Templates are a special type of Word document. They hold components for other documents, especially text, Autotext, Macros & Toolbars. They also hold style definitions. When you save a document as a template Word will put attach the three-letter DOS extension of ".dot" to the end of the name instead of ".doc" but it is not the extension that makes it a template and changing the name either way will not change a document into a template or a template into a document.

Creating a document.

When you select New under the File menu, in Word 97-2000, you are shown templates from which you can choose. There are also Tabs of more available selections. (And if there isn't room for all of the tabs, there will be one that simply says "More" and gives you access to the others.) When you pick a template and create a new document based on that template, the template remains "attached" to the document.

In Word 2002 + you are shown the new file task pane when you choose File => New. If you click on General Templates in the task pane, you get to the File => New dialog.

All styles in the template are created in the document and will stay with the document even if the attachment is later broken.

Autotext entries, Macros and Toolbars in the template are available to the document so long as the document remains attached to the template, but are not normally transferred into the document. (Documents cannot hold Autotext entries but can have macros and toolbars.)

If you move the document to a different computer that doesn't have the template, the attachment will be broken. You can change the template attached to a document using Tools => Templates and Add-Ins...

User Templates Folder

User templates are stored in a folder (usually on the user's computer) and normally called "Templates." The default location of this folder differs among the various versions of Word. Both the location and the name can be changed by the user. If you ask Word to save a document as a template, this is the folder you will be taken to for that purpose. You can see (and change) the location by using:

Tools => Options => File Locations (tab)

You can save templates any place you want to, but if you want them to show up in the File => New dialog box they must be in either the User Templates Folder or the . . .

Workgroup Templates Folder

There is no default name or location for the Workgroup Templates Folder. I call mine "Shared Templates" and it is kept on the server in a folder that is mapped as the "G:\" drive by the network. (And at home I use the assign command to map a folder in the same way so that I can transfer work back and forth.) This should be a different folder than the User Templates folder. These two folders (and their subfolders) are the usual location for all templates except for . . .

Global templates

Global templates are one type of "Add-In" for Word. They are normally not "attached" to any document and normally do not contribute text or styles to any document. They are excellent vehicles for holding and sharing Autotext, Macros and Toolbars. You can make any template global with:

Tools => Templates and Add-Ins ... => Add (button)

A file open dialog box will open showing the User Templates folder's contents to choose from. You can, though, add a template that is located elsewhere. Since they don't contribute text and are not used to start new documents, global templates are probably best kept elsewhere (and not in the Workgroup Templates folder either). If you add a template as an Add-In this way, it will remain global until you restart Word. At that time, you could add it again, if you wanted to do so. Or, you could make it load automatically on startup by putting the template or a shortcut to the template in the Word Startup folder. This is not the Startup folder in your Start menu, but rather one specifically for Word. You can find (or change) its name and location with:

If the global template is to be shared, you will probably want to use shortcuts to it in each user's Startup folder. That way, any changes will automatically update everyone's Word. If it is your own and not shared you can either put it in the Startup folder or keep it elsewhere and use the shortcut to load it into Word.

Normal.dot - the granddaddy of global templates

This explanation is incomplete. Sorry, but it is a very big topic. Normal.dot is a special global template created and used by Word and should be in the User Templates folder. Unlike other global templates, it should not be shared. Also unlike other global templates, it shares styles with all open documents.

If Word is unable to find the Normal.dot file when started, it will create one, using its defaults. (In some language editions, Normal.dot will have a slightly different name. Also, at least one virus renames Normal.dot.)

The hierarchy of templates - not all are created equal!

So, we have attached templates, global templates, and normal.dot. What happens if there are conflicts (two Autotext entries or macros with the same name, etc.)? They defer to each other according to rules set by Microsoft (but not very easy to discover). The order is:

	First, look in the document. Any macros or styles in the document will be used in preference to others. Any toolbar modifications stored in the document will trump those elsewhere. (If the document and a template both have toolbars with the same name, though, they will both be available when the document is active.)
	Next, check the attached template. Any macros in the template will take priority over any except those of the same name in the document. Any styles added to the template or changed in the template after the document was created will be available to the document by updating styles.
	Then check Normal.dot. All styles in Normal.dot are available to all documents except those already in the document. (Normal.dot has many more styles than are ever used in one document.)
	Finally, check other global templates and add-ins. Again, these do not contribute styles to documents but all macros, toolbars and Autotext entries are available from a global template. If there is a macro with the same name in Normal.dot, the attached template, or the document, as the name in any other global template, the macro in the global template will not be used (except for an AutoExec macro). If there are multiple global template, they are checked in alphabetical order.