Can I change a template's default saving?

[Guest]

I've created a Word 2003 template (.dot file). I'd like for this file to save
back to the .dot file without having to rename it whenever I open and make
changes to the .dot file. Is this possible? In other words, is there a way to
change the default save setting(s) for a Word document/template?

 

[Guest]

Hi Kevin-

If I understand your question, I get the impression that you are not opening
the .dot when you want to revise it. Instead you are creating a new doc
_based on_ the template. That would explain why you are being prompted to
name it when you save. The other possibility is that you have been misled by
the Template option in the File>New>Templates dialog box. That option
generates a new .dot file based on the .dot you choose, it doesn't open the
original .dot, itself.

If you do want to modify the original .dot, navigate to the folder where it
is stored as you would navigate to a folder to open any other file, but
change your Files of Type (below the File Name field) to Document Template.
You can then save as usual directly to that .dot file without being prompted
to rename.

If I've missed the point, please clarify.

HTH |:>)

 

[Jezebel]

I think you may be misunderstanding the difference between opening the
template (the .dot file) and creating a document (a .doc file) FROM the
template. If you open the template itself then changes ARE, by default,
saved back to the .dot file. If you create a document using the template,
you are, by definition, creating a new document, which you need to name
before saving. That's what templates are for.

 

[Guest]

Ok, this seems to be a partial solution:

Did what you suggested and it worked. I opened Word first, then went to
File>Open, changed Files of Type to templates, then opened the .dot file.
When I click Save, it works fine.

However, if I double-click the file to open it directly, I still have
problems. For some reason, after I make changes to the file, click Save, it
wants to save as a .doc file. If I select save as .dot, then select to
replace the existing .dot file, it tells me I can't replace the existing file
(it says it cannot save the document with the same name as an open document),
and once again prompts me to rename the document I'm trying to save.

It seems like I'm missing something. It should act the same no matter which
of these two ways I open it, right?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

When you double-click on a .dot file, you always get a new document because
the default action for .dot files is New. If you're doing this in Windows
Explorer, you can right-click and choose Open instead.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Kevin-

I get the impression that you may be thinking of a template as something
other than what it actually is.

Template files are files on which new documents are based, so that the new
doc starts off as an exact replica of the template that was used to create
it. From there the user can enter/modify whatever the design of the template
permits. For example, each new document generated when you launch Word is
based on a default template called normal.dot, then you save the newly
created document as whatever.doc - there should be no reason to be
repeatedly changing the structure or content of a template file.

Because of their nature, template files behave differently, i.e.
Double-clicking doesn't open the template but creates a new document based
on it. Opening .dot's requires using the File>Open command or right-clicking
and choosing Open from the popup menu.

HTH |:>)


On 3/28/05 4:55 PM, in article

Ok, this seems to be a partial solution:

Did what you suggested and it worked. I opened Word first, then went to
File>Open, changed Files of Type to templates, then opened the .dot file.
When I click Save, it works fine.

However, if I double-click the file to open it directly, I still have
problems. For some reason, after I make changes to the file, click Save, it
wants to save as a .doc file. If I select save as .dot, then select to
replace the existing .dot file, it tells me I can't replace the existing file
(it says it cannot save the document with the same name as an open document),
and once again prompts me to rename the document I'm trying to save.

It seems like I'm missing something. It should act the same no matter which
of these two ways I open it, right?

-- (e-mail address removed)