Filing MS templates into one folder

[lincoln]

Word 2002, Windows XP.
A colleague wishes to "file" all the standard MS templates & wizards (ie the
templates & wizards that appear under the tabs: Legal Pleadings, Letters &
Faxes, Mail Merge, Memos, Reports, etc) under one tab (eg Microsoft Supplied).
This person uses templates heavily, and has many custom made tabs (to group
his various templates). He therefore wants to place all the MS provided
templates & wizards under one tab, as he doesn't use them much.
Can this be done?
Thanks in advance

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I have done exactly the same thing, for the same reason. What you have to
understand is that the tabs and folders displayed are all conceptual; all
the "installed" templates are glommed into a mysterious C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\1033 folder as described in "Frequently
asked questions about the location of Word 2002 templates" at
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=291186

"If you view the \Templates\1033 folder, you won't see any folders. This
functionality is different from earlier versions of Word. Because these
templates are installed by Microsoft Word, Word internally "knows" which tab
each of these templates belongs with and automatically sorts and places the
template on its correct tab, without the use of corresponding folders in the
\Templates\1033 folder."

As the article spells out, in order to get rid of the tabs, you have to
uninstall the templates. You can't just delete them.

"NOTE: If you just delete the templates that are listed on the Letters &
Faxes tab from the "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\1033"
folder, Microsoft Word still "advertises" these templates on the Letters &
Faxes tab. If the template does not exist, and you click to select any of
the templates listed on the Letters & Faxes tab, Word instructs you to
install the template with a message similar to the following:
"The feature you are trying to use is on a CD-ROM or other removable disk
that is not available.

"Insert the 'Microsoft Office Professional' disk and click OK.

"Use feature from:

"Microsoft Office XP Professional

"To install the template, insert the Microsoft Word 2002 (or Microsoft
Office XP) CD-ROM and then click OK."

So you must uninstall the templates. Before you uninstall them, however, you
can copy them to new tabs/folders you have created. At least in Word 2002
you can actually see the individual templates listed, making this fairly
easy to do. In Word 2003, Windows Explorer doesn't list the templates at
all, and I'm not sure how you'd go about copying them (unless the
right-click Copy command in File New would accomplish this).