Themes vs. Templates

[Robert Soulliere]

I want to be able to take documents sent to me from
multiple sources and make them all look the same; same
headings, same spacing, same bullet style, same numbered
list style, etc. I don't need the documents to have any
automated features or custom toolbars, though. So from
what I've read so far, it seems I should be able to apply
a theme to acheive my goal. I also want to be able to
create a custom theme for this purpose. My understanding
is that the only way to create a new theme is via
FrontPage (and then import it to Word, I believe?). I
don't own a copy right now, so before spending the $ on
it, I want to be sure it's worth doing.

I want to draw on the practical experience of the user
community. So my question is: Is there any reason I
should use a template instead of a theme if all I want to
do is change the look of a doc? And what is the
assessment of FrontPage's theme-creation tools? Will I
drive myself nuts with this undertaking, or is it
relatively straightforward? Please advise. Thank you.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

My impression is that themes are for Web pages; templates (and their styles)
are for documents.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Robert Soulliere]

That was my initial impression, too. But Word's Help and
the FrontPage section of Office on the Web clearly discuss
documents as valid candidates for having themes applied.

 

[Robert M. Franz (RMF)]

Hi Robert,

I want to draw on the practical experience of the user
community. So my question is: Is there any reason I
should use a template instead of a theme if all I want to
do is change the look of a doc? And what is the
assessment of FrontPage's theme-creation tools? Will I
drive myself nuts with this undertaking, or is it
relatively straightforward?

see Suzanne's Answer; when you work with documents, it depends a bit
what your ultimate goal is. If it's a webpage, then the frontpage "road"
might be suitable.

For almost anything else, you really want to forget about frontpage and
work with Word alone (if you DO want to work with word, but we really
expect that if you post in here ).

You need to setup a template. Then it's advisable that you force the
normal style over your documents (since you have no idea how these were
created, a round-trip over a text-only format would be safest to get rid
of bad numbering and section formatting).

Then you open a new document based on your document, insert the contents
of the first file into it, style it through, insert the second, style it
throught, ... you get the picture.

Greetinx
..bob
...Word-MVP

 

[&:-jesse\)]

Robert,

Themes refer to an HTML based template. One must use a
system capable of modifying the HTML based code to work
with it. Templates for MS Word documents are used
exclusively for document files (DOT).

jesse

 

[Csaba Kiss]

I want to be able to take documents sent to me from
multiple sources and make them all look the same; same
headings, same spacing, same bullet style, same numbered
list style, etc. I don't need the documents to have any
automated features or custom toolbars, though. So from
what I've read so far, it seems I should be able to apply
a theme to acheive my goal. I also want to be able to
create a custom theme for this purpose. My understanding
is that the only way to create a new theme is via
FrontPage (and then import it to Word, I believe?). I
don't own a copy right now, so before spending the $ on
it, I want to be sure it's worth doing.

I would recommend you to use the Style Gallery instead of the "themes". It
is not on the toolbar but you can custumize it like this.
Choose Tools > Customize.
Under the Commands Tab choose Format on the left side, then look for the
"Style Gallery..." on the right side under the commands. (It is almost at
the end of the list).
When you click on the "Style Gallery..." the mouse pointer changes to a
small button. Hold the left mouse button and grab the "Style Gallery..." up
to the Toolbar. Then release it. Now you have a nice button that should be
on everybody's toolbars.
Now you can click on the Style Gallery button and select a template on the
left side and apply it to your document. You can do this to all your
documents.
However, you have to be sure that the appropriate parts of all the documents
are properly formatted by using "styles".

I hope this helps!

Csaba