Confusion on Templates

[Pitch]

Long-time user of Word (currently 2004, latest updates), but always
confused about the Normal and other templates. Some questions:

1. I hear that one shouldn't rely on the Normal template (that which
comes up with Command-N), because it can easily get corrupted. If so,
how do you Word users work with templates?

2. How can you detect which template a Word document is based on? When
I open a Word doc whose layout I like, I'm wondering how to turn that
layout into a template that I can access later on?

3. I use Outline View in Word most of the time. So I hit Command-N to
get a new doc, and then create custom Header 1,2,3,4 and Normal
Styles, complete with keyboard shortcuts to each. I then save the doc.
How do I then get it so those custom Styles are now part of the Normal
template. Or, if the answer to my first question is "Don't use the
Normal Template", how does one get it so that this new layout is
accessible for later use.

Many thanks. This area has always been confusing to me.

 

[Michel Bintener]

Hi,

see inline for answers.

1. I hear that one shouldn't rely on the Normal template (that which
comes up with Command-N), because it can easily get corrupted. If so,
how do you Word users work with templates?

The Normal template can corrupt, and the chances of it becoming corrupted
are higher since it is used more frequently than any other templates.
However, Word will automatically generate a new Normal template if you
delete the old one, so I wouldn't worry too much about this. Generally
speaking, though, you should not customise Normal too much, as you might
lose these customisations if Normal corrupts.

2. How can you detect which template a Word document is based on? When
I open a Word doc whose layout I like, I'm wondering how to turn that
layout into a template that I can access later on?

"Tools>Templates and Add-ins" will reveal on which template a document is
based. If you like a Word document's layout, you can simply clear the
document (i.e. get rid of any content that you do not want to be part of
your template), then click on File>Save As and specify "Document Template"
as the format in the dropdown list that shows up. That file is then saved in
Applications>Microsoft Office 2004>Templates>My Templates, and you can
create a new document based on that template by opening the Project Gallery
(File>Project Gallery) and selecting your template.

3. I use Outline View in Word most of the time. So I hit Command-N to
get a new doc, and then create custom Header 1,2,3,4 and Normal
Styles, complete with keyboard shortcuts to each. I then save the doc.
How do I then get it so those custom Styles are now part of the Normal
template. Or, if the answer to my first question is "Don't use the
Normal Template", how does one get it so that this new layout is
accessible for later use.

Open Normal (double-click the file in ~/Documents/Microsoft User Data),
modify your styles, then hit space and back-space to make Word realise that
the template has changed. Now save it, and these styles will now be
available in every new document based on Normal.


--
Michel Bintener
Microsoft MVP
Office:Mac (Entourage & Word)

***Always reply to the newsgroup.***

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

Open Normal (double-click the file in ~/Documents/Microsoft User Data),
modify your styles, then hit space and back-space to make Word realise that
the template has changed. Now save it, and these styles will now be
available in every new document based on Normal.

Another method--when you create or update the style, be sure to check
the "add to template" box in the Modify dialog. This will add the style
to the template the document is based on, probably Normal.

Are you creating new custom Heading 1,2,3,4 styles, or modifying the
built-in ones? It's usually better to modify the built-ins, with
Heading styles.

Keyboard shortcuts already exist for the built-in Heading styles, I
think--custom ones should automatically be saved to Normal, unless you
go out of your way to save them somewhere else.

Daiya

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

The Normal template can corrupt, and the chances of it becoming corrupted
are higher since it is used more frequently than any other templates.
However, Word will automatically generate a new Normal template if you
delete the old one, so I wouldn't worry too much about this. Generally
speaking, though, you should not customise Normal too much, as you might
lose these customisations if Normal corrupts.

I use Normal, but I store a duplicate copy every few days so that I
still have the customizations in case it corrupts.

I use Normal for my default documents for myself--I have other templates
for documents that are going to other people, for instance, Letterhead,
or attachments I am going to send out and want to use guaranteed fonts
(ESharing.dot). These templates use the same style names but have
different formatting definitions for them.

I should probably design a few more templates for my regular tasks, but
haven't gotten around to it.

Daiya

 

[JE McGimpsey]

1. I hear that one shouldn't rely on the Normal template (that which
comes up with Command-N), because it can easily get corrupted. If so,
how do you Word users work with templates?

Since Normal is used as a scratchpad whenever Word is open, I make a
point to delete it (via an Automator action) every time I start Word.
That forces Word to create a brand new Normal.

I'm somewhat unusual, but I have a master template with all the common
styles that I use.

