Templates

The natural tendency of most users of is to create a document and use it as a model for future documents. That is, you format a letter the way you want it to look, and then, when you want to write a letter, you reopen it and delete the old information and replace with the new. But, a better way is to use a template.

A template is a file or form that defines the layout of a document. They are useful because you can use the template for many documents. For example, you could define one style sheet for personal letters, another for official letters, and a third for reports.

Every Microsoft Word document is based on a template. The default template that loads automatically is called Normal.dot and produces the blank page that Word opens.

There are some features of the Normal template that can be readily changed. For example, you can change the default document formatting, such as the default font size and style by going to Format, Font and selecting your new style. When finished, click the Default button at the bottom of the screen these will be saved to the Normal template.

You can also use one of the many pre-set templates that come with Word. To do so, select File/New. (Note: Do not click the 'New' button on your Toolbar, as this defaults to opening a blank page in Normal style. Use the menu.) Choose one of the offered tabs, and select the template you desire. Double-click on it and you will create a new document that incorporates the page setup, styles, and other formatting setup in the template.

You can also create a template from scratch. All you need to do is to create a document as you would normally and save it as a template. To accomplish this you click File>Save As. On the following window - towards the bottom of the screen - you will see "Save File Type as" this is where you choose Document Template (.dot)". Your new template will now be stored with the other pre-set templates.

For example, let's say you want to create special letterhead. You can open a new, blank page, customize it the way you want, then save it as your Letterhead template. Now whenever you wanted to create a letter using this letterhead format, you would click File/New and select your Letterhead template. You're no longer using the default layout from your Normal.dot, but rather using the molded layout you built in your Letterhead template.

As a footnote to templates, the Normal.dot damages easily in Word. Fortunately, when you restart Word, a fresh startup template will be created. This often solves problems associated with a corrupt normal.dot file. If you ever receive a message warning of trouble with this template, don't save any changes to Normal. Shut down Word and then restart. Your troubles should be over.