Creating Own Templates

[ruudi bear]

When I create my own template in Word (2003), I type the document , click
Save, name the file and change the document type to Document Template, I then
choose the Save In location to My Documents or Desktop. (I never save in
default Templates folder).

I was always taught that once you create a template it cannot be amended
unless you use it to open a new document and save the changes as a new file
name and then delete the original. However I have found a contradiction to
this.

If I open the document directly from the shortcut on the desktop or from My
documents, it behaves exactly like a template and opens a new Document1, so
the template remains intact.

However, if I open Word 2003 and click File>Open and open the file from the
Open Dialog box, the template itself opens and any changes made and saved are
made to the template itself.

Why does this happen - Is it because I haven't saved it in the templates
folder, or is there a setting I need to change on my computer to stop this
happening?

Hope this makes sense

Many thanks

Juliet

 

[Jay Freedman]

Asnwers in-line...

When I create my own template in Word (2003), I type the document ,
click Save, name the file and change the document type to Document
Template, I then choose the Save In location to My Documents or
Desktop. (I never save in default Templates folder).

I was always taught that once you create a template it cannot be
amended unless you use it to open a new document and save the changes
as a new file name and then delete the original. However I have found
a contradiction to this.

Of course, because that was never true. You have always been able to edit
templates.

If I open the document directly from the shortcut on the desktop or
from My documents, it behaves exactly like a template and opens a new
Document1, so the template remains intact.

However, if I open Word 2003 and click File>Open and open the file
from the Open Dialog box, the template itself opens and any changes
made and saved are made to the template itself.

Why does this happen - Is it because I haven't saved it in the
templates folder, or is there a setting I need to change on my
computer to stop this happening?

No, nothing like that. You can open and edit a template in any folder,
including the Templates folder.

When you double-click any icon on the desktop or in the Windows Explorer (My
Documents) window, Windows does a "default" action. For documents, the
default action is "Open"; for templates, the default action is "New" (that
is, base a new document on the template). But you can right-click the icon
and choose any of the other actions. If you right-click a template icon and
choose Open, it will open in Word just like using the File > Open command.

The only things "magic" about the Templates folder are (1) Word
automatically opens the dialog to that folder when you use File > New or
when you save a template (and Word 2007 doesn't even do that); and (2) the
Templates folder is one of several "trusted locations" where files
containing macros are allowed to run (assuming macro security is set
properly). Other than that, it's just another folder.

Hope this makes sense

Many thanks

Juliet

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[ruudi bear]

makes perfect sense - thanks
Juliet

Asnwers in-line...



Of course, because that was never true. You have always been able to edit
templates.


No, nothing like that. You can open and edit a template in any folder,
including the Templates folder.

When you double-click any icon on the desktop or in the Windows Explorer (My
Documents) window, Windows does a "default" action. For documents, the
default action is "Open"; for templates, the default action is "New" (that
is, base a new document on the template). But you can right-click the icon
and choose any of the other actions. If you right-click a template icon and
choose Open, it will open in Word just like using the File > Open command.

The only things "magic" about the Templates folder are (1) Word
automatically opens the dialog to that folder when you use File > New or
when you save a template (and Word 2007 doesn't even do that); and (2) the
Templates folder is one of several "trusted locations" where files
containing macros are allowed to run (assuming macro security is set
properly). Other than that, it's just another folder.


--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.