Word Templates- When to Use?

[Guest]

Hi
I have been using word for some time now, one area that i am not quite clear
about is when to use a template. I have used pre-designed templates to give a
particular look to my documents which i have found very useful. what i am not
too sure about is when it is more appropriate to save a document as a
'template' rather than a 'document' file. as i understand is that you would
save a document as a template in a situation where you frequently use a
particular kind of document like a newsletter or report where you can include
company information and boilertext .
However,what I normally do when writing a document that intend to use
frequently,is to save it as a 'document' file making any ammendments when i
need to re-use it and then re-saving it again as new document file. are
there disadvantages to this would saving as a template be a better idea?
I am probably missing the point here, would really appreciate some
clarification please

 

[Jay Freedman]

Hi Shaun,

See http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/CreateATemplatePart1.htm for
some background.

Certainly one of the functions of a template is to provide boilerplate text,
but it's also a container for many other things, including page layouts,
styles, AutoText entries, macros, keyboard shortcuts, and custom toolbars.
Saving an existing document as a template gives you only the boilereplate,
and maybe some customized styles. To take good advantage of the power of
templates, you should learn about the other items and tweak your templates
to suit your working style. The mechanics of that are discussed in the Part
2 article linked at the bottom of Part 1.

Many people get along for years just revising and resaving documents as you
described. The one huge drawback of that method is that if you forget what
you're doing and use Save instead of Save As, you'll wipe out the "template"
document and replace it with the new one. If that happens to you, remember
that you can use Undo to restore the original and use Save As on that -- as
long as you haven't closed the document. Using templates and File > New
instead means you don't have to worry about wiping out a template
inadvertently.

 

[Guest]

Hi Shaun-

No right or wrong, but the way you're doing it makes it too easy to
accidentally save changes to the original rather than as a new file. For many
docs that may not be a problem, but for many others it can because of date
stamping as well as content integrity. With a template, each new file is
"based on" it, but the template does not open for editing. When you save it
is exacly like saving any new doc for the first time - you are prompted to
name the doc & save it where you want it. If you need to revise the template,
you can navigate to the Templates folder and open the original template, and
make any changes you want. Each new doc from then on will be based on the
latest version of your template.

Templates are also excellent for Forms and for document automation.

Hope this is useful |:>)

 

[Charles Kenyon]

See http://addbalance.com/usersguide/templates.htm.

You use a template when you want a new document that is different.
Letterhead
Report form
form letter

You open a document if you have new information to add to the document.
Opening a document and using Save-As to save to a new name usually indicates
that your document should be a template.

Templates hold AutoText, macros, keyboard shortcuts and other
customizations.
--

Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide

See also the MVP FAQ: http://www.mvps.org/word which is awesome!
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[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

FWIW, Word 2002 and 2003 make it a bit safer to use documents as templates.
In the New Document task pane, you can choose "From existing document..."
This allows you to choose the document to use as a "template," but instead
of opening the document itself, Word opens a copy, named Documentx, which
has to be named before you can save it.

--
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.

 

[Charles Kenyon]

Older versions would do this, too, but only if you store the document in a
templates folder. It then shows up on the File > New dialog box as a
potential source.
--

Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide

See also the MVP FAQ: http://www.mvps.org/word which is awesome!
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.

 

[Guest]

Cyber taz, you seem like you could help me..... I am tryin to save some
forms as templates, and cant figure it out. every week I have to fill out
these forms. I want them to save so every week I can open my template and
type the new info in....... does that make sence? I saved it as a .doc
i dont know what I am doing, but I know what I want to do.......

 

[Charles Kenyon]

File > Save As...
File Type: Microsoft Word Template

What you are talking about is what Word calls an "online form." Check this
in help. For more about online forms, follow the links at
http://addbalance.com/word/wordwebresources.htm#Forms or
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/FillinTheBlanks.htm especially Dian
Chapman's series of articles. You may also want to look at
http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/TblsFldsFms/LinesInForms.htm.

Hope this helps,
--

Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


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This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
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