Cannot attach Template to existing precedents in Word 2007

[Greg Sparling]

Cannot attach Template to existing precedents in Word 2007

A few years ago we created an entire library of Word precedents and
formatted them using Styles based on our own Custom Template. We then
distributed these precedents and the Template to thousands of users.

In versions of Word prior to Word 2007 we were able to change one of the
styles in the Template and have that change affect all of our precedents in a
particular office by ensuring that the Template was installed into Word’s
Template folder for each user as defined in Tools / File Locations.

(Usually the only change we would be asked to make by our users was to the
default font in the precedents. Not everyone can live with Times New Roman
12!)

We are unable to do anything similar in Word 2007. The Template does not
appear to attach to the precedents.

Any suggestions?

 

[Greg Sparling]

Further to my question below, I have made some more tests which seem to
indicate that there is a problem with Word 2007, but of course I am open to
suggestions as to what I might be doing wrong!

(this is also running in Vista, but I do not believe it is the issue)

In any case, my tests were based on creating 3 identically named Templates,
each with a different colored Font for easy viewing of the results.

I located these Templates in the following 3 locations, then removed them
from each location to observe the results:
1. The same Folder as the precedents that rely upon the Template
2. The Folder where the Template and the precedents were originally created
(on a mapped drive of a server within our network) four years ago.
3. The Templates Folder as defined by Word 2007

Unless the Template is in location #2, the Font is based on the style within
the precedent. ie it is not affected by any other Template! The problem, of
course, is our users cannot possibly have location #2.

Oddly, if the Template is in location #2 and #3, the Font is based on the
style in location #3.

In other words, the Template’s presence in location #2 is critical to the
Styles being adopted from location #3. And in older versions of Word,
location #3 was the only one we needed.

Thanks in advance for any help, but I suspect because no one has responded
that this is not a training issue, but needs to be reported to Microsoft
directly as a bug.