Replacing All Building Blocks

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 28, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007 and 2010


Harold has a need for multiple Building Block lists for different writing purposes. He would like a way to "swap out" one complete set of entries for another, and wonders if it is possible to delete all the current Building Block entries and load in a different set of entries.

Building Block entries are stored in a special template called (appropriately enough) Building_Blocks.dotx. If you use the Building Blocks Organizer to create a few entries, then you can use your Windows search capability to find the file on your system. Since the Building Blocks are in a known location, you could easily swap out sets of Building Blocks by making multiple versions of the Building_Blocks.dotx template and storing them under different names. When you want to use one, simply name it with the name Word expects and store it in the proper location. Restart Word, and the entries in the file will be available the first time you access the entries.

You should also realize that you can store Building Blocks in locations other than the default Building_Blocks.dotx template. If you are very careful when you create the entries, you can specify that they be stored in templates of your own making. You can then simply load the correct template for your purposes when you have need of the Building Blocks within that template.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10020) applies to Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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