So, IF i'm understanding
1. John.dot has a UF and is in Word\StartUp
2. Word is NOT running yet
3. You start Word via command and File, Open C.doc -- OR -- just by double clicking C.doc
The UF will not display until something causes it to, either running a macro in John.dot or possibly an application event
What triggers the macro to get displayed?
However, I believe that just possibly 2003's Single Document Interface might have some thing to do with it.
Maybe C.doc is running Word in it's own window and showing the UF, B.doc is running in it's own window. That could explain
It seems to me that UFs always begin life associated with the document that is active at the time the UF is opened, which is why, when you have multiple Word docs open at one time, a UF can disappear off screen or even get closed when the original doc is closed or when another doc is given the focus by clicking on it or from within VBA.
The article has some things you can try
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...3-7f60b30ff49d
By default, versions of Word that are later than Microsoft Word 97 use the Single Document Interface (SDI) design, in which each document occupies its own window (just as in Microsoft Outlook each message occupies its own window). This behavior is different from Word 97 and earlier versions of Word, which use the Multiple Document Interface (MDI), in which each document is a separate window within the Word program window. SDI was introduced in Word 2000.