. If Go to Folder cannot find the plain path on your Mac, paste only ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office and double-click User Content, then Templates. In Terminal, this opens the folder whichever spelling your Mac uses:
open ~/Library/Group\ Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User\ Content*/Templates*UBF8T346G9 is Microsoft's Apple developer team identifier, so that part of the path is the same on every Mac.
On the checked Mac it held:
| File | What it is |
|---|---|
Normal.dotm | The default template behind every blank Word document |
NormalEmail.dotm | A second default template Office creates for email formatting; leave it alone |
~$Normal.dotm | A small owner file Word writes while the template is open; one can be left behind after a crash |
any .dotx or .dotm you saved | Your own custom templates |
Anything you save as a Word Template into this folder is offered when you choose File > New from Template. Microsoft's article says templates are saved here unless you pick a different location, and that deleting one is a matter of dragging it from this folder to the Trash.
Next to Templates are other folders Office reads: Startup, Themes, Style Sets, Chart Templates, Document Elements, Citations, Add-Ins and Proofing Tools (each also ends in .localized on disk). Startup has a Word subfolder for templates and add-ins that load automatically when Word starts. Do not clear these out while looking for a template.
Word saves two template types. A .dotx cannot contain macros, so it is the safer choice for letterheads, invoices and layouts. A .dotm can carry macros, and Word may ask you to enable them. Normal.dotm is a macro-enabled template by design, which is why macros and AutoText entries you create can end up stored in it.
Word for Mac lists its file locations in its own settings: look for File Locations under Word > Settings (Preferences in older versions). The entries vary by version, so treat this as a pointer, not a promise. A workgroup templates folder, if your organisation sets one, can point somewhere other than the folder above, for example a shared drive. If a template is not where you expect, that pane is the first place to look.
Changes such as a new default font are saved into Normal.dotm. To edit it directly, open Word first and use File > Open to choose Normal.dotm, rather than double-clicking it in Finder. Double-clicking a template creates a new document based on it instead of opening the template itself.
If Word misbehaves at launch, styles look wrong, or a macro keeps running, replacing Normal.dotm is a standard fix. Microsoft notes that when the Normal template is missing, Word creates a fresh one with the original default settings the next time it starts.
Normal.dotm to your Desktop. This is a move, not a delete, so you can put it back.Your documents are not touched. Only default styles, AutoText entries and any macros or customisations stored in Normal.dotm are missing from the new copy.
Copying your own templates is enough: select the .dotx and .dotm files you created and save them elsewhere. On a new Mac, install Office and launch Word once so the folder exists, then copy them into the same Templates folder. Copying Normal.dotm across is possible, but it carries any old problems with it, so many people start fresh and re-create their styles.
Word 2011 for Mac, long out of support, kept its templates in a different folder under ~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/. Current Word does not read it, so a folder of that age is a leftover; copy out any templates you still want and save them into the folder above.
Spotlight does not show results from ~/Library, and on the checked Mac mdfind returned nothing at all from the Office group container, so searching for "Normal.dotm" in Finder finds nothing even though the file exists. The .localized names add to the confusion, because the name you see in Finder is not the name on disk.
Once Everywhere has Full Disk Access, which it needs to see inside the Office group container, typing Normal.dotm or part of a template's name lists the file with its real path, .localized folders included. ⌘↵ reveals it in Finder. It searches file names only, so it cannot look inside a template.
In ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Templates. On disk the last two folders may be named User Content.localized and Templates.localized.
Save a .dotx (or .dotm if it has macros) into that same Templates folder, which is Word's default. It is then offered under File > New from Template.
Quit all Office apps, move Normal.dotm out of the Templates folder to your Desktop, then open Word. Word creates a fresh default Normal.dotm when it cannot find one.
Spotlight does not show results from ~/Library or the Office group container, so the file never appears in Finder search. Use Go to Folder with the full path.
Everywhere keeps track of every file on your Mac — including the folders Spotlight hides and drives you have unplugged. Free for a day, then $19 once.
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