Corporate style implementation?

[xtine]

I have managed to create a template that contains the styles I require
(thanks for the previous advice on multiple list styles). It has
about 16 custom styles in it - and I have hidden and restricted all
other styles. Numbering works great.

It works on my PC when I create a document based on the template - but
ideally I would like this to be the default template for everyone when
they choose the 'New Blank Document' option.

I don't want the template to be "normal" as I prefer to keep
customisation away from anything that might be overwritten
automatically, or in an attempt to solve problems.

Also, if this is my new 'blank' document, is there an easy way of
populating these styles (and only these styles) into other corporate
templates - or do I need to amend each individual template (thinking
Letter, Fax, Memo etc). The ideal solution would be that this would
be a master template that all the others use to get their styles from
as then any future changes would only need to be implemented in one
template.

Any hints?


Christine

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The only way to accomplish what you're asking is to substitute your template
for Normal.dot (and the only way to do that correctly is to rebuild it in
Normal.dot, since you can't actually create a proper Normal.dot yourself).
But your users will not thank you for this. Normal.dot is intended to be
each user's personal scratch pad, which each user can customize as desired.
The appropriate approach is to place the template in the Workgroup Templates
folder and instruct users on how to access it to create new documents. It is
rare that a single template will be suitable for every document you need to
create, anyway. That's the whole point of having templates: to have one for
each type of document you need to create.

One way to make it easier for users to use your template, though, is to put
a shortcut to it on their desktops. Double-clicking that shortcut will open
Word with a new document based on the template. Once they are in Word,
though, the New button will still open a new Blank Document. You can help
with this, though, by showing them how to substitute a button that opens the
New dialog, where they will find your template.