I then create a template for the various needs I have. I use about 10
different ones for my business, and about 5 for personal use. I also
create a set for the organizations I'm part of - e.g., policy and
procedures, donation forms, receipts and acknowledgments, etc.

2. How can you detect which template a Word document is based on? When
I open a Word doc whose layout I like, I'm wondering how to turn that
layout into a template that I can access later on?

I've added a "Open Attached Template" menu item that opens the template
of the document. However, you can always find it using the
File/Properties, or Tools/Templates and Add-ins command.

To turn a document into a template, use SaveAs, and choosing Document
Template as the file type.

3. I use Outline View in Word most of the time. So I hit Command-N to
get a new doc, and then create custom Header 1,2,3,4 and Normal
Styles, complete with keyboard shortcuts to each. I then save the doc.
How do I then get it so those custom Styles are now part of the Normal
template. Or, if the answer to my first question is "Don't use the
Normal Template", how does one get it so that this new layout is
accessible for later use.

I'd save your document as a Template as above, then create all your
documents by choosing File/Project Gallery and selecting that template.

If you instead wanted to use Normal, you can use the Organizer (click
the Organizer button in the Tools/Templates and Add-ins... menu).

 

[John McGhie]

I'm with Daiya:

I rely on and heavily customise Normal template.

However, I have backups stretching back to Year 2000. No, nothing
significant about the date: Word 2000 was the first one stable enough to
eable a Normal template to survive for years

One "secret" is to "Make your own toolbars". If you ever need to copy stuff
between templates to recover from a failure, Word will allow you to copy
your own toolbars, you cannot copy the built-in toolbars. So I always use
my own self-named toolbars.

When you are playing around with toolbars or numbering schemes, there are
various customisations that can produce a corruption unless you work
carefully. You will learn which these are by trial and error (e.g. ensure
that you do not customise the same toolbar button or command in two
templates open simultaneously: If you customise a numbering list template,
ensure that all your changes are made to the same list template attached to
the same set of styles). With a little trial and a few lurid failures, you
will soon get the hang of it.

Umm... Take a backup BEFORE you start making changes each day

Cheers

--

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. GMT + 10 Hrs

+61 4 1209 1410, <mailto:[email protected]> mailto:[email protected]

 

[Clive Huggan]

Dear [whoever],

Nearly always, Word has several ways of doing anything, and the posts from
JE, Michel, Daiya and John reflect that even for a topic like using the
Normal template, a variety of approaches still exists.

Although I admire JE's procedure, which I understand is absolutely
rock-solid, my use of Word is very much outcome-focused, so I have never
made the effort to emulate his method. By habit I rely on the Normal
template, and customize it heavily, as John McGhie and most other Word MVPs
do.

I used to create templates (.dot) but find that I use them less and less,
partly because they are relatively inaccessible on the Mac and partly
because in practice a "parent" (I'd like to use the word "master" but Office
has snaffled that) document (.doc) is just as good -- i.e., a text-free
version into which I can drop text. I make sure that such documents do not
undergo too many generational changes (i.e., I go back to the first, second
or third "generation" as the basis) and I have never had a problem with
corruption. If I were punching out documents to which I needed to make
global changes to styles I would, however, use templates. As it is, I rarely
keep a document created from a template attached to the template, because I
rarely want to keep the relationship alive.

I have had only one corruption of Normal in six years (why only six years?
-- because before that I used Word 5.1a, to which the concept of corruption
never occurred). Some of the reasons for that, however, include a very
cautious approach to formatting that aims to avoid corruption -- just do a
"Find" for "corrupt" in the document referenced in the following paragraph.

Some of the questions you ask are answered in some notes on the way I use
Word for the Mac, titled "Bend Word to Your Will", which are available as a
free download from the Word MVPs' website
(http://word.mvps.org/Mac/Bend/BendWordToYourWill.html). You'll find the
section on styles ("Styles and templates ‹ the keys to consistency and
saving time"), at page 87, is the best place to start. You'll also find "Why
is it best not to alter the default toolbars?", on page 45, relevant to the
discussion here.

[Note: "Bend Word to your will" is designed to be used electronically and
most subjects are self-contained dictionary-style entries. If you decide to
read more widely than the item I've referred to, it's important to read the
front end of the document -- especially pages 3 and 5 -- so you can select
some Word settings that will allow you to use the document effectively.]

Cheers,

Clive Huggan
Canberra, Australia
(My time zone is 5-11 hours different from North America and Europe, so my
follow-on responses to those regions can be delayed)
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