Template files being saved as .dot?

[Paul]

I have been doing a lot of work revising a particular template file this
summer. I navigate to the folder it is in, then open it up. I have been
going to the "save document" icon on my QAT and simply clicking on it, to
save the changes to that template.

I'm not complaining, as I have wanted to save the changes to the template.
But I've been wondering as I've been doing this--isn't this against the
original idea of a template--a document that would force you to save it as a
..doc, .rtf, or whatever? I always thought the idea of a template was that
you couldn't easily write over it, and then save your changes to the
template. I don't have problems saving it as a "regular" file--I just go to
the Office orb, then click on Save As and I type in the file name, etc. But
when I click on the save icon in the QAT, why isn't Word asking me to save
it as my default extension?

 

[Doug Robbins - Word MVP]

If you use File>Open to open the Template itself, by default, it will be
saved as a template with the same filename.

If you use File>New and select a template, then a new document will be
created from the template and as it will not have a filename, the Save Icon
on the QAT will display the File Save As dialog so that you can supply a
filename under which the document will be saved.

--
Hope this helps.

Please reply to the newsgroup unless you wish to avail yourself of my
services on a paid consulting basis.

Doug Robbins - Word MVP, originally posted via msnews.microsoft.com

 

[TedMi]

When you open a template via File > Open, or right-click > Open, you are
opening the TEMPLATE for modification. A save will overwrite the .dot file.
When you double-click a .dot file in Windows Explorer, you are opening a new
DOCUMENT based on the template. A save will prompt you for a new file name.
-TedMi

 

[Paul]

A very concise way to put it. I typically navigate to find these templates
(the ones I typically modify are not the normal.dot in the Templates
folder), so open via right-click means I will over-write it (I'll remember
this as right-write) open via double-click means it will automatically
generate a new document. OK that makes sense to me.

Thanks to you both.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The point is that you're not *opening* via double-click. The double-click
performs the default action for the file type. If you right-click, you'll
see that the default action (the one in bold) is New.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Paul]

Well something isn't working right--I just opened up a .dot by left-clicking
on it. I hit the Save icon in my QAT and it remained as a .dot. So now I
lost my template with its fields.... I can set it up again, but I really
would like to know what is going on. I thought that if I opened up a
template by left-clicking on it, when I saved it it would be saved as a .doc
or .rtf, etc.

 

[Graham Mayor]

It depends on what the default action is for clicking a dot file. The
default is 'new' but yours appears to be 'open'. Change the setting in
Windows Explorer.

--
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Graham Mayor - Word MVP


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[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Where are you opening it from, and how?

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Paul]

I go into the folder the template is in, and then single left-click (I
changed the setting from double- to single-left click a long time ago). The
template opens up in 2007.

In regards to default actions, I don't see "new" or "open" in the context
menu when I right-click on the file in Explorer. I do see the option Edit,
which is boldprint.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

When you say "Explorer," let's make it clear that you're talking about
Windows Explorer (My Computer or Computer) and not Internet Explorer? And
what version of Windows are you using?

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Paul]

Correct, I'm using Windows Explorer, not IE. I am using Vista Home Basic.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Someone familiar with Vista may have to weigh in, but I am surprised that it
is so changed that you would not see New or Open on the context menu for a
..dot file. If you open the Vista equivalent of Tools | Folder Options | File
Types, select .dot or Microsoft Office Word 97-2003 Template, and click
Advanced, do you get the option to change the default action?

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org