Template files being saved as .dot?

P

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?
 
D

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
 
T

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
 
P

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.
 
S

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
 
P

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.
 
G

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.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP


<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
 
P

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.
 
S

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
 
S

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
 

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