How to create or modify a Microsoft Word document template

Create a new template based on a document

1. Open the document.
2. On the View menu, click Draft, Print Layout, Outline, or Web Layout.
3. Add, delete, or change any text, graphics, or formatting, and make any other changes that you want to appear in all new documents that you base on the template.
4. On the File menu, click Save As.
5. On the Format pop-up menu, click Word Template (.dotx).
6. In the Save As box, type the name that you want to use for the new template, and then click Save.
7. Unless you select a different location, Word saves the template file in the following folder: /Users/username/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/My Templates/.

Tips

• To have a template appear in the My Templates category of the Project Gallery, save the new or updated template in /Users/username/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/My Templates.
• To create custom categories for templates in the Project Gallery, use the Finder to create a new folder in /Users/username/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/My Templates. Then save your templates in the new folder. The name of the new folder appears in the Category list.
• To use the template immediately after you create or modify it, after you save and close the template file, on the File menu, click Project Gallery. Under Category, click My Templates (or your custom category, if you created one), and then double-click the template to create a new document based on that template.

Create a new template based on another template

1. On the File menu, click Project Gallery.
2. Click a template that is similar to the one that you want to create, and then click Open.
3. Add, delete, or change any text, graphics, or formatting, and make any other changes that you want to appear in all new documents that you base on the template.
4. On the File menu, click Save As.
5. On the Format pop-up menu, click Word Template (.dotx).
6. In the Save As box, type the name that you want to use for the new template, and then click Save.

Tips

• To have a template appear in the My Templates category of the Project Gallery, save the new or updated template in /Users/username/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/My Templates.
• To create custom categories for templates in the Project Gallery, use the Finder to create a new folder in /Users/username/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/My Templates. Then save your templates in the new folder. The name of the new folder appears in the Category list.
• To use the template immediately after you create or modify it, after you save and close the template file, on the File menu, click Project Gallery. Under Category, click My Templates (or your custom category, if you created one), and then double-click the template to create a new document based on that template.

Modify an existing template

1. On the File menu, click Open.
2. On the Enable pop-up menu, click Word Templates.
3. Locate and open the template that you want to modify.
4. Unless you save the template in a different location, templates are in /Users/username/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/My Templates/.
5. In the document, add, delete, or change any text, graphics, or formatting, and make any other changes that you want to appear in all new documents that you base on the template.
6. Click Save , and then on the File menu, click Close.

Tips

• Changes that you make to the template do not affect existing documents that are based on the template. To update an existing document so that it uses the modified template, open the document, switch to print layout view, on the Tools menu, click Templates and Add-Ins, and then select the Automatically update document styles check box. Word updates the document to use the modified template.
• To have a template appear in the My Templates category of the Project Gallery, save the new or updated template in /Users/username/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/My Templates.
• To create custom categories for templates in the Project Gallery, use the Finder to create a new folder in /Users/username/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/My Templates. Then save your templates in the new folder. The name of the new folder appears in the Category list.
• To use the template immediately after you create or modify it, after you save and close the template file, on the File menu, click Project Gallery. Under Category, click My Templates (or your custom category, if you created one), and then double-click the template to create a new document based on that template.