>You mean to keep the user from using the menu or toolbar to open a document?

Yes, exactly. The problem with the eventhandler is that there doesn't seem to be a way to prevent default behavior where no cancel parameter exists. I didn't realize (or had forgotten) there was a way to modify the toolbar itself. I've tried other Word forums without much luck but your suggestion isn't among them. Will definitely check there. Thanks.

Update: It is all coming back to me now and it's not a pleasant memory :-) The reason I gave up on trying to modify the menu was that the automation code has to run in all versions of Word from 2000 through 2007 with its unruly and non-compliant RibbonUi. It still looks like an overwhelmning task, but there may be no other way to accomplish what I need to do. Perhaps I can hire someone who really understands the RibbonUI to write that portion--if such a person even exists! The good news is that the document is actually a copy of a template that will ultimately be erased. If I am lucky, any changes will go away with it. If not, it should be easy to reverse them since the automation will continue after editing is complelte.