Enchanting - please help Options

[Magefire]

I've started playing Morrowind again, and I need a longsword with soultrap. I can't find any advice online which answers my difficulty.

I have a grand soul gem with a Clannfear - I know, it's not very good - and a silver longsword. I took myself off to Galbedir and asked her to enchant the sword for me. Despite her efforts and my cash, it didn't work. Luckily I had presaved.

I chose 'cast when strikes' and set the duration to one second on touch. As to 'area' I wasn't sure if this is needed since the spell is 'on touch' - I set it to zero. Was this a mistake?

Also, if I get a stronghold I'll be awarded an ebony longsword - if I enchant it with, say, fire damage, Cast when Strikes, what 'area' do I select?

[mplantinga]

I don't know if you're still looking for a reply, but here goes:

"On Touch" can be difficult with a weapon, because it basically requires that you are right up against them when it strikes. Longswords have enough range that it is possible to be close enough to hit the target, but too far away for the "on touch" effect to hit them. For this reason, I think it is best to use "On Target" enchants for weapons, even if they are a bit more expensive (as far as how much charge they use per strike). Adding an area is only required if you want to be able to take on multiple enemies at once and have the magic hit all of them. That, of course, uses charges faster, so it may be preferable to have 0 area.