Word 2003 -- Styles from shell doc not being applied to target doc

[Bev]

Here's something strange...

I have a shell document saved as a .dot that contains the disclaimer,
copyright statement, revision table, and other doo-dads required by ISO:9000
and IEEE. It also has the placeholders for the TOC, list of figures, and
list of tables. I suck it into new documents to get them started with all
the styles, upfront content, and macros I need.

I open a blank document, insert the .dot file, and ensure that the .dot is
attached as a template using the Tools -> Templates and Add Ins feature. I
then have to use the template organizer to ensure that all the styles are
copied into the target document. Some of them are not making it. Odd.

Why would the Insert/File function brings in all but the same four styles?

 

[Jay Freedman]

Here's something strange...

I have a shell document saved as a .dot that contains the disclaimer,
copyright statement, revision table, and other doo-dads required by ISO:9000
and IEEE. It also has the placeholders for the TOC, list of figures, and
list of tables. I suck it into new documents to get them started with all
the styles, upfront content, and macros I need.

I open a blank document, insert the .dot file, and ensure that the .dot is
attached as a template using the Tools -> Templates and Add Ins feature. I
then have to use the template organizer to ensure that all the styles are
copied into the target document. Some of them are not making it. Odd.

Why would the Insert/File function brings in all but the same four styles?

You're going about the whole thing the wrong way.

Store your .dot file (which is a "template", not a "shell document")
in the User Templates file, identified in the Tools > Options > File
Locations dialog (by default, it's at %appdata%\Microsoft\Templates).

When you want a new document, click File > New. In the pane on the
right, under Templates, click "On my computer". Choose your template
from the list and click OK. A new document will appear that contains
all the text, placeholders, and styles inherited from the template.

See http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/templaterelations/index.html for a
more complete discussion of the relationship of template and document,
and http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/attachtemplate/index.html for what
to expect when you attach a template to a document that was originally
based on another template.

 

[Stefan Blom]

I'm not sure what you mean by "shell document"? Since you are saving it in
*.dot format, I'm guessing you are referring to a template?

To format the text of an existing document with a certain template, I'd
insert the document into a newly created document based on the template; I
wouldn't insert the template file.