Using Word Templates

[Mike Hodos]

Hi there,

I'm a recent PC to Mac switcher and am attempting to use templates. In
my previous life as a Word XP user, I created templates and many times
stored shortcuts on my desktop. To create a new document from a
template I would click on the shortcut (or the .dot file) and a new
document was created based on the template. It seems that when I do
this now (click on the .dot file) the document template opens up for
editing, and not a new document based on the template.

Is the only way to create a new document based on a template to use
the project center?

Thanks,

Mike
(e-mail address removed)

 

[matt neuburg]

Is the only way to create a new document based on a template to use
the project center?

Yes. So, on the PC you can do this directly? I guess this is one reason
why we don't get so many macro viruses as the PC folks do! m.

 

[Oz Springs]

If you aren¹t using macros in your templates you can save them as
stationery, then you can leave them on your desktop, double-click and you
have a new untitled document based on the stationery.

This feature is a Mac-only thing and predates the PC Word template system
which I think migrated to Macs in Word 6 (or maybe 5). Microsoft has been
trying to persuade Mac users away from Stationery, but since it is still
available, it hasn¹t succeeded yet.

You can also open a .dot file on your desktop within Word and select open as
³copy² or ³read only² (field in the bottom left corner of the Open dialog
box), but this is quite fiddly and probably keeping your .dot files in the
project gallery will be much easier.

HTH



Oz

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

Is the only way to create a new document based on a template to use
the project center?

For templates you use a lot, it's quite easy to record a macro of yourself
picking a template, and then link the macro to a toolbar icon or shortcut
key, letting you skip the Project Gallery.

You may be interested in this (slightly-out-of-date) article comparing Win
and Mac Word.
http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/Differences.htm
(hit refresh a few times in Safari, or use a different browser)
(I think the main out-of-date bits are re Unicode and Applescript, based on
quick skim)

 

[Mike Hodos]

You're probably right about the macro viruses. But, if I make the
template myself, it sure is a bit of extra work to create a new
document based on the template.

No other way, eh?

Mike

 

[JE McGimpsey]

You're probably right about the macro viruses. But, if I make the
template myself, it sure is a bit of extra work to create a new
document based on the template.

No other way, eh?

I have a custom toolbar with macros that create documents from my 10
most frequently used templates tied to control buttons. That requires
Word to be open, but I never close it anyway.

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Matt:

Well, I'm with the original poster. It's a hell of a lot easier to just
double-click the file on the desktop of in the Templates folder or wherever
and know that you will get a new document every time.

This business of opening the template instead of creating a document based
on it is one of the things that irritates me about Apple OS X.

Setting the Stationery bit works well for normal usage, but then you cannot
edit the template at all unless you first release the Stationery bit. It's
just an unnecessary fiddle we could have done without.

Cheers

I guess I just don't see it that way. The way I see it, you just open
the template and presto, there's your document based on it. I'd much
rather do this than have to THINK about whether I'm getting a template
or a document... m.

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 4 1209 1410

 

[matt neuburg]

It's a hell of a lot easier to just
double-click the file on the desktop of in the Templates folder or wherever
and know that you will get a new document every time

Right, but this is just what you didn't know. People were accidentally
making templates instead of documents. The current system is more
foolproof. I can tell my Mom, "to open a template (to make a new
document), use the Project Gallery", and poof, I'm off the phone and on
with the rest of my life. No more muddling over figuring out whether
this is a document or a template... m.

 

[Mike Hodos]

Thanks to everyone for their opinions and suggestions.

I think recording a macro may be the best option for me, and I'll give it a try.

Mike